THE HISTORY OF SILVER END

It is easy to overlook the fact that before the realization of Francis Crittall's dream and the building of the basically new village of Silver End in the late 1920s, many people of Essex stock lived in the locality.

The influx of new people from Wales, Tyneside and the Midlands and many other places could be matched by a fair minority of Essex residents; many of these were from large families. The Welsh, in particular,brought their Free Church worship; and this was welcomed by many existing residents since they had tended towards Non-Conformity for many decades. So let us go back some 200 years and learn what we can from the records.

I begin with the list of farmers and tenant farmers from 1802.These were prone to move from parish to parish; one such newcomer was John Hutley who held 'Classland' , a plot near the Western Arms. His family was to establish a Hutley dynasty which ran most of the local farms. John was 39 in 1802 and by the time he was 66 he farmed Boar's Tye, Grooms, Bowers Hall, Rivenhall Place land and Whiteheads. He was obviously in favour with the Westerns, the major land owners. James Hughes was running Boar's Tye in 1802- a Western farm. He and his wife Anna, a Kelvedon girl,(nee Baker) had at least ten children- all dutifully baptized at Rivenhall church (1801-1816). Anthony Blackborn farmed Bowers Hall in 1802; he was one of Dr. Henry Dixon's earliest patients. Quite independent of the Western group were the Ardleys - Benjamin who owned Sheepcotes and Moses who owned Rolphs; they owned some cottages in addition. The farmers were usually Church of England.

In the early years of the century, a number of Free Church families were settled in the Silver End area - mainly agricultural workers; Cressing, and its chapel were not too far away. Its simpler worship had a more direct appeal and Rivenhall was a long way to walk! Of such was Joseph Joslin and his wife Jane and their seven or more children; William and Sarah Challis and their seven; James and Sarah Tokeley and their eight. Then there were the Beckwiths; the Cranmers; the Cutmores;the Cutts; the Daveys; the Drurys; the Staines; the Succamores and the Suttons; the Webbs; the Whybrews and the Withams. These are but a sample.

David Nash, June 2001

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