Good Easter is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

district of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. The village is northwest from the city and

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

. The parish includes the hamlets of Farmbridge End at the south, and Tye Green, conjoined to Good Easter village. The A1060 road is part of the southern boundary of the parish.

History

The name 'Good Easter' refers not to the Christian festival '

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

', but to the 11th-century ''Estre'' (listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Estra''), from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''eowestre'' meaning a sheep fold, or 'a place at the sheep fold'. By 1200 the place was called ''Godithestre'', the 'Good' part of today's place name derived from the Anglo-Saxon woman's name of ''Godgyth'' or ''Godgifu'', who probably held possession of the place. The sister village of High Easter to the north, has the same origin, except that the 'High' part refers to the Old English ''heah'' (meaning geographically high), that place being ''Heyestre'' in 1254. From before the last quarter of the 19th century to at least the start of the First World War, Good Easter was in the Dunmow

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

, and in the

Union, for relief of the poor. The parish was in the rural deanery of Roding and the Diocese of St Albans. The

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

was in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of St Andrew registers date to 1538. In 1902 the church contained 250 sittings. The church was restored in 1878 at a cost of £600. On 22 March 1885 there was a fire which damaged the church; it was restored in 1886 at a cost of £2,200; in 1891 three of the five bells were replaced and two more added, and in 1910 a new organ was installed at the expense of the vicar.'' Kelly's Directory of Essex'': 1882 p.130; 1902 p.189; 1914 p.270 Parish land is of marl and clay overlaying white clay. In the late 19th to early 20th century, crops grown were largely wheat, barley and beans. The 1882 parish area was , supporting an 1881 population of 520. By 1902, area was plus five acres of water, with a 1901 population of 488 in the civil, and 534 in the ecclesiastical parish. By 1914 it was plus one acre of water, and a population of 453 (civil) and 485 (ecclesiastical). In 1884, a detached part of Mashbury parish, known as 'Amours' was added to Good Easter, and a detached part of Good Easter parish known as the 'Pinchers' was added to Margaret Roothing parish. The parish hamlets of Chalk End at , and Farmbridge at were south, and Tye Green at .5 mile northeast from the village were recorded in trade directories. Chalk End is today in the parish of Roxwell. A public elementary school for boys and girls was erected in 1844. A

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

of five members was formed in 1872 for a Board School for boys and girls, which was built in 1874 at a cost of £1,200, accommodating 100 pupils, which in 1882 had an average attendance of 97. In 1895 the school was enlarged to accommodate 130 pupils, and had an average attendance of 70 and 18 infants, and in 1902 of 67 and 30 infants. By 1902 a police station existed in Good Easter under the charge of a constable. Parish occupations in 1882 included the publicans of the Old Star, who was also a draper and grocer, the Wheeler's Arms, who was also a

wheelwright A wheelwright is a Artisan, craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright" (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker - as also in shipbuilding, shipwright ...

, The Fountain, and the Hop Pole public houses. There were nine farmers, one of whom was also a butcher, three

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

s, a shoemaker, a shopkeeper, a miller & baker, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, a hay & straw carter, and a solicitor and commissioner of oaths. In 1902 included were seven farmers and two farm bailiffs, a blacksmith, a thatcher, a shopkeeper, a hay & straw carter, a baker & miller, and 'Good Easter Stores' trading as a combined grocer, provision dealer & draper, boots & shoes seller and general ironmonger. In 1914 included were still seven farmers and two farm bailiffs, a thatcher, two blacksmiths, a baker, and an assistant overseer who was also a collector of taxes and clerk to the parish council. Publicans at the Old Star who was also a grocer, The Fountain, and Hop Pole public houses still traded in 1914.

Notable people

Horticulturist Beth Chatto was born in Good Easter. Two Good Easter vicars, Tully Kingdon and Goodwin Hudson, Crockford's Clerical Directory1947-48 Oxford, OUP,1947 became (

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

) bishops.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Essex Civil parishes in Essex