Good Easter is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

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 Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Lond ...

district of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. The village is northwest from the city and county town of

. 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,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

', but to the 11th-century ''Estre'' (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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' as ''Estra''), from the Old English ''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 numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

, and in the

Union, for relief of the poor. The parish was in the

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

ery of Roding and the

Diocese of St Albans The Diocese of St Albans forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England and is part of the wider Church of England, in turn part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese is home to more than 1.6 million people and comprises the h ...

. The

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

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 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 community activitie ...

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 Kelly's Directory (or more formally, the Kelly's, Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory) was a trade directory in England that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses ...

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 ar ...

of five members was formed in 1872 for a

Board School School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools. School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigni ...

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 In antiquity, publicans ( Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed th ...

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 or shaper of wood) as in shipbuilding ...

, 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. Carpenters tra ...

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 Beth Chatto (27 June 1923 – 13 May 2018) was an English plantswoman, garden designer and author known for creating and describing the Beth Chatto Gardens near Elmstead Market in the English county of Essex. She wrote several books about ga ...

was born in Good Easter. Two Good Easter vicars,

Tully Kingdon Hollingworth Tully Kingdon (known as Tully; 183513 October 1907)''Obituary. The Bishop Of Fredericton.'' The Times ''Monday, Oct 14, 1907; pg. 6; Issue 38463; col F'' was an Anglican bishop, the second Bishop of Fredericton until his death. He was ...

and Goodwin Hudson, Crockford's Clerical Directory1947-48 Oxford, OUP,1947 became ( Anglican) bishops.

References

External links

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