Great Burstead is an urban settlement and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Great Burstead and South Green, in the

Basildon Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. ...

district, in

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. It is contiguous with the town of

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon in Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, east of the City of London. The town was founded in the 13th century by the Stratford Langthorne Abbey, Abbot of West Ham, ...

History

By tradition, the origins of the church,

St Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

, at Great Burstead are linked to Saint

Cedd Cedd (; 620 – 26 October 664) was an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop from the Kingdom of Northumbria. He was an evangelist of the Middle Angles and East Saxons in England and a significant participant in the Synod of Whitby, a meeting which r ...

(d.664). Cedd, a missionary monk and later Bishop of the East Saxons, was trained by the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Saint Aidan at

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...

. Cedd's original chapel at Bradwell-juxta-Mare in Essex can still be visited. It is understood that at first he set up his wayside preaching cross on the present-day church site, and a well which he blessed, then after he converted Ebba, the

Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...

of Great Burstead. However, it is also reputed that the East Saxon King Sæberht (d 616) was buried nearby, a convert under the earlier

Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and a ...

Mellitus Mellitus (; died 24 April 624) was the first bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Christia ...

, the first

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

. The area first having been settled by the East Saxons around 527 AD. Later, around 680 AD, the cross was replaced with a wooden building by the Thane, Edwy, perhaps dedicated by

Theodore of Tarsus Theodore of Tarsus (; 60219 September 690) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. After studying there, he relocated to ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

. An ancient English Yew, found to the south of the church and over a millennium old, is thought to be one of Essex's oldest trees. In 1086 the Norman

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 ...

stated that Great Burstead village contained 150 sheep, two horses, 3 teams of oxen, and 118 householders (villagers), and was owned by

Odo of Bayeux Odo of Bayeux (died 1097) was a Norman nobleman who was a bishop of Bayeux in Normandy and was made Earl of Kent in England following the Norman Conquest. He was the maternal half-brother of duke, and later king, William the Conqueror, and w ...

, William the Conqueror's half brother. In 1381 the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

took place, and after the death of

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (1341 or – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in Kingdom of England, England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to City of London, London to oppose the collection of a Tax per head, poll tax and to dem ...

in London, the Essex men retreated back to Billericay. The

Battle of Billericay The Battle of Billericay took place on 28 June 1381 when the boy King Richard II's soldiers defeated the Essex rebels adjacent to a wood north-east of Billericay, part of the Peasants' Revolt. This is likely to have been Norsey Wood, which maps of ...

took place on 28 June 1381 probably in

Norsey Wood Norsey Wood is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Billericay, Essex. It is also a Local Nature Reserve and a Scheduled Monument. The site is ancient oak woodland on acid soil which has been converted to mixed sweet chestnut co ...

; 500 Essex man were killed, and over 700 horses were captured. The men are believed to be buried along with their leaders in the church of

St Mary Magdalene, Great Burstead Church of St Mary Magdalene is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade I-listed Church of England parish church, parish church located in the village of Great Burstead, about south of Billericay, Essex, England. While the current b ...

. Thomas Watts, a local Great Burstead draper, was burned at the stake in Chelmsford for refusing to pray in church under

Queen Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

. On 9 June 1555, Thomas was buried in Great Burstead Church. South Green, today a residential area of Great Burstead, also consisting of shops and a public green space, in medieval times was likely to have been used for archery practice, the local sign today depicts this. Born in Great Burstead in 1582 was Christopher Martin, a Merchant and local property owner, who married Mary Prowe in Burstead church in 1607. Martin became

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

at St Mary Magdalene Church in 1611. In 1620 he became the Governor of the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

'' ship, and purchasing agent for supplies, and a signer of the

Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the ''Mayflower,'' consisting of Separatist Puritans, adventurers, a ...

in 1621. He died on 8 January 1621 in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

. Great Burstead was part of the Barstable

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 1841 had a population of 884 spread over of land. The complete census can be viewed, as can a listing of many of the historical

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

s. On 24 September 1916, German Zeppelin L32 was shot down by 2nd Lt Frederick Sowrey of the Royal Flying Corps. The airship narrowly missed

High Street and crashed in fields just off from Greens Farm lane Great Burstead, killing all 22 crew. In 1931 the parish had a population of 3690. The Great Burstead parish, which also covered Billericay was abolished on 1 January 1937 to form Billericay. The parish formed part of the Billericay Rural District from 1894 and Billericay Urban District from 1934. The district was renamed Basildon Urban District in 1955 and became part of the present-day

district in 1974. The village has South Green as its main shopping district. As of 2020, the district was in reality only a small parade of related businesses. It consisted of about ten units each for a different customer-facing business, with the following businesses included: pharmacy, take-away shop, post office, doctor's surgery (GP), convenience store, and florists. More or less next to the

parade of shops A shopping parade, also known as a parade of shops, suburban parade, neighbourhood parade, or just a simply a parade is a group of between five and 40 shops in one or more continuous rows, mostly being retail and serving a local customer base; in ...

is a scenic green bounded by the parade, houses, a memorial hall, a petrol station, and roads. The Great Burstead cricket team was formed in 1956. It has recently merged with East Hanningfield CC but will continue to play in the T Rippon Mid-Essex League.

Governance

Great Burstead is part of

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

called Burstead. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 10,620.

References

External links

Great Burstead Church

Basildon Heritage

{{Authority control Populated places in Essex Former civil parishes in Essex Borough of Basildon Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England

History

Governance

See also

References

External links