OCKENDON RHINOS

THE HISTORY OF THE PARISH OF SOUTH OCKENDON ESSEX ENGLAND

BY M. J.SAUNDERS

  The advowson of the church had always been with the manor of South Ockendon but after its division it was shared alternatively between the manors of Bruyns and Groves until eventually returning to the single ownership of John Cliff, apparently by default when John Stewart of Groves died without issue in 1839 his executors apparently unaware of its existence. Cliff offered the advowson for sale in 1845 but it was without takers until 1860 when it was purchased by the Reverend Percival Laurence (d. 1913), who served as rector from 1873 to 1879.

    Groves manor house was at one time the largest house in the parish having a total of’ 22 hearths - it survived until the 1770s. The manor’s most notable owner, Sir Richard Saltonstall, became Lord Mayor of London in 1598, the year of the Armada. Sir Richard was knighted for his efforts in raising money and men to repel the threatened invasion. After his death at the age of 84 in 1601, he was laid to rest in the family chapel (the north chapel) of St. Nicholas where an imposing monument to the Saltonstall family can be seen. All that now remains of Groves manor is the fragment of tiled 16th century wall and the gatehouse which stands incorporated into farm buildings along the unmade farm road (the Chase) leading off of North Road through Groves Farm some three-quarters of a mile north of’ the village Green.

    The Bruyns resided at the Hall, the drive to which runs east from the north end of the Royal Oak public house on the village Green. The present Hall was built in 1874 and stands to the west of the original Hall of which only the moat and an impressive gatehouse survive. A public footpath is also routed alongside the drive and continues past the Hall where once stood the smock windmill (c1832), which collapsed after years of neglect in 1976. After lying in storage for many years the windmill’s mechanism has now been re-assembled for public view at Davy Down pumping station. A little way past the former site of the windmill is two barrows, both surmounted by trees. Glyn Morgan gave their dimensions as being approximately 150 feet in diameter and 17 feet high, and 130 feet in diameter and 10 feet high

- He also refers to the past existence of a third mound at the site.

    South Ockendon Hall came into the hands of the Benyon family in 1849 at which time Richard Benyon de Beauvoir purchased it. The estate of the former owner John Cliff, who died in 1833, and his widow Hannah died 1844 was eventually sold off having been taken off the market in 1847, apparently for lack of interested buyers. The Hall was to remain in the Benyon family until 1937 when the family sold off their Essex estates in order to meet death duties.

    The Sturgeon family from 1831 to the 1920s farmed Hall Farm. Thomas Bennett Sturgeon (d. 1855) gained a reputation for breeding high-quality merino sheep, which he exported to Australia and New Zealand where they produced the stock on which the wealth of these countries was founded. In addition to his sheep-breeding activities Thomas Sturgeon also ran a large business supplying ships’ provisions.

    The Green is central to the village and its oldest building (excluding the church) is the Royal Oak public house whose north cross-wing and part of the hall date from the late medieval period, the remainder of the inn is of the 17th century or later. Bordering the south side of’ the Green stands the parish church of St. Nicholas - parts of which date back to the early 12th century. St. Nicholas, with its castellated round tower and dark walls constructed of flint and rubble dominates the Green. The church consists of a nave with north and south aisles, chancel, north chapel, vestry, and a north porch, which conceals a splendidly decorated Norman doorway.

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