Great Chishill
Encyclopedia
Great Chishill is a village forming part of the civil parish of Great and Little Chishill in the south of the county of Cambridgeshire
. The church is in the Perpendicular style and is dedicated to Swithun.
The highest point of Cambridgeshire, at 146 metres (479 ft) above sea level, is about 800 metres (2,625 ft) east of the church.
The highest point of Essex
, Chrishall Common and the triple point of Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
lie close to each other and about 2 kilometres (1 mi) south of Great Chishill.
.
The Domesday Book
of 1086 refers to Cishella which was held by Ulfeih, a freeman, and Little Cishella which was held by Sired, a freeman. William the Conqueror bestowed Cishella to Henry de Farers and Little Cishella to Count Eustace of Boulogne
.
Great Chishill was divided into five manors
, the Manor of Cardens, alias Bassets Hall, the Manor of Belknaps, the Manor of Tewes alias Lisles, the Manor of Friers alias Chishall-Grange and the Manor of Chishall alias Over Chishall-Hall. A farmhouse, Hall Farm, still occupies this latter site, on the east side of the village.
St. Swithun’s Church, situated on high ground at the crossroads was founded in 1136 by Geffrey de Magnaville under the Monastery of (Saffron) Walden
. The church has collapsed and being re-built over the generations. The five bells were rung for the first time in 23 years on 12 September 1998 as the beginning of a village project to get them and the bell tower repaired in time to ring in the new millennium. The first recorded vicar was Anselm De Flempton, 14 May 1327.
Little Chishill has the Church of St. Nicholas, probably founded around the same time, its first recorded vicar was John Martyn in 1333.
On the 22 February 1789 a fire broke out in the vestry house of the Congregational Church in Barley Road and quickly spread throughout the village, destroying many houses and setting light to the tower of St. Swithun’s Church — but no lives were lost. The Congregational Church was first built in 1694 and rebuilt in 1894.
The Chishill post mill
stands to the west of the village on the road to Barley
. The first authentic record of a mill here appears in 1592. The first recorded owners were the Cooke family and the first recorded miller was Joseph Rule in 1677. Cambridgeshire County Council
acquired the mill in the 1960s, after William Pegram stopped working it in 1951. It is now preserved and open to the public.
In 1886 (Kelly’s directory of Essex) the village was had bakers, butchers, wheelwrights, bricklayers, dressmakers, six farms in Gt. Chishill and one in Little Chishill, with their attendant labourers, two public houses — the White Horse and The Plough (now The Pheasant) — a shop and post office and the village school for a hundred children. All that has now gone — the shop closed in the late 1970s and the school on 2 April 1971. Great Chishill now has only St. Swithun’s Church, the United Reform Church, The Pheasant, a playing field and sports pavilion, and a village hall built in 1982. However, two farms are still being worked in Great Chishill and one in Little Chishill.
The 1991 Census for Great and Little Chishill parish recorded 237 dwellings and a population of 634.
The village's main claim to fame is an entry in the Guinness Book of Records
when on 10 September 1983 Ben Palmer, a local farmer, and Owen North, the local baker, produced loaves of bread from the wheat in the field in 40 minutes 44 seconds.
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. The church is in the Perpendicular style and is dedicated to Swithun.
The highest point of Cambridgeshire, at 146 metres (479 ft) above sea level, is about 800 metres (2,625 ft) east of the church.
The highest point of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, Chrishall Common and the triple point of Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
lie close to each other and about 2 kilometres (1 mi) south of Great Chishill.
History
Until 1895, Chishill was in Essex but then the boundary was changed and it became Cambridgeshire, however the church is still in the Diocese of ChelmsfordDiocese of Chelmsford
The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers Essex and the five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest, and is co-terminous with the boundaries of the Catholic Diocese of...
.
The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 refers to Cishella which was held by Ulfeih, a freeman, and Little Cishella which was held by Sired, a freeman. William the Conqueror bestowed Cishella to Henry de Farers and Little Cishella to Count Eustace of Boulogne
Eustace II of Boulogne
Eustace II, , also known as Eustace aux Gernons was count of Boulogne from 1049–1087, fought on the Norman side at the Battle of Hastings, and afterwards received a large honour in England. He is one of the few proven Companions of William the Conqueror.He was the son of Eustace I...
.
Great Chishill was divided into five manors
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
, the Manor of Cardens, alias Bassets Hall, the Manor of Belknaps, the Manor of Tewes alias Lisles, the Manor of Friers alias Chishall-Grange and the Manor of Chishall alias Over Chishall-Hall. A farmhouse, Hall Farm, still occupies this latter site, on the east side of the village.
St. Swithun’s Church, situated on high ground at the crossroads was founded in 1136 by Geffrey de Magnaville under the Monastery of (Saffron) Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
. The church has collapsed and being re-built over the generations. The five bells were rung for the first time in 23 years on 12 September 1998 as the beginning of a village project to get them and the bell tower repaired in time to ring in the new millennium. The first recorded vicar was Anselm De Flempton, 14 May 1327.
Little Chishill has the Church of St. Nicholas, probably founded around the same time, its first recorded vicar was John Martyn in 1333.
On the 22 February 1789 a fire broke out in the vestry house of the Congregational Church in Barley Road and quickly spread throughout the village, destroying many houses and setting light to the tower of St. Swithun’s Church — but no lives were lost. The Congregational Church was first built in 1694 and rebuilt in 1894.
The Chishill post mill
Post mill
The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. The defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. The earliest post mills in England are thought to have...
stands to the west of the village on the road to Barley
Barley, Hertfordshire
Barley is a village and civil parish in the district of North Hertfordshire, England. According to the 2001 census, it has a population of 659. The place-name refers to a lea or meadow and not to the grain-producing plant...
. The first authentic record of a mill here appears in 1592. The first recorded owners were the Cooke family and the first recorded miller was Joseph Rule in 1677. Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council currently consists of 69 councillors, representing 60 electoral divisions. The Conservative Party has a majority on the council, having gained control in the 1997 local elections...
acquired the mill in the 1960s, after William Pegram stopped working it in 1951. It is now preserved and open to the public.
In 1886 (Kelly’s directory of Essex) the village was had bakers, butchers, wheelwrights, bricklayers, dressmakers, six farms in Gt. Chishill and one in Little Chishill, with their attendant labourers, two public houses — the White Horse and The Plough (now The Pheasant) — a shop and post office and the village school for a hundred children. All that has now gone — the shop closed in the late 1970s and the school on 2 April 1971. Great Chishill now has only St. Swithun’s Church, the United Reform Church, The Pheasant, a playing field and sports pavilion, and a village hall built in 1982. However, two farms are still being worked in Great Chishill and one in Little Chishill.
The 1991 Census for Great and Little Chishill parish recorded 237 dwellings and a population of 634.
The village's main claim to fame is an entry in the Guinness Book of Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
when on 10 September 1983 Ben Palmer, a local farmer, and Owen North, the local baker, produced loaves of bread from the wheat in the field in 40 minutes 44 seconds.