The Essex Record Office

12/06/2026

✍️ Some dates for your diary!

ERO Presents is a monthly series of talks on a wide variety of historical subjects - often, but not always, with an Essex angle.

Coming up from June to September…

🗓️ Saturday 13 June - The People of 1381 Project on new discoveries in the early life of John Ball

🗓️ Saturday 13 June - Professor Stephen Rippon on the origins of the Roman and Saxon landscape in the Dengie Hundred

🗓️ Tuesday 30 June - Gordon Brown on the SAS in wartime Essex

🗓️ Thursday 16 July - Dr Susannah R. Ottaway on growing old and facing poverty in eighteenth century Essex

🗓️ Tuesday 28 July - Dr Sarah Demelo on the life and work of J.A. Baker (1926-1987)

🗓️ Tuesday 1 September - Professor Jane Hamlett on a Victorian family album

You can book your tickets on our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/ero-presents-190189

There are free tickets available for carers and personal assistants - find out more on our website.

Essex Record Office Presents is a series of talks on a wide variety of historical subjects often (but not always) with an Essex angle.

09/06/2026

For this month’s we have chosen these photographs from the Hayllar Photographic Collection, taken between 1920 and 1950, of Church Farm, Stebbing. We were fascinated by the three different shaped chimneys on one property shown in the photographs.

According to Historic England, Church farm was built c. 15th or 16th Century, or perhaps even earlier, and was originally several builds, with later additions or alterations. The farm has two shaped red brick chimney stalks, and a truncated two shaft octagonal chimney stack on a square base. The fact that the building was several builds and has been much added to and changed over the years might explain the variety of chimney styles.

📸 I/Ha 189/1/12

📸 I/Ha 189/1/11

08/06/2026

As 8th June is World Ocean Day, we thought this poem titled ‘To a Piece of Seaweed’, written in 1833 by Rosalind Smith (contained within the papers of J. Horace Round who was her nephew) would be perfect for our Cabinet display.

World Ocean Day has been an annual event since 2008 to emphasise the importance of the ocean and promote an understanding of the ways we can protect it.
The Earth’s surface is at least 70% ocean, and estimates suggest it produces about 50% of the world’s oxygen – mostly through aquatic plants such as seaweed.

There are over 650 species of seaweed in the United Kingdom alone, and these are important habitats as well as sources of food for a variety of organisms.
The ocean has always been a source of myth and fascination for people, and Rosalind has clearly chosen a piece of seaweed to focus her expression of interest in the ocean.

Also on display are an undated photograph of children on the front at Clacton-on-Sea and a print titled ‘Harwich from the Sea’, drawn by W. Bartlett, engraved by J. Rogers, and published in 1831 by Geo. Virtue of Ivy Lane [London].

📸 D/DRh C139/2

📸 I/Mb 86/1/4

📸 I/Mb 170/1/29

05/06/2026

Not long left!

Our upcoming talk double header is on the 13th June featuring new discoveries about radical medieval preacher John Ball and the origins of the Roman and Saxon landscape in the Dengie.

Come to either talk or make a day of it and book both!

John Ball https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1987690915034?aff=oddtdtcreator

Origins of the Roman and Saxon landscape https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1976874480788?aff=oddtdtcreator

03/06/2026

Happy Volunteers' Week! 💙

A huge thank you to each and every one of our volunteers at the Essex Record Office.

Over the last year, our volunteers have…

🧽 Cleaned hundreds of architectural plans as part of the Chancellor project
🏡 Catalogued over 1,000 building plans from Southend-on-Sea and Canvey Island
🗂️ Listed 3,500 cards documenting migration to Essex over the twentieth century
📼 Written summaries for dozens of oral histories and radio programmes
📸 Described eight boxes of photographs of Basildon New Town
📨 Catalogued a wide range of postcards from twentieth century Essex

All of this helps to make the archives we care for more accessible to researchers - now and in the years to come.

To our volunteers - thank you for your time, care, skills, patience, commitment, and friendship. We are incredibly grateful for everything you do!

01/06/2026

Escape the rain forecast for Thursday and come to the next Archive Explorers Club! Chat to archive staff to find out more about the Essex Record Office and see a display of items from our handling collection. We have free tea/coffee and biscuits for adults and a selection of toys and books for children!

These sessions are held every other Thursday, 10am - 12pm, during term time.

There are a few more sessions before the summer break and we look forward to seeing you: 4 June, 18 June, 2 July and 16 July.

Chelmsford Child & Family Wellbeing Service
Chelmer Housing Partnership
Delta Housing

31/05/2026

There are many ways to get involved in local and community history in your area. You could visit the ERO to carry out some research in our searchroom, join a local history society, community archive or civic society, make use of the resources available at your local library or visit your local museum. Many organisations offer exhibitions, talks, and opportunities to learn more about the history of your area or even get involved as a volunteer. Whatever your interest or experience level, there are plenty of ways to get started!

To find a local history society near you, visit the British Association for Local History website () and community archives are listed on the Community Archives and Heritage Group website: https://www.communityarchives.org.uk/

How will you get involved?

Image 1 Section of the John Norden’s 'The Description of Essex', 1594 (catalogue ref: D/DMs P1)

Image 4 Gardening medal presented to Walter Keeble, 1900 (catalogue ref: A16538)

Image 6 Shire Hall, Chelmsford High Street, with the Sebastopol cannon, 1895 (catalogue ref: I/LS/CFD/0001)

30/05/2026

🌿 National Garden Wildlife Week runs from 25 – 31 May this year. This annual week was established by Ark Wildlife to encourage us to support biodiversity and celebrate wildlife.

🐌 We came across an extract from the 1906 Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries in our pamphlet boxes which features illustrations of medieval paving tiles found in St Osyth’s Priory in 1905. Among these is a tile with “snails creeping round the outer margins of concentric rings” forming a 9-tile pattern which we thought was perfect for this week!

📸 LIB/E/SAIO20

Find out more here 👉 https://www.arkwildlife.co.uk/pages/national-garden-wildlife-week-uk?fbclid=IwY2xjawSGNCVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETEzT3dlWDZWUExUUE5QU0Rpc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqT_wg7Khhu22wcJJNdM8M77uWCHqpOVH8-A9CAe5UToYr8nzWqdhmlIZqD8_aem_dSPa0vsMraUIWR-jk_HMvg

Ark Wildlife Limited

29/05/2026

For this month’s 🔍 we're highlighting the resources that are freely available in the Searchroom. Unlike our original records, you are able to access these resources with a day ticket rather than an Archives Card. These records are useful sources for research including discovering your family and house history.

📘 Pamphlets can be found in pamphlet boxes in our local studies library. They have all been catalogued on Essex Archives Online.

📰 Microfilm and microfiche including wills, land tax records, parish registers, newspapers can be accessed from drawers in the reference library. We have several microfilm readers including a digital reader which can be printed from.

📚 Our local studies library features books on a variety of subjects from towns, trades, biographies, crime, and much more. Feel free to browse the library or search our online catalogue.

🗺️ Photographic copies of tithe maps are stored in drawers under the map table and transcripts of apportionments are stored in binders in the shelves opposite the map table. Numbered plots correspond with numbers in the apportionment binders which show land owners and occupiers. We also hold photographic copies of enclosure and estate maps.

🧭 We hold a wide selection of first edition, second edition and New Series Ordnance Survey maps. Please ask for assistance with these and we will assist you in locating the map you are interested in using the key sheet and retrieve the maps from the map chests.

Please ask our staff at the Searchroom desk if you require assistance with any of these records and resources, we are always happy to help!

28/05/2026

Over on our blog Archive Assistant Desmond Crone is providing some inspiration for investigating your property's history. Records within our collection such as deeds, maps, sale catalogues and plans can give valuable insight into owners, occupiers and architectural developments.

📸 MAP/OS/4/27.12.3

📸 D/DMa B71/12

📸 D/BC 1/4/12/10878

📸 D/DTc T25

📸 D/DXa 21

Find out more here 👇

https://www.essexrecordofficeblog.co.uk/investigating-your-propertys-history-ero-search-service/