Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for MALDON

MALDON, a town, three parishes, two sub-districts, and a district in Essex. The town stands at the influx of the river Chelmer to the Blackwater estuary, and at the terminns of a branch of the Great Eastern railway, 10 miles E by S of Chelmsford. It was anciently called Idumania; and it was thought by Camden and Horsley, but on very insufficient evidence, to have been the Camalodunum of the Romans. Two Roman coins, the one of Vespasian, the other of Nero and Agrippina, were found at it; but no other Roman relics of any consequence have been discovered. An ancient oblong entrenchment, enclosing about 24 acres, and still partly traceable, was on its W side; and is alleged to have been occupied by successively the Romans, the Saxons, and the Danes; but cannot be fairly regarded as of earlier date than the early part of the 10th century. Edward the Elder took post here in 913, to impede the progress of the Danes, while a fortification was in course of construction at Witham; and he, most probably, was the originator of the ancient eNtrenchment. He again took post here in 920; he is said by Marianus, to have then fortified the town; and he sustained and resisted a siege here, in the following year by the Danes. The Danes, under Unlaff, again attacked the town in 993, and captured it. A mall Carmelite priory was founded here about 1291 by Richard de Gravesande, bishop of London; and continued till the dissolution. A lepers' hospital was founded, at some unrecorded period, by one of the kings of England; and was annexed in 1410, to Beeleigh abbey, 1 mile to the W, noticed in our article BEELEIGH. Archdeacon Plume, the founder of the Plumean professorship of astronomy at Cambridge, was a native. A man called Bright, notable for great weight and rotundity, weighing 44 stones, and measuring nearly 9 feet round the stomach, died here at 29 years of age. The Earl of Essex takes from Maldon the title of Viscount.

The town is charmingly situated on a hill, rising abruptly from the river; commands an extensive prospect over the marshy grounds towards the sea; comprises several good streets, with excellent shops and dwellings; and includes portions called the Hythe, Fullbridge, and the Wants. The town hall is a lofty brick structure, of the time of Henry VI.; and is sometimes called Darcy tower, from Robert Darcy, Henry V.'s escheator for Essex, who married a rich widow of Maldon. The public hall, in High-street, near the town hall, was built in 1860; is in the Italian style, of yellow brick, with stone dressings; contains an apartment used as a corn-exchange, and let for concerts, lectures, and public meetings; and contains also a literary and mechanics' institute, with public library. The county court, in the London-road, is a recent and handsome edifice. The railway station is a structure of stone and of red and white brick, in the Tudor style; and presents a picturesque appearance, as seen from the higher parts of the town. The borough gail has capacity for 6 male and 4 female prisoners. The workhouse, in Fullbridge, within St. Peter's parish, is a large substantial structure of brick and cement; and, at the census of 1861, had 228 inmates. There are assembly and billiard rooms, a museum, and salt, fresh, warm, and cold baths. All Saints church is mainly elderly English, partly decorated English; comprises nave, aisles, and chancel; has a W triangular tower, with hexagona spire, of singular appearance; was partly restored in 1800, and repaired in 1866; and contains sedilia, a double piscina, a fine old Purbeck marble font, monuments of the Darcys, and several incised stones which formerly had brasses. St. Peter's church, excepting the tower, fell into ruin about 1665; and is now represented by the massive embattled tower, with NW octagonal turret, and by a brick building of 1704, containing a library of about 6,000 volumes. St. Mary's church was originally built, about 1056, by Ingelric, a Saxon nobleman; was restored in 1628; and contains a font of the 12th century. The Independent, Quaker, and Wesleyan chapels are ornamental. The grammar school was founded in 1608, by Ralph Breeder; clothes and educates ten boys gratis; and has aIn endowed income of £60. There are a national school and a British school. The endowed charities amount to £384 a year.

The town has a head post office,‡ a railway station with telegraph, two banking offices, and three chief inns; and is a seat of petty sessions and county courts, and a polling-place. A weekly market is held on Tuesday; fairs are held on the first Thursday of May, and 13 Sept.; and industry is carried on in flour mills, malting establishments, rope-walks, boat-building yards, steam saw-mills, timber yards, a cooperage, an agricultural implement andmachine manufactory, an iron foundry, soap-works, sail lofts, a silk mill, a brewery, salt-works, k brick and tile yard, lime-kilns, a new nut-making factory, and an extensive fishery. The nut-making factory is at Heybridge; was erected in 1865; and has a chimney 116 feet high, visible for miles all round. Much commerce is carried on in corn, hay, straw, coals, lime, chalk, oilcake, manures, and timber. Small vessels come up to the bridge; and larger ones ascend by a canal, 2½ miles Long, past Heybridge, to Colliers' Reach quay. The town is a head-port; and has Burnham, Bradwell, Leigh, and Rochford, for sub-ports. The vessels belonging to it, at the commencement of 1864, were 99 small sailing-vessels, of aggregately 3,225 tons, and 55 large sailing-vessels, of aggregately 6,135 tons. The vessels which entered in 1863 were 1 British sailing-vessel, of 33 tons, from British colonies; 41 British sailing-vessels, of aggregately 1,563 tons, from foreign countries; 9 foreign sailing-vessels, of aggregately 1,237 tons, from foreign countries; and 1,099 sailing-vessels, of aggregately 70,272 tons, coastwise. The vessels which cleared in 1863 were 35 British sailingvessels, of aggregately 1,095 tons, to foreign countries; 5 foreign sailing-vessels, of aggregately 813 tons, to foreign countries; and 950 sailing-vessels, of aggregately-4g 1,410 tons, coastwise. The amount of customs in 1867 was £680. The town sent two members to parliament from the time of Edward III. till 1867, but now sends only one: and, under the new act, is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors. Corporation income in 1855, £1,094. Amount of property and income tax charged in 1863, £1,281. Electors in 1833,716; in 1868,904. The municipal borough consists of the three Maldon parishes, and the parliamentary borough includes also Heybridge parish. Pop. of the m. borough in 1851, 4,558; in 1861,4,785. Houses, 1,014. Pop. of the p. borough in 1851,5,888; in 1861,6,261. Houses, 1,329The three parishes are All Saints, St. Peter, and St. Mary. Acres of All Saints, 55. Real property, £4,239. Pop., 957. Houses, 212. Acres of St. Peter, 1,626. Real property, £10,345; of which £16 are in gas-works. Pop., 2,550. Houses, 501. Acres of St. Mary, 1,827; of which 480 are water. Real property, £4,560; of which £200 are in gas-works. Pop., 1,278. Houses, 301. The liviNgs of All Saints and St. Peter are vicarages, and that of St. Mary is a rectory, in the diocese of Rochester; and those of All Saints and St. Peter are united. Value of A. S. and St. P., £319; * of St. M., £165. Patron of the former, the Rev. E. R. Harwood; of the latter, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster.-The two sub-districts are All Saints and St. Peter. The sub-d. of All Saints contains the parishes of All Saints, WoodlhamWalter, Woodham-Mortimer, Hazeleigh, Purleigh, Stow Maries, Cold Norton, North Fambridge, Latchingdon Snoreham, and Mundon. Acres, 24,773. Pop., 4,714. Houses, 1,001. The sub-d. of St. Peter contains the parishes of St. Peter, St. Mary, Heybridge, Langford, Great Totham, and Little Totham. Acres, 13,311. Pop., 6,741. Houses, 1,428. -The district comprehends also the sub-district of Tollesbury, containing the parishes of Tollesbury, Tolleshunt-Darcy, Tolleshunt-Knights,Tolleshunt-Major, and Goldhanger; the sub-district of Bradwell, containing the parishes of Bradwell, St. Lawrence-Newland, Tillingham, Dengie, and Asheldham; and the subdistrict of Southminster, containing the parishes of Southminster, Steeple, Mayland, Creeksea, and BurnhamAcres, 107,0-50. Poor rates in 1-863, £13,631. Pop. in 1851,22,137; in 1861,22,556. Houses, 4,771. Marriages in 1863,151; births, 759,-of which 50 were illegitimate; deaths, 431,-of which 139 were at ages under 5 years, and 10 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60,1,613; births, 6,720: deaths,, 723. The places of worship, in 1851, were 32 of the Church of England, with 7,842 sittings; 8 of Independents, with 2,660 s.; 4 of Baptists, with 713 s.; 1 of Quakers, with 400 s.; 4 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 751 s.; 1 of Primitive Methodists, with 50 s.; 1 indefined, with 144 s.; and 1 of the Catholic and Apostolic church, with 38 s. The schools were 22 public day schools, with 1,686 scholars; 39 private day-schools, with 896 s.; 28 Sunday schools, with 2,216 s.: and 2 evening schools for adults, with 43 s.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, three parishes, two sub-districts, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Maldon CP       Maldon SubD       Maldon RegD/PLU       Essex AncC
Place names: IDUMANIA     |     MALDON
Place: Maldon

Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.