Chrishall

History

Following the Norman Conquest, the area around Chrishall was given to Eustace of Boulogne, who built and occupied a house on a hill to the south of the current church. He named the house "Flanders", and it was there that his daughter Matilda of Boulogne, later wife of King Stephen, was raised. A letter survives that the queen wrote to Hubert the Chamberlain, ordering that the residents of Chrishall be looked after. The house survived until the 15th century, and is believed to have stood on the site of Chiswick Hall, itself built in the 17th century by Sir John James (d.1676).

The village has been home to a church for over a thousand years. Prior to the Norman invasion a small church dedicated to the Virgin Mary was situated on the site of the present church.

The current church was begun in the 12th century. It consists of a nave and aisles, a chancel, and a stone tower containing six bells. It was appropriated, at an early period, to Westminster Abbey.

The church contains a number of monumental brasses, including a notable one in memory of Sir John de la Pole and his wife, dating from 1380.

Chrishall Common

At the edge of the parish is Chrishall Common, a hill which at 147 m is a County Top: the highest point in Essex, and also of East Anglia.

Buildings

The village has a pub, church, primary school, village hall and adventure playground.

The barn attached to The Red Cow public house is the oldest building in Chrishall apart from the church, and is believed to date to 1500. There was once a village shop in front of the pub, however this is now closed.

Holy Trinity Church, a 12th-century Grade I Listed Building, is situated on the edge of the main village. A comprehensive set of images and the detailed history of Holy Trinity appear on the parish website.

In the centre of the village lies Chrishall Holy Trinity and St. Nicholas C of E Primary School, Jigney's meadow and the adventure playground.

The village hall has recently been relocated to the Methodist chapel in Crawley End.

Literature

Chrishall is the presumed location featuring in the short ghost story "The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance" by M.R. James, published in A Thin Ghost and Others in 1919. This is an epistolary short story, and the first of its four letters is sent from 'Great Chrishall'.

References

References

1. "2021 Census Parish Profiles". Office for National Statistics.
2. Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/647; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no647/bCP40no647dorses/IMG_0645.htm; first entry next to the thumb, with "cant" in the margin
3. "Local history of Chrishall". Uttlesford History.
4. White. (1848). "Directory of Essex".
5. "Brass Rubbing: John and Joan de la Pole".
6. Muir, Jonny. (2011). "The UK's County Tops: Reaching the top of 91 historic counties". Cicerone.
7. Bathurst, David. (2012). "Walking the county high points of England". Summersdale.
8. https://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?qu=S&rf=5460, Hill bagging website (Chrishall Common, County Top)
9. {{National Heritage List for England