UK Genealogy Archives
This website was found when I was searching for John Mayne St.Clere Raymond.
The UK Genealogy Archives website started off in a similar manner to what I am trying to do with
Thomas Wright.
Sadly, it now has advertisements and the authors have an on-line shop selling the scanned contents of
The Comprehensive Gazetteers.
Unlike this website there is no added information on the specific locations featured from the Gazetteers.
The Gazetteers are dated 1894-5, Thomas Wright's History of Essex is 1831/36. There is a similarity of
styles and much of the content seems to be influenced by the contemporaries in the region. This is shown
in the scan of the Belchamp Walter entry. The R family is quite dominant.
Also some of the scanning and formating is somewhat in question, or archaic. e.g. the "affluent" River Stour.
Belchamp Brook indeed runs freely but not in great quantity.
Belchamp Walter
ukga.org have taken the description from: The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5
Belchamp-Walter, a parish in Essex, on a small affluent of the river Stour, 4 miles W of Sudbury station on the
G.E.R. It has a post office under Sudbury, which is the money order and telegraph office.
Acreage, 2194; population, 514. Belchamp Hall is the seat of the Ramonds, and contains an interesting
collection of pictures. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the vicarage of Bulmer, in the diocese of
St Albans. The church is a neat high edifice, and contains tombs of the Raymonds.
It dates from the Perpendicular period, and the tower contains a very fine peal of 8 bells.
"
The church of St. Mary the Virgin is a building of stone, chiefly in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles
(with the exception of the north wall of the chancel, which is Norman) and consists of chancel, nave,
south porch and an embattled western tower containing a clock and 8 bells: the font is Norman and there
are several stained windows: in the chancel is a monument of white and grey marble to various members of the
Raymond family, including John Raymond esq. purchaser of the estate, buried here 27 June, 1635; and his wife,
6 December, 1652; Oliver Raymond esq. M.P. for Essex in the Long Parliament, buried 25 March, 1679,
and St. Clere Raymond esq. buried 25 October, l690; there is also, beneath a finely-carved canopy of the
Decorated period above, the tomb of Sir John Boutetort: the reredos of mosaic work was erected at the expense of the
Rev. J. M. St. Clere Raymond M.A. rector of Belchamp Walter 1859-62, by whom
also the church was restored in 1860, at a cost of £1,400: there are 276 sittings.
"
Top
The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1894-5 - J. H. F. Brabner
In a similar manner to the work by Thomas Wright this is a Victorian work that describes regions of England and
Wales.
This work is later than Thomas Wright and such has a slightly different view.
What UKGA say about themselves:
"
We started building this site back in 1998 mainly around our own family tree interests, namely UK genealogy, but
especially the West Country (Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire). We have expanded
significantly since then, and now cover the whole of the UK in some shape or form; but best of all it is still
totally free.
Yep, we know, we must be mad, but that doesn't change the fact that every record
on this site is free to view, and we aim to keep it that way.
"
It may be free to view but the adverts are really annoying!
The site may well be now all PHP and uses their own custom CMS but I don't want to stay there too long!