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Standing on the brow of a steep hill, commanding a fine prospect over the Thames estuary into Kent is the ruins of Hadleigh Castle.
Reproduced courtesy of Francis Frith.
The castle was built in the reign of Henry III., by Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent. The castle was confiscated by the King and remained with the monarchy. There were later additions by Edward III in 1360-70. It was sold in 1551 and its stone was used for building materials.
The only parts now standing are two towers at the south-east and north-east angles and part of the curtain walls. Cockle shells which were used in the mortar can still be seen.
A more detailed account of its construction appears on the English Heritage, Images of England.
Below the castle is the Hadleigh Castle country park
Hadleigh Castle
print published 1834
The 1921 census which gives details of almost 38 million individuals is now available on Findmypast. Start now to discover your ancestors. At the moment access is pay-per-view.
The Essex Record Office 'ERO' are custodians of the parish registers of Essex. Ancestry.co.uk have now transcribed the entire collection of Essex parish registers. Search now on Ancestry for your Essex ancestors. Then on the results page click on ‘request image’ and you will be taken to the ERO website where you can purchase an image of the relevant page.
Visit our Parish Registers of Essex page for more information.
Newspaper archives are now a very important source of information for researching your family tree.
Try our example search to help you discover if your ancestors are in the British Newspaper Archive.
Ebay is a good source of old images of Essex towns and villages. If you're looking for pictures to add to your family tree album, then try one of the auctions, or there are several 'Buy It Now' shops offering postcards which have been touched up and improved - so if you're unsure about bidding, try these.
Link below already formatted for Essex and Postcards.
