High Street, Earls Colne, 1961
Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection.
Welcome to the home page for the History of Earls Colne and its inhabitants.
Below you find links to a range of sources transcribed by History House. Further below under 'more family and local history sources' you will find additional links to help you.
For other locations in Essex use the 'Essex A to Z' in the navigation menu.
Earls Colne inhabitants who voted in the 1847 general election.
COLNE (EARL'S) or Great Colne, is a large and well built village, pleasantly situated on the soutb side of the >>more.
White's Directory of Essex 1848 - list of inhabitants.
White's Directory of Essex 1863 - list of inhabitants.
Principal institutions, schools, hotels, and individuals - Essex Almanac.
Post Office Directory of Essex 1874 - list of inhabitants.
Court cases involving Earls Colne residents - ongoing project >>more.
Reports and returns on schools and education in Earls Colne.
Report on employment in agriculture in Earls Colne in 1867.
Under the Poor Law of 1834, Earls Colne became part of the Halstead Union. See our article on researching your workhouse and pauper ancestors.
For images of Earls Colne see our article on Essex Images for Family History.
For maps of Earls Colne see our article on Essex Maps for Family History.
St. Andrew's Church, Earls Colne
Low resolution copy courtesy of Footsteps' Shop on Ebay. Quality postcards of Essex.
New to researching your family tree or unsure where to find information? Take a look at our Your Ancestors section of the website. It contains tips, advice, links to resources, and stories.
Discover how to explore newspaper archives. With millions of pages now online, there is always the possibility of finding articles featuring your ancestors.
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.
Find census returns for this location at Ancestry.co.uk.
Find census returns for this location at Findmypast.co.uk.
All types of objects relating to family history are sold on Ebay. Photographs, copies of Wills, house conveyancing, bills of sale, and much, much more. See our article Essex Ancestors on eBay
If you're looking for pictures of Earls Colne to add to your family tree album, then try Ebay. Link already formatted for Essex Postcards
The Essex Record Office 'ERO' is an excellent starting point for research. The ERO has an online catalogue by the name of Essex Archives Online which includes parish registers. Access to both via the ERO's homepage.
Also try FreeReg: a database of parish registers transcribed by volunteers. The Essex coverage is increasing each day.
Excellent detailed information on the history of Earls Colne appears in the Victorian Counties History on the British History Online web site: Earls Colne, A History of the County of Essex: Volume 10: Lexden Hundred (Part) including Dedham, Earls Colne and Wivenhoe (2001).
Unique database held by the University College Cambridge which documents most of the records of Earls Colne parish over the period 1380-1854.
Village web site with a 'House Detectives' tour of the village.
Brief archeological history of Earls Colne on the Essex County Council's Unlocking Essex.
History of Earls Colne Railway Station on the Colne Valley & Halstead Railway.
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.
Earls Colne - Cary's New and Correct English Atlas, 1798
Earls Colne - First Series Ordnance Survey Map 1805
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.