| site search by freefind |
Becontree 1863 part 2 - Residents & Commercial part 1 , part 2 , part 3 , part 4 , Academies to Basket Makers . Beer Houses to Boot & Shoe Makers , Braziers to Coal Merchants , Coffee Houses to Ginger Beer Makers, Grocers to Linen Drapers , Marine Store Dealers to Shopkeepers , Slaters to Whitesmiths
Little Ilford in 1863 , Dagenham in 1863 , East Ham in 1863 , Leyton & Leytonstone in 1863 , Leyton & Leytonstone Residents , Leyton & Leytonstone Commercial , Walthamstow in 1863 , Walthamstow Commercial part 1 , Walthamstow Commercial part 2 , Walthamstow Academies to Druggists , Walthamstow Farmers to Wheelwrights , Wanstead in 1863 , Wanstead Residents & Commercial , Woodford in 1863 , Woodford Residents & Commercial , Woodford Inns & Taverns to Wheelwrights , Barking in 1863 , Barking Residential & Inn Keepers to Beer Houses , Barking Blacksmiths to grocers , Barking Hairdressers to wheelwrights , Great Ilford in 1863 , Great Ilford Residential & Commercial , Great Ilford Commercial Traders
Is the most densely populated Hundred in Essex, and
forms the south-western corner of the county. It increased its population from
37,932 in 1841, to 72,192 souls in 1861. This great increase has occurred
chiefly about Stratford and Plaistow. It extends over about 37,500 acres of
land, averaging eight miles in length and breadth, and bounded on the north by
Waltham and Ongar Hundreds; on the east by Havering-atte-Bower Liberty; on the
south by those portions of the river Thames called "Woolwich Reach, Barking
Reach, and Halfway Reach; and on the west by the river Lea, which separates it
from Middlesex, in the immediate vicinity of the metropolis; - the East India
Docks, Poplar, Bromley, Stratford-le-Bow, and Hackney, being on the opposite
side of the Lea; and the
new and extensive Victoria Docks within the south-western limits of Essex. The
river Roding flows southward through the centre of the Hundred to the Thames,
below Barking, and is navigable to that town and Ilford. The Eastern Counties
Railway, now called the Great Eastern, enters Essex from London at Stratford,
whence trains run to nearly all parts of this county, and those of Suffolk,
Norfolk,
Cambridge, etc. Beconteee Hundred is supposed to have had its name from a beacon
which stood on the Windmill hill, at Woodford. It is a baronial jurisdiction, of
which Sir Edward Hulse, Bart., is lord paramount; and as such it was anciently
held by Barking Nunnery, and after the suppression of that monastery, by the
Fanshawe, Humphreys, Gore, and Lethieullier families. Till the passing of the
Small Debts Act, and the establishment of district county courts, the lord of
this liberty held a court baron every three weeks, at Barking, for the recovery
of debts under 40s, and and to try causes of trespass. It comprises some tracts
of woodlands, within the ancient bounds of Hainault and Epping Forests, and
contains many handsome seats and suburban villas, mostly occupied by merchants
.and others' connected with the trade and commerce of London. It is in the
Southern Parliamentary Division of Essex, and in the Stratford and Romford
Polling Districts.
Ecclesiastically it is in the Diocese and Archdeaconry of London, except
Dagenham parish, which is in Rochester Diocese. The following enumeration of its
nine parishes shows their wards and hamlets, their territorial extent, their
population, in 1861, and the annual value of their lands and buildings, as
assessed to the County Rate in 1848:-
| Parish | Acres | Population in 1861 | Annual Value |
| Barking parish | |||
| Barking ward | |||
| Chadwell ward | |||
| Ilford Great ward | |||
| Ripple ward | 12,516 | 10,920 | 44,479 |
| Dagenham parish | 6,069 | 2,682 | 14,472 |
| Ham East parish | 2,600 | 2,264 | 11,921 |
| Ham west parish | 4,735 | 37,639 | 65,185 |
| Ilford Little parish | 748 | 594 | 2,956 |
| Leyton parish | 2,241 | 4,794 | 18,227 |
| Walthamstow parish | 4,436 | 7,144 | 25,636 |
| Wanstead parish | 2,004 | 2,697 | 8,766 |
| Woodford parish | 2,148 | 3,458 | 12,993 |
| Totals | 37,497 | 72,192 | 204,635 |
* Dagenham and the four wards of Barking parish are in Romford Union, and the
other seven parishes are in West Ham Union.
* West Ham parish consists of the populous wards of CHURCH STREET, PLAISTOW,
and Stratford. Church Street Ward includes the villages of Upton and Forest
Gate;
and Plaistow includes the Victoria Docks and many new suburbs.
* Of Barking parish about 4500 souls are in Great Ilford.
* Leyton parish includes Leytonstone and the Union Workhouse. The latter had 572
inmates in 1862, when the census was taken.
* The rateable annual value of the parishes in West Ham Union now amounts to
£209,475, viz.:- West Ham, £119,906; Walthamstow, £29,746; Leyton, £19,980;
Woodford, £14,275; East Ham, £11,437; Wanstead, £10,548; and Little Ilford,
£3579.
BECONTREE Hundred is in the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court and
Metropolitan Police, and has a Gaol at Little Ilford.
The magistrates hold Petty Sessions every alternate Saturday at Great Ilford,
and every Monday at Stratford. W. H. Clifton, Esq., of Romford, is clerk
to the magistrates; and Mr. John Philpott, of Great Ilford, ,and Mr. Richard
Payze, of Leytonstone,
are High Constables of the Hundred, which, in
petty sessional matters, is called Ilford Division. The County Court
for Barking and Dagenham parishes is held at Romford, and for the other r />
parishes at Bow.