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FROM THE 
 
 HISTORY OF BILLERICA. 
 
 By Rev. Henry A. Hazen. 
 
I Cornell University 
 ^ Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924031440542 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE MOTHEE-TOWN OF BILLEEICAY IN ENGLAND. 
 
 [The author is happy to give place in this chapter to Rev. 
 
 Edward G. Porter, of Lexington, who, at his special request, paid 
 
 a visit, in 1879, to Billericaj', the raother-town, in England, and 
 
 gives pleasant record of facts and impressions there gathered and 
 
 ' likelj^ to be of interest.] 
 
 It must always be an occasion of regret that so little is known 
 ■ of the origin of our New England towns. If the early settlers had 
 .imagined what interest would, in after j'ears, gather around the 
 humble beginnings of their enterprise, they would, no' doubt, have 
 left us aTTHjich fuller account of themselves and their movements. 
 But they were unconsciously making historj- ; and it is usuallj- true 
 that the men who make history are not the ones to write it. ^lauy 
 of our early town records have preserved the names of the original 
 proprietors, but we look in vain for any extended account oF their 
 lives, the places they came from, the ships they sailed in, and the 
 ports they arrived at. We know that Jonathan Danforth, Ralph 
 Hill, John Parker, and "William French, the early settlers of Billerica, 
 ca^je from the eastern counties of England ; and there is reason to 
 believe that Hill and French were from Billericay in Essex. But 
 what the circumstances were which led them to join the colonists, 
 what sacrifices they made in coming, what relatives they left behind, 
 what incidents attended the long journey, can only be conjectured. 
 We know, however, that, although the colonists of New England 
 voluntarily left the land of their birth, they did not cease to love. it. 
 They brought with them as much of it as they could — its laws, its 
 religion, its home-life. They were still British subjects, loyal to the 
 crowfi. In proof of their affection for the mother-country, witness 
 their almost universal practice of naming their new settlements after 
 the places from which they had come. Thus we have Plymouth, 
 
 (292) 
 
4 HISTORY OF BILLEKICA. 
 
 Dorchester, We^-mouth, Ipswich, Braintree, Sudbury, Billerica, and 
 scores of other well-known English names reproduced on our soil. 
 This fact alone will ever preserve to us the memory- of our origin. 
 As we are not ashamed of our forefathers, neither are we ashamed 
 of the countrj' from which they came. No better material for the 
 founders of towns and states could be had than that which the 
 Anglo-Saxon race furnished in the seventeenth century, and no 
 truer men ever crossed the sea than those who came from the sturd}" 
 yeomanry of Old Essex. 
 
 It was just at the beginning of June — the loveliest season of 
 all the 3-ear: — when I paid a promised visit to Billericay. From 
 London the journey is accomplished by rail on "the Great Eastern 
 line as far as Brentwood, (nineteen miles,) and then by the carriage 
 road, a pleasant drive of five miles. Accustomed as we are in 
 America to see nature in her ruder and less cultivated aspects, there 
 is a great charm iu the soft and finished landscape of England. No 
 rough ledges assert their supremacy over the soil ; no broken-down 
 stone walls or worn-out fences mar the symmetry of the picture. 
 The roads are well made and well kept. Heaps of hammered stone 
 may be seen at intervals, piled up in regular order, for use upon 
 the road as occasion maj' require. On either side, the hedge-rows, 
 usually of hawthorn, furnish an agreeable border, shaded often by 
 the overhanging oak, elm, and poplar. Daisies and primroses, 
 sweet-scented lilacs and lilies of the valley, abound in great profu- 
 sion in the spring and early summer. Wheat, clover, and beans are 
 cultivated in large quantities in this section. Here and there a small 
 stream is crossed by a stone bridge, with its graceful arch reflected 
 in the water, where the cattle are often seen quietly standing in 
 groups, and near by the sheep feeding in the rich, green pastures. 
 Many of the houses, even of the humbler people, have plants taste- 
 fulh' arranged in boxes suspended from the window-sills. Ferneries 
 and rockeries, both indooi's and out, are very common. The ivj' is 
 everywhere seen twining over brick walls and stone porches, covering 
 with its leafy mantle much that would otherwise be excessivelj- plain. 
 The road which we are following is the old highway from- London to 
 Chelmsford, Colchester, and the eastern counties. As Billericay is 
 situated on an elevated plateau or ridge to the eastward, we leave 
 the main road at a small hamlet called Shenfleld, where there is a 
 church, a shop, and two old taverns still bearing their ancient names 
 of Green Dragon and The Eagle and Child. 
 
THE MOTHER-TOWN OF BILLEEICAY. 5 
 
 From Shenfield the road passes through a rich, open, agricultural 
 country, ascending gradually the almost imperceptible slope, on the 
 crest of which Billericay is bnilt. The situation is in many respects 
 like that of its namesake in Massachusetts. Entering the tow*n ■ 
 from the southwest, we pass along the main street, a broad, winding, 
 macadamized thoroughfare, lined for the most part with neat, two- 
 story, brick houses, standing close together, as is usually the case iu 
 European villages. The houses have evidentlj- been built at very 
 different periods. Some have the quaint gables and projecting upper 
 stories of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, while others are 
 
 MAIN STREET. BILLERICAY. LOOKING SODTH. 
 
 more modern, a few being of quite recent construction. The village 
 is well lighted with gas. Fifty years ago the population was about 
 two thousand. The number has fallen off since then, owing to the 
 loss of the silk-weaving and coaching interests, which for a long- 
 period contributed much to the prosperitj- of the place. The weekly 
 market, instituted by Edward IV, 1476, is held on Tuesdaj-s, when 
 the village assumes a lively appearance, as it then becomes the 
 centre of trade for the entire neighborhood. Great fairs are also 
 held, by an ancient privilege, in August and October, chiefly for cattle. 
 The principal business now is in "corn," as the English call it, i.e. 
 grain, of which a large quantity is raised iu this part of Essex. 
 The manorial rights of Billericay are vested in the present Lord 
 
 (294) 
 
t) HISTORY OF BILLEKICA. 
 
 Petre, who holds a court-Ieet and baron annually in the spring, at the 
 former of which the constables and other officers for the internal 
 regnlation of the town are appointed. Pettj- sessions are held at 
 the town hall, over the market-house, on the first and third Tnesda3-s 
 of each month. 
 
 The history of this large property, which includes not only the 
 village of Billericay but a large section of countrj' in its vicinitjs is 
 a curious illustration of the waj- in which great estates have been 
 accumulated and entailed in England. The first Lord Petre, Sfr 
 William, lived three hundred years ago, and was wise enough in his 
 generation to accommodate his lojalty, and his religion as well, to 
 the rapid and contradictory changes that occurred under Henry VIII,- 
 Edward XI, Mary, and Elizabeth, in consequence of which many 
 rich abbej' lands and manors fell into his hands. This time-serving 
 policy was so apparent, that Sir William was generally spoken of as 
 the man who was "made of the willow and not of the oak.'' He 
 was, however, a generous benefactor to Exeter College, Oxford ; and 
 his daughter, who married the famous Nicholas Wadham, became, 
 with her husband, co-founder of Wadham College, Oxford. The 
 old seat of the familj' was Ingatestone Hall, a few miles west of 
 Billericay, near the line of the old Roman road. This hall is still 
 standing, a venerable, irregular Elizabethan pile, covered with ivy, 
 and surrounded by old gardens and fish-ponds. One .of the rooms 
 still contains some fine sixteenth centur^'^ tapestry. ' The modern 
 residence of the family is at Thorndon Hall, a magnificent seat, on a 
 gentle eminence overlooking an extensive park, which can be seen 
 from Billericay. ' 
 
 The introdiictioi) of railroads was a blow to the ancient prosperity 
 of Billericaj'. Being on high land, the town was left at a distance of 
 several miles from the Great Eastern line. The brisk and profitajjle 
 traffic which formerlj' passed directly through the town was thus 
 diverted. The oldtime inns, such as the Crown, the White Hart, 
 the Horse-Shoe, the Red Lion, the Bull, the Sun, the Checkers, 
 and the White Lion-, at which the coaches and teams stopped daily, 
 may still be seen, though most of them are shorn of their glory, and 
 the traveller looks in vain for the post-lads who used to be always 
 ready dressed and spurred up for dutj-. From its situation at the 
 
 ' The place is described by Miss Braddon in her Lady Audley's Secret. 
 2 The Great Eastern Railway runs for seven miles through Lord Petre's property; the 
 company paid for the strip of land thus occupied over £120,000. 
 
 (295) 
 
THE MOTHER-TOWN OF BIIjLERICAY. 7 
 
 crossing of several old roads, Billerica\- became a thoroughfare espe- 
 cially for the travel between Chelmsford and Horndon-on-the-hill, 
 Tilbury and Gravesend. One of the most conspicuous buildings in 
 the place is the work-house, or "Billerieay Union," as it is called, a 
 large modern structure, pleasantlj' located in the outskirts of the 
 town, on the Chelmsford Road. The poor of several parishes in the 
 vicinitj- are well cared for in this establishment, which is admirably 
 managed under the direction of a board of guardians. On the ridge 
 just outside the village, two venerable wind-mills form a prominent 
 object in the landscape — remnants of the many that formerly lined 
 the hills in the eastern counties. Some of the people still remember 
 the old beacon of fagots that flashed the signal lights from this spot, 
 on important occasions, over a good part of Essex. The view from 
 here on a clear day is very extensive in all directions, particularly 
 over the broad Thames valley and the Kentish hills beyond. 
 
 The origin of the name of Billerieay is obscure. Morant, the 
 old historian of Essex, states that, in 1343, it was called Beleuca, 
 probably', he says, from the old word "baleuga" or "banleuga," a 
 precinct around a borough or manor ; ■ in French, " banlieue." Some 
 learned antiquaries contend that the name is more likelj'^ to be derived 
 from the two Latin words " Belleri-castra," the camp of Bellerus. 
 Others think it may have come from certain Welsh words signifj'ing 
 the fort on the hill. The interpretation suggested by some one in 
 this country," "villa rica," does not meet with favor in England, 
 though it is not easy to s.ee why not, since it is well known that " v" 
 and "b" have often been used interchangeably. But whatever inaj^ 
 have been the origin of the name, it is an indisputable fact that the 
 town has been known by its present name, with, slight variations, for 
 many centuries. In 1395, allusion is made in the Pipe Roll to one 
 "Thomas Ledere, traitor to the King, beheaded at Billerica." In a 
 grant of Edward VI, a.d. 1551, the name is spelt both Billerica and 
 Billerykay. In 1563, among the ecclesiastical accounts of Chelms- 
 ford are two entries of sums received from ' ' Belyreca men for the 
 hire of our garments," 1. e. costumes for a miracle plaj'. Among 
 . some tradesmen's tokens of the seventeenth century is one inscribed, 
 "Abraham Thresher in Billericaj-, Essex, his half-penny, 1666." 
 
 The immediate neighborhood of Billerieay exhibits memorials of 
 nearly every important epoch in English histdry. In Norsey Wood, 
 bej'ond the northern end of the village, are several large earthworks, 
 which are believed to be the defences of an ancient British village. 
 
 (296) 
 
O HISTORY OF BILLEKICA. 
 
 Numerous cinerary urns of rude workmanship, containing burnt bones 
 and ashes, have been exhumed in the tumuli, or mounds, which have 
 ■ been recently- opened.' Two finely-shaped kelts, one of flint and the 
 other of bronze, have been found near by.^ So far as excavations 
 have gone, the whole neighborhood appears to be rich in relics of 
 the Eoman period, showing that this must have been a military post 
 of considerable importance. Earthen vessels of various shapes and 
 colors, tiles, beads, fibulae, specula, and especiallj' coins have been 
 found in large quantities. Some of the- latter are finely preserved 
 and bear the impress of the Emperors Hadrian, Germanicus, Con- 
 stantine, Licinius, Nero, and Trajan, and of the Empresses Faustina 
 and Helena. ' It is believed that the place called Blunt's Walls, 
 near bj-, was a strong Roman fortress, which subsequently confen-ed 
 upon the estate the appellation of walls or strongholds, as recorded 
 in the grant made by Henry III to Robert de Blunt, who joined 
 Simon de Montfort. 
 
 After the Roman came the Saxon and the Dane; and "Belleri 
 castra" bore its share of the devastating changes which swept over 
 England. Then came peace and prosperity in the train of Christian- 
 ity, whose holy rites began to be celebrated hy devoted missionaries. 
 The original church for this parish was not in the present village of 
 Billericay, but at Great Burghstead, (Burgsted, "Bursted Magna,") 
 a mile and a half toward the south. This was probably near the 
 residence of the Saxon thane who, embracing the Christian faith, 
 assisted in building a rude wooden edifice for worship. Then came 
 a small church of stone, which, soon after the overthrow of Harold, 
 (a.d. 1066,) gave place to a large Norman structure, destined to be 
 incorporated within the walls of a much finer building which we see 
 standing there iio-day. The heavj',* machicholated stone tower is 
 surmounted bj- a wooden spire and weather-cock. On one of the 
 five bells hanging in the tower is inscribed, ""S'ox Augustini sonet in 
 aure Dei. A. D. 1436." At different times, beautiful, decorated 
 windows have been inserted in the thick stone walls, while the small 
 Norman lancet-windows in the north aisle have been happil}- left 
 untouched ; a south aisle and chancel have been added ; also a stone . 
 font, two piscenas, and various monumental tablets in memory of 
 
 3 111 1863, by Kev. E. L. Cutts, now of Haverstock Hill, London ; author of St. Cedd's 
 Cross, The Mrst Hector of Burgstead, etc. 
 
 * See Proceedings of London Society of Antiquaries. April 4,- 1878. 
 
 5 Many of these relics are in the possession of Major Thomas Jenner Spitty and J. A. 
 Sparvel-Bayly, Ks(i., if. s. a., of Billericay. The latter has written upon the subject. 
 
 (207) 
 
THE MOTHER-TOWN OF BILLERICAT. 
 
 certain pi-ominent persons in the parish. Over the north door, 
 carved in Edwardian characters, are seen the words of the angelic 
 salutation, "Ave Maria plena gratia," etc. The floor of the church 
 is paved with brick ; the pulpit is ver^- high and reached by a flight 
 of nine steps. (It ought to be said that the present incumbent does 
 not attempt to preach from it.) The pews are nearly five feet high 
 and are lined inside with old green baize. Both the pulpit and the 
 pews are unpainted. In the vestry the tithe-map is kept in a 
 copper case and padlocked to the wall. The parish records, bound 
 in vellum, c'over a period of about tiiree hundred years, and are 
 
 GREAT BURfJSTKAU PAKISII CHUKCII, BILLKKICAI'. 
 
 kept in the' custody of the minister. The earlier entries are not 
 easily deciphered, unless the reader is an expert. The churchyard 
 is peopled with the dead of Billericay for manj- centuries. The 
 present sexton has buried over a thousand persons during the last 
 twenty-five years. In the accompanying engraving, an ancient yew 
 tree shades the south porch, a weather-beaten mass of oak beams, 
 very much in need in repair. 
 
 The connection of Billericay with Hadleigh Castle should have 
 brief notice. This castle, built by Hubert de Burgh in the reign 
 of Henry III, was pulled down and rebuilt by Edward HI. In the 
 Public Record office there is a full account of the expenses incurred 
 
 (208) 
 
10 HISTORY OF BILLERICA. 
 
 in the work. Among them are frequent entries for tlie carriage of 
 goods and material from Billericay, but no entry of payment there- 
 for. We remember that men were taken in those days upon the 
 king's order and required to work upon his buildings, and we are 
 not surprised at the widespread feeling of discontent which found 
 expression in the great uprising of the people, led bj- Wat Tyler, 
 of Essex, in 1381. As many as one hundred thousand rudelj'-armed 
 men are said to have joined in this insurrection. The Essex division 
 under the famous Jack Straw, after leaving London, deluded by the 
 king's promises, retired to Billericaj-, where they intrenched them- 
 selves — a large army — in Norsej" Wood, and sent messengers to 
 the king, Richard II, demanding to know whether he had recalled, 
 as reported, his l.etters of pardon. The king sent back a haughty 
 answer, followed by troops under the Earl of Buckingham, who 
 attacked the camp in Norsej' Wood and completely routed it, slaying, 
 it is said, as manj' as five hundred of the insurgents and taking man}'' 
 prisoners. The Pipe-Roll record shows that in the market-place 
 of Billericaj' the headsman executed his fell craft upon manj- a 
 miserable victim." 
 
 In process of ti)ne the people of Billericaj-, finding it inconvenient 
 to attend the parish church at Burgstead, obtained a free chapel (or 
 chantry) in their own village, and this has since become the principal 
 Anglican place of worship. It is a plain brick building with nothing 
 very old about it except the tower, in which hangs an ancient bell, 
 inscribed in Lombardic characters : '--I- Galfridus : de : Hedemtun 
 : me : fecit." There is also a large and flourishing Congregational 
 Church, which has been served by a long succession of able and 
 devoted pastors, amongst whom may be mentioned the names of 
 Thomas Jackson, Philip Davis (a pupil of Isaac Watts) , and John 
 Thornton, whose ministry of over forty years is distinguished by the 
 excellent books which he wrote, and the eminent minister^ who 
 pursued their theological studies under his direction. The Rev". 
 Alfred Kluht, the present pastor, is much esteemed for his character 
 and usefulness. 
 
 Although Billericay cannot exactly boast of a Dick Whittington, 
 a certain young man from the town did m^ke his appearance in the 
 great city of London about the middle of the fifteenth century, and, 
 embarking in trade, he flourished, grew wealthy, received the honor 
 
 " See paper Essex in Insurrection, 1381," by J. A. Sparvel-Bayly, F. s. A. 
 
 (299) 
 
THE MOTHEE-T(iWN OS' BILtERlOAY. 11 
 
 of knighthood, and died Sir John Bayly, Lord Mayor of London. 
 In 1531, John Tyrel, of Billericay, a tailor, appears among those 
 who were apprehended for nonconformitj'. He was one of the early 
 converts made by Hugh Latimer. During the terrible persecutions 
 under Queen Mary, Billericay had the honor of furnishing two victims 
 tg swell the noble armj' of martyrs. One was Thomas, or " Worthie, 
 Wattes,'' as he was called, a preacher who was repeatedly summoned 
 before Bishop Bonner for proclaiming his religious views. In June, 
 1555, he was convej'ed to Chelmsford, where he was burnt. There 
 were five martyrs together, and having partaken of a meal thej' knelt 
 down and prayed, after which Watts went and prayed privately bj' 
 himself, and then came to his wife and six children and said : "Wife, 
 and my good children, I must now depart from you. As the Lord 
 hath given you to me, so I give you again unto" the Lord, whom I 
 charge you see you do obey and fear Him. . I shall anon, by God's 
 grace, give my blood. Let not the murdering of God's saints cause 
 you to relent, but take occasion thereby to be stronger in the Lord's 
 quarrel. I doubt not He will be a merciful Father unto you." Two of 
 his children offered to be burnt with him. After viewing the stake he 
 spoke to Lord Rich, a fierce persecutor of the Protestants, and said : 
 "My lord, beware! beware! unless you repent of this, God will 
 avenge it. You are the cause of this my death." The other martyr 
 from Billericay was a humble woman, Jane Horns, "a maid," who 
 appeared before Bonner the following j'ear and was burnt at Stratford. 
 Two other persons from Billericay during these trying times were 
 sent up to Bonner — Jane, the wife of Hugh Potter, and James 
 Harris, a stripling of seventeen years. The special crime with which 
 the latter was charged was ' ' not having come to his parish church 
 by the space of one j'ear or more." This he admitted. Bonner now 
 commanded him to go at once to confession. To this he consented, 
 but when he came to the priest he stood still and said nothing. 
 '*Why," quoth the priest, "sayestthou nothing?" "What shall 1 
 say?" said Harris. "Thou must confess thy sins," said the priest. 
 "My sins," said he, "be so many that thej' cannot be numbered." 
 With that the priest told Bonner what he had said, and he took the 
 poor, lad into his garden and there, with a rod gathered out of a 
 cherry tree, "did most cruelly whip him." Not long after this, 
 Thomas Brice, author of the "Poetical Register" of sufferers for 
 conscience' sake in the reign of Mary, was driven out of the countrj', 
 apparently from this neighborhood. 
 
 (.■iOO) 
 
12 HtSTORY OF BILLEEICA. 
 
 Near the close of the reigii of Elizabeth, Timothy Okeley, who 
 had succeeded John Okeley as vioar 'of- Great Burghstead, was 
 himself succeeded by William Pease, who remained in office about 
 fortj' ' j-ears. None of these ministers seem to have sympathized 
 with evangelical religion; and Pease, in particular, made it uncom- 
 fortable for all' his parishioners who. ventured to differ frorn him. In 
 Mareh, 1619, he summoned several of them before the Archidiaconal 
 Court for nonconformity. Among them were Solomon Prower and 
 Christopher Martin, who were officially "monished" with the resf, 
 and commanded to appear again in a month to be examined further. 
 Prower and Martin fled to Leyden, where the latter became a member 
 of the chur(?h organized, by John Robinson. This Martin also vict- 
 ualled the Mayflower, in which he sailed with his wife, son, and 
 servant, '^•in 162Q,*lbr New England, giving Billericaj- the honorabfe 
 distinction of having furnished four oilt of the one hundred and one 
 passengers on that memorable vo3'age." They were followed by 
 several other parishioners of Pease's, among whom, in 1635,. are 
 found the names of "William Kuse, husbandman, and his wife Rebecca 
 and their lour children, Marah, Maria, Samnel, and WOliam. Ralph 
 Hill and William French are supposed to have come about this time, 
 and it was -probably through their influence that the name of their 
 English, home was given to the new settlement in the Mai^Schusetts 
 Colonj', to which thj3y contributed so much in its earlj' days. 
 
 The limits of this chapter will not allow me to follow the 'fortunes 
 of the mother-town further. Enougfti, howerer, has been said to 
 show that some of the most notable events in lEnglish histor3- are 
 connected with tlie name of Billerica, a name which, as this volume 
 shows, New England is destined to tra,nsmit with equal' honor, and, , 
 it may be, with equal fame. 
 
 ' Another a£coiiut, siiys, wife and /«i30 seryants. 
 
 B Paper roiid by Colonel .}osep1i Lemuel Chester, of T.ondon, before the Easex Arch^o- 
 logical Society, at Brentwpod. 
 
 (301) 
 
arW9948'^°""" ""'™™"y "-'brary 
 ^'ilSiiiii!iiiii]iS]«"&'i!..S.*,, Billericay in England 
 
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