Abbess Roding

According to A Dictionary of British Place Names, Roding derives from "Rodinges", as is listed in the Domesday Book and recorded earlier as such at c.1050, with the later variation 'Roinges Abbatisse' recorded in 1237. The 'Abbess' refers to the manorial possession by a man called 'Aitrop' held under the ownership of the Abbess of Barking Abbey.^[1][2]

In the Domesday account Abbess Roding is listed as in the Hundred of Ongar. The manor held 18 households, seven villagers, two smallholders, five slaves, and one freeman, with 2 lord's plough teams, 3.5 men's plough teams, 20 acres (8 ha) of meadow, and a woodland with 20 pigs.^[3] In 1066 there were 10 cattle, 40 pigs, 100 sheep and a cob. In 1086 there were 14 cattle, 60 pigs, 131 sheep, and three cobs. Before the Conquest, lordship was held by Wulfmer of Eaton Socon; after given to Eudo Dapifer who was also Tenant-in-chief to William the Conqueror.^[3] A further source, the Domesday Book: A Complete Translation, gives a Domesday record of Abbess Roding being held by Geoffrey Martel as part of the land of Geoffrey de Mandeville.^[4] Other traditional names for the village and its previous parish were 'Abbott's Roothing' or 'Abbots Roding'. It was in the Hundred of Ongar. At the Dissolution, Henry VIII sold the Barking Abbey's estate to Robert Chertsey.^[5]

The parish is recorded as having two windmills during its history. The first was a sunk post mill, and was located in the manor of Barwick Bernes, but in the farming records of 1382 the mill was reported to have been broken.^[6] A second later windmill, a Post mill was built upon top of a small mound, quarter of a mile north of the church.^[6] In 1578, Elizabeth I visited Rookwood Hall as a guest of the then owner Wistan Browne.^[6] A nonconformist congregation started in a barn at Rookwood Hall during 1698, and a permanent chapel was built in 1730.^[7]

In 1845, authorisation from parliament was sought to build the Dunstable, London and Birmingham railway, which would have run from Leighton Buzzard to Maldon running through the Rodings, but authorisation was only granted to connect Dunstable to the line at Leighton Buzzard (8 & 9 Vict. c. xxxvii).^[8] In 1882 Abbess Roding was in the Ongar Union—poor relief provision set up under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 —and part of the Rural Deanery of Ongar. The registers of the church of St Edmund date to 1560. The church, restored in 1867, had attached an 1882 benefice of a rectory with residence, in the gift of and held by Rev. Lawrence Capel Cure of Balliol College, Oxford. Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, Bt was Lord of the Manor and principal landowner. There was 1,393 acres (5.6 km²) of parish land supporting a population of 237. Crops grown at the time were chiefly wheat, barley and beans, on a heavy soil with a clay subsoil. Parish occupations included seven farmers, a beer retailer, and the licensee of The Anchor public house.^[5]

During World War I, non-conformists were sent to an internment camp as conscientious objectors. The camp had been set up at the Old Rectory, and was linked to the Chipping Ongar Agricultural Depot.^[9][10][11] During World War II, the lane leading from Abbess Roding to the Matching to Peartree Green road was closed to allow for the construction of RAF Matching within the parish boundary.^[12]

In 1891 the parish had a population of 240, but by 1931 it had decreased to 169.^[13][14] On 1 April 1946 the parish was merged with Beauchamp Roding and Berners Roding to form a new civil parish called Abbess Beauchamp and Berners Roding.^[15][16]

The soil is made up of glacial sand and gravel, head gravel and alluvium on the London Clay formation. Bore holes opposite St Edmund's church recorded the depth of the clay at 37.5 metres (123 ft).^[17][18][19] Further studies have shown that a fragment of the former floor of the Thames Estuary was found 145 feet below the village.^[20] The Rodings area is regarded as the second best ploughing country, second only to the Holderness in Yorkshire.^[21]

The village has several properties that are listed on the National Heritage List for England. An area around St. Edmund church is a local designated conservation area.^[33][34]

The village's church, St Edmunds is Grade II listed. The building is of 14th, 15th and 19th century construction, however the font is earlier being dated from the 12th century. The font is square in shape, but is cracked and is held together by an iron band.^[35][36] Evidence of a Roman road has been found near both Rockwood Hall and Berwick Berners Hall, and is recorded as the 4th widest Roman road found within the United Kingdom. It is believed to be part of the Suffolk Way.^[37]

The Three Forests Way footpath runs through the village.

• Bertha Bacon (1866–1922), suffragette and tax resister.^[52]
• Sir Gamaliel Capell (1561–1613), Member of Parliament, owned Rookwood Hall.^[53]
• John Thurloe (1616–1668), secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell, was born here.^[54]
• Sir Anthony Browne (1509–1567), Judge, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and founder of Brentwood School, Essex^[55]