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Chapel or Chantry Farm,
Billericay, Essex.
(Parish of Great Burstead)

 

Chapel or Chantry Farm is mentioned in the will of Thomas Jenner Spitty and also in a Sale Catalogue of  The Spitty Estates in 1917 (ERO documents T/G276/3D/DSu/E4.)

In his will the property is described as :-
"my freehold messuage buildings and land situate in the Parish of Great Burstead in the said County of Essex containing eighteen acres three roods and seven perches or thereabouts And also my copyhold hereditaments and containing twelve acres two toods and twenty perches or thereabouts And which last mentioned freehold and copyhold hereditaments together form a farm called Chapel Farm and were bought by me from John Spencer Phillips Esquire and others".

Chapel or Chantry Farm is not the same property as 'The Chantry' but they were associated in the past. The Chantry, built in 1510, is on the east side of the High Street, more or less opposite the church of St Mary Magdalene, which in turn is built on the site of the original Chantry Chapel. Next to the church, but separated by a narrow road (Chapel Street) is the Chequers Inn, built in the early 16th century, which has been an Inn since 1765.

Chantry Farm was behind the Chequers Inn and was probably part of the land attached to the original Chantry Chapel when it was established in 1342 under the jurisdiction of the parish church at Great Burstead (now part of Billericay) and which was subsequently awarded to the Tyrell family by Henry
VI in 15th century when the chantries were closed down.  The Tyrells kept the land but sold the chapel to the local inhabitants.

The farm was acquired by the Spitty family in the 19th century.



Acknowledgments to :-
- The Billericay Society
- Essex Record Office
- Old Maps

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