British Records

These are some photographs I took a couple of years ago when I visited the "Halsey" church, that is dedicated to St John the Baptist, in Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire. A side chapel there has many monuments to Halsey barons, knights and squires which are colourful and go back several centuries.

The earliest surviving fabric (the chancel and the west end of the nave) is 12th c; the arcades dividing the nave from the the north and south aisles and the aisles themselves are 13th c and 14th c. The Halsey chapel in the North East corner was built about 1730 and, apart from most later monuments, contains two or three monuments that were previously elsewhere in the church. The tower seems to be 15th c.

Please note: This section is a work in progress, so check back often for updated captions and additional photographs.

Our Thanks to Mr. Halsey
for sharing his excellent photos with us.

-LaRae & Eireann

"About three miles from Hemel Hempstead, and in the same hundred as that town (Dacorum), is the large parish and small village of Great Gaddesden, or Gaddesden Magna, situated upon the banks of the Gade, a short distance off the road leading to Tring and Berkhampstead. In the vicinity of the village is Gaddesden Place, a modern seat of perfect elegance. The church, dedicated to St.John the Baptist, contains several monuments to the Halsey family, one of whom erected the above mansion. Population of the parish, 988."

[From Royal National and Commercial Directory and Topography of Herts, Pigot & Co., London, 1839]

Church Records

The Parish Registers for the following periods are deposited
at Hertfordshire Record Office, County Hall, Hertford, SG13 8DE. [D/P39]

Baptisms - 1559-1711 & 1741-1948
Marriages - 1559-1689 & 1741-1959
Burials - 1558-1711 & 1741-1917
Bishop's Transcripts - 1800-1869

Entries from the Marriage Registers for the period 1558-1837
are included in The Allen Index at Hertfordshire Record Office.

The period 1559-1871 is covered by the IGI.

Transcripts of the parish registers for the period 1558-1896 are deposited
at the Society of Genealogists, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, LONDON, EC1M 7BA.