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John Gapes and Elizabeth Burlin © No documentation has yet been located, however references on Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindMyPast, and RootsWeb suggest that John Gapes, the son of John Gapes and his wife Mary, was baptized on the 30th September, 1733, in Wendens Ambo, Essex, possibly in the Non-conformist chapel. Wendens Ambo lies in a shallow, well-watered valley just over 2km south-west of Saffron Walden, and most of the houses are gathered around the church area. Archaeological discoveries suggest there has been settlement in the area for a very long time. A Roman villa site was found in Chinnell Field in the 19th century, found nearby was an Iron Age settlement, with another ancient site at Mutlow Hall – the name comes from ‘motelawe’ meaning meeting mound, and this was the meeting place of the Uttlesford Hundred. The Domesday Book of 1086 shows that there were two settlements, Wendena Magna owned by Robert Gernon, and Waldena Parva owned by William de Warren. Together they amounted to about 1,044 acres. In medieval times local names like Clanverend (1253), Bulse Farm (1299, after Roger Bulle) and Westbury were first documented. Great Wendens once had a guildhall, ‘Le yelde hall’. The manor later came under Audley End. The name Wenden is said to be Saxon, meaning winding valley – Saxon pottery was once found near the church. Also within the parish is ‘the ford of Udel’, later called Uttlesford – the ford is sited where the Newmarket road crosses the village stream, sometimes wrongly called the River Uttle – it actually has no name but a good name would be the Chinnell stream. The parish registers of Great Wendens begin in the 1540s, but the earliest volume for Little Wendens is lost and the next volume begins 1602. Some fine buildings date to the 17th century, among them Wenden Hall once used for the Sessions of the High Constable. In 1662 the two parishes were joined together as Wendens Ambo, ambo meaning both. The population around this time was about 320. The church at Little Wendens had gone by the late 17th century – it is believed to have been on the north side of the Royston road in the garden of the old vicarage. The Church of St Mary the Virgin was rebuilt by the Normans, but included a few Saxon features. It was enlarged in the 13th century with further additions over the centuries. When Nonconformism began in this area in 1682, there was a meeting house at Wendens, replaced in 1851 and continuing until closure in 1971.A FindMyPast transcript indicate John married Elizabeth Burlin in Wendens Ambo in 1761, other references suggest the date was the 24th November. It is thought Elizabeth was born around 1740, but no indication found of where. References mentioned indicate John & Elizabeth had at least eight children: John 1762; Elizabeth 1764; William 1768-1768; Mary 1769-1769; William 1770; Mary 1773; Thomas 1777, he married Elizabeth Harris 1797; and Ann 1780. Records indicate Elizabeth may have died in 1818, although the date is not known where she died or was buried. It is also suggested John died in 1821 and was buried in Wendens Ambo on the 20th April. All of the above is based on the references mention and to-date no actual documentation has been located to prove or disprove any of the information. 1. England, Boyd's Marriage Indexes, 1538-1812, Transcription https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ Sources:
Ancestry.co.uk
https://www.ancestry.co.uk The History of Wendens Ambo http://www.recordinguttlesfordhistory.org.uk/ |
