mentioned in 1456, Church Elm in 1777 and Church Elm Lane in 1844 (O'Leary, 1958).
Elm had one important use in churches: this was within the belfry. Here a large rectangular
block of elm wood was used to hang the bells from, called the headstock. Presumably used
since the medieval period (the earliest surviving bells in Essex are thought to be those in Little
Braxted church, dated c. 1230), a surviving elm headstock of the 16th century still supports the
John Danyell bell in Heybridge church which dates from 1450. Church bells are of an
appreciable weight: the tenor bell (the biggest in a ring, giving the deepest note) in a parish
church can weigh anything from 6 -18 cwt. and this gives the reason for the bell needing to be
strapped, with iron straps (Fig. 8) to a tough durable elm headstock (Came, 1980).
Lewer and Wall (1913) mention the use of elm in the construction of church chests (most
were made of oak). Perhaps the oldest of these is in the church of the Holy Trinity at
Bradwell-juxta-Coggeshall. This chest was made from a solid baulk of elm (thus making its
illicit removal difficult), the storage area being hewn out with an adze. No date is given for the
chest, but this type of construction is very early and a 13th century date is possible. Other chests
of elm in Essex include a painted 'hutch' in St. Mary, Aythorpe Roding, which contained (in
1913) registers dating back to 1559, a trunk in All Saints, High Laver and a 17th century chest
at St. Nicholas, Laindon.
Fig. 8 Elm Headstock (After an Illustration by P. Came)
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