In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Harlow like this:
HARLOW, a village, a parish, a sub-district, and a hundred in Essex. The village stands adjacent to the Eastern Counties railway, near the river Stort and the boundary with Herts, 6 miles SSW of Bishop-Stortford; was once a market-town; is a seat of petty sessions; and has a head post-office,‡ a railway station with telegraph, a police station, a good inn, and a fair on 28 and 29 Nov. ...
The parish contains also the hamlet of Potterstreet, near which a famous fair for horses and cattle, called Harlow-Bush fair, is held on 9 and 10 Sept. Acres, 4,000. Real property, £10,064. Pop., 2,377. Houses, 493. The manor-house, called Harlow-Bury, long in possession of the noble family of North, and occupied since 1736 by the Barnard family, is an ancient edifice recently modernized. An ancient chapel in its grounds is supposed to have been used by the monks of Bury St. Edmunds; retains a fine Norman door; and has been partly demolished, partly converted into a granary. Moor Hall is the seat of J. W. P. Watlington, Esq. The head living and also two other livings, St. John and St. Mary, are vicarages in the diocese of Rochester. Value of the head one, £383; * of St. John, £100; of St. Mary, not reported.* patron of the head one, the Hon. Wm. North; of St. John, J. W. P. Watlington, Esq.; of St. Mary, the Vicar of Harlow. The parish church stands on a rising ground; is ancient, cruciform, and good; and includes two chantry chapels, which went into disuse, but were restored in 1857 and 1862. St. John's church is recent and in the early English style. St. Mary's church stands about 2 miles S of the parish church, and is recent and picturesque. There are two Baptist chapels, two national schools, a school college, a free school, a school for educating juvenile criminals, and charities &155.—The sub-district contains eight parishes, and is in Epping district. Acres, 16,878. Pop., 5,544. Houses, 1,166.—The hundred contains ten parishes and part of another. Acres, 29,951. Pop. in 1851,8,438; in 1861,8,351. Houses, 1,752.
Harlow through time
Click here for graphs and data of how Harlow has changed over two centuries. For statistics for historical units named after Harlow go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Harlow in Essex | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1207
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
Not where you were looking for?
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Harlow".
