GenUKI Contents

Cambridgeshire

Nearby places

ELM

"ELM, a parish in the hundred of Wisbech, county Cambridge, 2 miles south-east of Wisbech, its post town and nearest railway station on the Great Eastern line. The Wisbech canal passes through the parish. The land is chiefly pasture and arable, with 25 acres of plantation. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Ely, value £400, in the patronage of the bishop, who is lord of the manor. The parish church is a stone structure, with square tower surmounted by a spire. It is dedicated to All Saints. The register commences in 1550. There is also a district church at Friday Bridge, the living of which is a perpetual curacy,* value £300, in the patronage of the bishop. The parochial charities produce about £200 per annum, above £50 of which is for education. The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have each a chapel, and there is an endowed school for boys. A tesselated pavement was found adjoining Needham Hall, which was taken down in 1804. In the vicinity numerous Roman coins have been found."

Census

• The Census Records from 1841-1891 can be found in the Cambridgeshire Archives and also in the Wisbech Library. In addition the 1841 and 1851 Census for Elm is available in full transcript form, on microfiche, from the Cambridgeshire Family History Society Publications list (search)

Churches

• All Saints Church, Elm.

Church History

• "The church of All Saints is a large building of stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, north porch and an embattled western tower with small spire containing 6 bells: the church has been restored: the chancel was renovated internally in 1875, and further repairs and improvements were carried out in 1908 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: there are 468 sittings, all free. The register dates from the year 1539. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £525, with residence, and including 20 acres of glebe, in the gift of the Bishop of Ely, and held since 1920 by the Rev. Edgar Horwood Van Cooten B.A. of London University. Near the church is a memorial to the men of this parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-18. There is a Primitive Methodist chapel here."
  [Kelly's Directory - Cambridgeshire - 1929]

Church Records

• Church of England
  • Elm, All Saints: Records of baptisms 1539-1914, marriages 1539-1973, burials 1539-1974, banns for 1754-1812 and 1837-1976 reside in the Wisbech Museum. Photocopies and microfilm copies of baptisms, marriages, burials and basnss reside in the Cambridgeshire Archives.The Bishop's Transcripts for the years 1600-39 and 1661-1861 can be found in the Cambridge University Library.
• Methodist
  • Wesleyan Methodist Church: Records exist at the Cambridgeshire Archives for the Wisbech Wesleyan Circuit of which Elm is part.

Directories

• The "1839 Pigot's Directory of Cambridgeshire" for Elm index of Inns & Hotels, Taverns and Public Houses, Brewers & Maltsters + Wine & Spirit Merchants.

Gazetteers

• A transcript of the Elm parish entries from Samuel Lewis's 1835 Topographical Dictionary of England,
• A transcript of the Elm parish entries from 1929 Kellys Directory of Cambridgeshire

Military History

• The Elm War Memorial has been transcribed and researched.

Names, Geographical

• BEGDALE, 1 mile, is in the parish.
• COLDHAM, including STAGSHOLT and PEARTHEE HILL, is now a separate ecclesiastical parish, and will be found under the heading of " COLDHAM."
• FRIDAY BRIDGE has also a separate heading.
  [Kelly's Directory - Cambridgeshire - 1929]

Taxation

• Land Tax: records were compiled afresh each year and contain the names of owners and occupiers in each parish, but usually there is no address or place name. These records reside in the Cambridgeshire Archives for the years 1798-1803, 1935-48; records for the years 1798-99 exist on microfilm at the Huntingdon Record Office.