In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Pleshy like this:
PLESHEY, a parish, with an ancient village, in Chelmsford district, Essex; on a small affluent of the river Chelmer, 5½ miles N N W of Chelmsford r. station. Post-town, Chelmsford. Acres, 726. Real property, £1, 365. Pop., 342. Houses, 80. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to the duchy of Lancaster. The castle of the High Constables stoodhere; was built by William de Magnaville; was the residence of the Duke of Gloucester, the youngest son of Edward III.; and the place of his arrest, in 1397, by Richard II.; was the scene, in 1400, of the beheading of the Duke of Exeter by the populace; went into decaysoon after that event; was used as a quarry, about 1600, for building a lodge, which stood till 1767; and is nowrepresented by a mound, great earthworks, two moats, and a curious bridge. ...
A Roman camp previously occupied the same ground; was about a mile in circuit; and has yielded some relics, and left some remains. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £125.* Patron, J. Tufnell, Esq. The church comprisesa nave of 1708, a chancel of 1748, and the transepts and tower of a quondam fine cruciform double-aisled church of late decorated date, which belonged to a college for 9priests, founded in 1393, by the Duke of Gloucester; and it contains mural monuments of the Tufnells, and fragments of several ancient marble tombs. Charities, £9.
Pleshy through time
A Vision of Britain through Time includes a large library of local statistics for administrative units. For the best overall sense of how the area containing Pleshy has changed, please see our redistricted information for the modern district of Chelmsford. More detailed statistical data are available under Units and statistics, which includes both administrative units covering Pleshy and units named after it.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Pleshy, in Chelmsford and Essex | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/6861
Date accessed: 20th June 2013
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