This old map of the Braintree area was made about 1875 and it shows the close proximity of Joslin towns and villages that were; 'in my opinion' the cradle of our surname in Essex. Places like RAYNE, CRESSING, STEBBING, EARLS COLNE, STISTED, WHITE & BLACK NOTLEY, TERLING, RIVENHALL, WITHAM, LITTLE & GREAT LEIGHS and LITTLE & GREAT WALTHAM; they all contain many entries of our Joslin family name in their Parish Registers.

'Pigots' directory of 1840 had the following observation of the area:

BRAINTREE & BOCKING
With the villages of
CRESSING, RAYNE, STISTED, BLACK AND WHITE NOTLEY.

 BRAINTREE is a considerable market town and in the hundred of Hinckford, 41 miles N - E. from London and 12 miles from Chelmsford situated on a rising ground, and connected on the north with the village of Bocking, one of the most pleasant and populous in Essex. The town itself is irregularly built, most of the streets narrow and its general aspect indicative of an early origin; indeed the antiquity of this place is unquestionable, the site of a Roman camp being apparent close to the town, and a great number of Roman coins (from Agrippa, A. D. 37, to Honoriua, A. D. 395;, and even several British gold coins, and other antiques, having been found in its immediate neighbourhood. In Domesday book the manor is denominated Branchtrue, and at that time it formed part of the parish of Raines (now, Rayne), from which it was separated about the time of King John, or the commencement of the reign of Henry III and constituted a distinct parish, for some time called Great Ravae; the manor was then held by the bishop of London, to whose see it continued attached until the reign of Edward VI. This town was formerly governed by a select vestry of twenty-four of its most influential inhabitants, but this system bas long been relinquished; the justices of the division hold petty sessions here once a fortnight. Under the reform act Braintree is appointed one of the polling stations, for the northern division of the county; and under the poor lacy amendment act it gives name to the ‘Braintree Union' for the purposes of which a union workhouse has lately been erected, contiguous to the town, calculated to contain three hundred inmates.

The principal business, exclusive of what arises from the passage of commodities between the more eastern counties and the metropolis, is the manufacture of silk, which gives employment to several hundred hands; a great quantity of straw plat is also made for the London market.

The manufacture of baize was at one time of paramount importance here, but this branch is now totally extinct. At the south side of the town, upon an elevated site, which appears to have been once occupiers by a camp, stands the church, a spacious structure, dedicated to St. Michael; it consists of a nave, chancel and side aisle:, and at the west end has a tower, terminated by a loft spire cased with shingles: the church had its original foundation in the reign of Edward III, but has been ma­terially altered, enlarged and improved since that time. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Olmius family; the lay impropriator, lately, was the Earl of Winchelsea, and the Rev. Bernard Scale is the incum­bent. There are places of worship for independents, Baptists and Wesleyan Methodists; national and infant schools, both in Braintree and Bocking and a school, founded and endowed by James Coker in 1709, in which a limited number of boys are instructed. Henry Smith, an alderman of London in the reign of Charles I, bequeathed £2,800. for the poor of Braintree and certain other parishes: he was a very eccentric character, and obtained the name of 'Dog Smith' from going about like a beggar, accompanied by his dog. The country around here is decidedly agricultural the land contiguous to the town hilly, well wooded and very fertile. The market, one of the largest in Essex, , is held on Wednesday, to accommodate the frequenters of which a corn exchange is in progress, in the High Street the commodities are chiefly corn cattle and swine; fairs, 8^th May for cattle and peddlers, and (the most conside­rable one) 2^nd October and two following days for hops and cattle. The population of Braintree parish, in 1831, was 3,422, and it has since greatly increased.

BOCKING village which forms the northern suburb of Braintree, is comprised chiefly in a single street, presenting many handsome well built houses; its trade is similar to that of Braintree. Two copyhold courts are held here: one for the manor of Bocking, of which the Rev. John Thos. Nottidge is Lord; the other for the manor of Derwards Hall, possessed by the Honeywood family of Marks Hall, in this county. This parish is peculiarly annexed to the see of Canterbury, and subject to the archbishop's jurisdiction. Between one and two miles N-W. of the principal street stands the church, a commodious edifice, conjectured to bare been founded in the reign of Edward III; the benefice is a rectory, but its rector is generally co-dean of the archbishop's peculiars in Essex and Suffolk, and is styled 'Dean of Bocking’ the present dean and rector is the Rev. Sir Herbert Oakeley, Bart: A meeting-house for the society of friends, and chapels for independents and Methodists, are the other places of worship. There is an endowed school for thirty boys, founded by Dr. Garden a former rector here, and afterwards bishop of Worcester. The parish of Bocking contained, by the census of 1831, 3,128 inhabitants.

CRESSING is a village and parish in the hundred of Witham, about three miles S-E. from Braintree, situated to the east of the road leading from the latter town to Witham. The church is dedicated to All Saints the living a vicarage in the gift of the family of Downs. The knights templar, who at one time had a commandery here, possessed the advowson; it subsequently passed to the knights hospitallers and reverted to the crown at the general suppression of religions houses Population of the parish.

RAYNE Nearly two miles from Braintree, and in the same hundred, is the genteel village and pariah of Rayne, The church is dedicated to All Saints: the benefice is a rectory in the presentation of the Earl of Essex; the incumbent is the Hon. and Rev. William Cape, and the present curate the Rev. Thomas Willis. The parish contained, in 1831, 320 inhabitants.

STISTED is a parish, in the same hundred as Brain­tree, about three miles N-E from that town. It contains a church, dedicated to All Saint., and  in 1831a population of about 900 inhabitants.

BLACK and WHITE NOTLEY are two parishes adjoining each other, in the hundred of Witham; the former about two miles from Braintree, the latter between three and four. At Black Notley is the parish church (dedicated to St. Peter and St. 'Paul) and an endowed school. The population of this parish is 486, and that of White Notley 453.

POST OFFICE, BRAINTREE, William Sack, Post Master: Letters from London arrive (by mail cart) every morning at half-past four, and are despatched every evening at ten. The box closes every evening at half-past nine, but letters are received until five minutes before ten by paying two pence with each.

Below are the Joslin's and Goslin's mentioned in this Pigot directory

AUCTIONEERS & APPRAISERS. Joscelyne Benjamin & Son, High Street Braintree

BAKERS. Joscelyne Joseph, Bradford Street, Bocking, Joscelyne Mary, High Street, Braintree

BOOKSELLERS & STATIONERS. Joscelyne James, (printer, binder and stamp distributor) High Street, Braintree

BREWERS. Gosling Oliver & John, Bradford Street, Bocking

PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. Jno. Joscelyne, High Street & London Road. Braintree

GROCERS & TEA DEALERS. Joslin Thomas, Great Square, Braintree

CABINET MAKERS & UPHOLSTERERS. Joscelyne Benjamin & Son, High Street, Braintree

CHEMISTS & DRUGGISTS. Joslin Thomas, Great Square, Braintree

LINEN & WOOLLEN DRAPERS Joslin Thomas, Great Square, Braintree

MALTSTERS. Gosling John, Black Notley, Gosling Oliver & John, Bradford St, Bocking.

Joscelyne Jos. Bradford Street, Bocking. Gosling James, Sandpit Lane, Braintree

Joscelyne Joseph, Bradford Street, Bocking. Joscelyne Mary, High St Braintree

MILLINERS & DRESSMAKERS. Joslin Misses, Coggeshall Road Braintree

WINE & SPIRIT MERCHANTS. Gosling Oliver and John, Bradford Street, Bocking

 MISCELLANEOUS, Joscelyne Mary, Malt, Hop and Sack dealer, High Street, Braintree.

        

                       Churches of Braintree and Bocking that have 'Joslin' records;

St Michael the Archangel the Parish Church of Braintree has many records of our families, the registers have survived from 1660 and are available for research at Essex Record Office (I have copies on Micro Fiche). Next in popularity are the Nonconformist Churches of Braintree; The Baptist 1785, The Congregational 1813, The Primitive Methodist 1866 and the The Wesleyan Methodist 1859.

The Bocking Parish Church of 'St Mary the Virgin' has registers dating back to 1561, these are available for research at Essex Record Office.

Bocking Congregational Church registers start in 1738, in the IGI it is known as Bocking Meeting, the present day Church is the United Reformed Church at Bocking End and is just across the road from the Braintree Register Office. Attached to the Church is the old burial ground that has more inscriptions of Joslin's and Joscelyne's than is to be found anywhere. The majority of the family inscriptions refer to the descendents of Joseph Joscelyne and Mary (Isaac) and have been well catalogued in the past.
One Joslin inscription of interest is for Isaac Joslin and Annis (Spriggs) this was hard to read as a holly bush had taken over the environment. The burial ground is a place to visit when you are next in the area; one wonders how long this peaceful and historic area can survive the march of time.
The photographs below give you an impression of what the area is like today: The first tree photos are of St Michael the Archangel; unfortunately the burial ground has been grassed over and only a few inscriptions survive. If only the font could tell all of all the Joslin Christenings it has witnessed!

The photos below are of Christ Church on London Road that was the Congregational Church as it was about 1910 and as it is today in 2004; the United Reformed Church sitting on one of the busy roads into Braintree town centre
     

The final photographs are of the Bocking End Congregational Church and the fantastic burial ground,
showing Donald Austin Joslin researching his ancestors while on a visit from the USA 11/04/1999.

Most of the early records are on the IGI and show numerous Joslin's.

 The Photo on the left is the grave stone of Isaac & Annis Joslin of Gt Leighs.

 Isaac 1810-1887, Annis (Spriggs) 1807-1897.

These photographs give you an idea of the 'Joslin' interest in this area.
I am never at a loss to find interesting stories and links back into the history of our families.

I hope eventually to publish web pages in more detail about the Braintree 'Joscelyne's
(Bakers, Cabinet Makers, Chandlers, Auctioneers and Land Surveyors)
that are mentioned in the above Pigot's trade directory.

Other pages in the pipe line are the 'Clement Joscelyne' Furnishing family and an appreciation of
Arthur William Joscelyne 1903-1993 (Joslin Historian) and of St Clements Church Leigh on Sea. Essex.

An in depth page on the village of Rayne is also near completion, Braintree was at one time in the parish of Rayne and Rayne has provided a vast amount of 'Joslin' data in it's Parish Registers.
Our 'Josselin Society' President; Richard Patrick Joscelyne has undertaken a study of these records
and has become the expert on the Rayne relationships to our families.

Click Here for Rayne Page

Click Here for Leigh on Sea

Bishop Stortford (under construction)

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