Little Baddow Chapel- United Reform Church.
It was built in 1707 but founded 100 years before that.
Thomas Hooker was a Puritan minister who became lecturer at St Mary's, Chelmsford (now the Cathedral) in 1626. His Puritan views attracted the attention and displeasure of Archbishop Laud and he was eventually forced to leave Chelmsford. He was invited by 'some eminent persons' to open a school in Little Baddow (at Cuckoos Farm) with John Eliot as his assistant. Little Baddow's residents had strong Puritan leanings, probably following the lead of Sir Henry Mildmay of Graces and the Barrington family of Tofts.
Thomas Hooker was eventually forced to flee England, and after a brief stay in Holland he embarked for Boston, Massachusetts to join a group of his Essex followers known as 'Mr Hooker's Company'. They eventually moved to the Connecticut valley to a riverside site which became known as Hartford. Thomas Hooker was instrumental in drafting the "Fundamental Orders" - a democratic governmental plan that was eventually adopted into the American Constitution.
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication. There is also a Church Micro Stats page found via the Bookmark list