Origin of some Local Place-names.
When we pass to the 14th century material becomes more scanty and we turn to the ancient tax-rolls. One of these, written in 1320, tells us that the tax-payers numbered nine—William Smith, John Traps, William Woodward, John Goldyng (Goldings-hill), Geoffrey Algor (Algers-road), Sewall Renoit, Godfrey Bigge, Richard Brown, and Stephen Shepherd—who among them contributed 23s.—equivalent it may be to £23 and more nowadays. Six years later 19 people contributed just under 25s. Of these John de Hatfield has left his name behind him. Theobald of Loughton seems identical with a Theobald Poleyn, who was Serjeant of the Chancery Rolls, and in that capacity had a warrant from the King to the Abbot of Stratford in 1333, calling on him to provide a pack-horse and groom, for carriage of the rolls to York. He also did a little business as a money-lender, and our rector in 1324–5, Henry de Sutton, was in his debt for 40s. It is noteworthy that, though the spelling of Loughton about this time is Loketon on the tax-rolls, on the Close Rolls it is Lughton.
The first poll-tax was granted in 1376, and about that time our parish numbered 44 assessed souls, husbands, wives, and widows, John Ruddok being the only bachelor. At the same time Chigwell had a population of 136.