WOODHAM-FERRIS, a parish, with a village, in Chelmsford district, Essex; 6 miles SW of Maldon r. station. It has a post-office under Chelmsford. Acres, 4,481. Real property, £5,868. Pop., 947. Houses, 192. The manor belongs to Lord Rayleigh. Burketts Hall is the seat ofE. Hamilton, Esq. A mansion of Archbishop Sandys was here, and part of it is still standing. A black priory was founded at Bicknacre, in the time of Henry III. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £950. Patron, Sir B. W. Bridges, Bart. The church is good; and there are Independent and Wesleyan chapels, a national school, and charities £65.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))