RAYNHAM, a parish in the hundred of CHAFFORD,
county of ESSEX, 3 miles (N. W. by N.) from Purfleet,
containing 573 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage,
in the archdeaconry of Essex, and diocese of
London, rated in the king's books at £10. J. C. G.
Grosse, Esq. was patron in 1826. The church, dedicated
to St. Helen and St. Giles, has some Norman remains,
particularly the arch between the nave and the
chancel, and an enriched semicircular doorway. The
parish is bounded on the west and south by extensive
marshes and the Thames. The Rev. Lewis Bruce, D.D.,
in 1779, left £2. 10. per annum for teaching poor
children to read.