The western edge of the parish was within the ancient forest of Essex, and two boundary stones still mark its limits. The church of St Thomas the Apostle dates back to the 12th century, and was subject to
St Paul's Cathedral, London, which held the manor of Navestock until the
dissolution of the monasteries. After this the manor was in the hands of
Sir Brian Tuke and was included when he sold
Pyrgo to
King Henry VIII in 1544 although Navestock and Stapleford were both subsequently leased to George and Walter Cely, relatives of John Cely who had previously been Paler of the Park of
Havering Palace at
Havering-atte-Bower.
Sir Edward Waldegrave was lord of the manor of Navestock under Elizabeth I and the Waldegrave family remained the local landowners until the 19th century. There are various Waldegrave memorials in the parish church, including those of
James Waldegrave, 1st Earl Waldegrave; the Hon. Edward Waldegrave, son of
the 4th Earl, who drowned off Falmouth on his return from the
Battle of Corunna in 1809; the
7th Earl Waldegrave and his wife Frances; and
Viscount Chewton, son of the 8th Earl, who died from injuries in the
Crimean War. Enclosure of common land, by the
3rd Earl Waldegrave, took place in 1770. Navestock was an early centre for
cricket, which has been played on the green at
Navestock Side since the 18th century with the earliest recorded match taking place in 1768. The ground was used as the venue for a single
first-class match in 1793 between sides organised by
Richard Newman and
Richard Leigh. Cricket is still played on the green by Navestock Cricket Club. According to the census of 1801 the population of Navestock was 623, and reached a peak of 982 in 1851. There was then a gradual decline in population during the period of
agricultural depression in the late 19th century and the 1901 census recorded only 692 inhabitants. After fluctuating at around that level in the first half of the 20th century the population has declined further and was only 510 in 2001. This makes Navestock unusual in that despite its proximity to London its population is below its level of two hundred years ago, although there are many travelers living on smallholdings in the area who don't register so the number is undoubtedly a lot higher than officially listed. Historically Navestock was included in the
hundred of
Ongar. It formed part of the
Ongar Rural District Council from 1894 until that authority was absorbed into
Epping and Ongar Rural District Council in 1955. Following local government reorganisation in 1974 it has been part of the Borough of Brentwood. The present civil parish retains largely the same boundaries as the ancient parish as it existed prior to the mid-19th century, and forms part of the 'Brizes and Doddinghurst' district council ward. ==Geography==