The Tolleshunt group of villages (Major, Knights, D'Arcy and Tollesbury) grew up in the area settled by the Saxon chief Toll who cleared areas of forest round local water sources. Tolleshunta was the Anglo Saxon name for Toll's spring. The name Tolleshunt Major (or Mauger as it was previously known), was granted by King
Henry VIII to Stephen Beckenham, in 1544. Beckenham bought various landscapes in and around the village and built a semi-fortified manor house with a turreted gatehouse within a red-brick boundary wall. This became known as "Beckingham House". The house was demolished in 1782 and was replaced by a farmhouse. The former gatehouse which formed part of Beckingham Manor, complete with turrets and boundary wall still remain. In 1609, Beckingham completed the design and construction of a heraldic shield which featured
statuettes of himself and his wife Alvis Beckingham (née Terral). The monument was displayed at the parish church of St. Nicholas. This has since been pulled down and scrapped.
Beckingham family The Beckingham family originally came from
Wiltshire. Stephen's son Thomas Beckingham received a knighthood and died in 1633. His son, William, became heir to the estate aged 12. The estate was eventually sold to Sir Thomas Adams, an
alderman from London. The manor house changed hands several times before eventually becoming the property of the current owners. ==Geography==