Place Name
The street is named after Little Gearies farm. Gearies derives from the family name of Gery. In 1327 the family is known to have held land on a lease from the Abbess of Barking. In abbey rental documents dating from 1456 Walter Gery is mentioned as having acquired land formerly in the possession of Richard Stonehale, of Stonehall manor who is mentioned in records as early as 1327. Nearly 100 years later, a John Gery, was interviewed by another abbess over claims that he was cured of illness following the death of Henry VI. Miracles were attributed to the king, and he was informally regarded as a saint and martyr, addressed particularly in cases of adversity. According to documents from the time: “John Gery, who had been lame and bent for twenty years, won health within the same number of days after vowing a pilgrimage to the holy King Henry. Investigated but not verified at barking in Essex. His crutches were shewn at Windsor.” A second farm called Great Gearies was slightly north east of Little Gearies farm. Both appear on Andre and Chapman’s 1777 map of Essex. Though the street was laid out over a century later, after 1898.
