The Sokens

The Sokens is a name often used to describe the area containing the traditional parishes of Thorpe, Kirby and Walton, which now lie in Tendring district in the Naze area of northeast Essex. The significance of this grouping is now mostly historical. The name 'Soken' is derived from the Saxon 'soc' or 'soca', signifying immunity, peculiar privileges and jurisdiction. It refers in particular to the power to administer justice within itself, and likewise the circuit within which such power was exercised. Among others was the claim that no bailiff except the lord's bailiff could arrest any person within the parish.

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