Debden is a small rural village in the

Uttlesford Uttlesford is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the town of Saffron Walden. The district also includes the town of Great Dunmow and numerous villages, including Stansted Mountfitchet ...

district of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

in the

East of England East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact ...

. It is located 4 miles (6 km) from

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

and 17 miles (27 km) from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

RAF Debden Royal Air Force Debden or more simply RAF Debden is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located southeast of Saffron Walden and approximately north of the village of Debden, Uttlesford, Debden in north Es ...

is nearby and played a role in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Since 2007 the village has shared twin status with the village of Tang Ting in rural

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

History

The village was recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Depeduna'' (deep valley), and became known as Debden at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. After the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

the manor of Debden was granted to Ralph Peverel, but reverted to the crown after Peverel's grandson,

William Peverel the Younger William "the Younger" Peverel ( or – after 1155) was the son of William Peverel. He married Avicia de Lancaster (1088 – ) in La Marche, Normandy, France. She was possibly the daughter of William de Lancaster I and Countess Gundred de Warenn ...

, poisoned the

Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester () was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, ...

. King John later granted the manor to

Geoffrey Fitzpeter, 1st Earl of Essex Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex (c. 1162–1213) was a prominent member of the government of England during the reigns of Richard I and John. The patronymic is sometimes rendered Fitz Piers, for he was the son of Piers de Lutegareshale (born ...

and it descended in that family until becoming Crown land again. Henry VIII granted it to Lord Audley, from whom it descended to his grandson, Thomas Howard, Baron Howard de Walden and Earl of Suffolk. It was acquired in 1715 by wealthy merchant Richard Chiswell, MP and remained in the Chiswell family for some 100 years. It then passed by marriage to the Vincent family who held it until 1882 when Mrs Cely-Trevilian, the last member of the family, sold it to William Fuller-Maitland of

Stansted Mountfitchet Stansted Mountfitchet is an England, English village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Uttlesford district, Essex, near the Hertfordshire border, north of London. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533, increasi ...

Hall. By the First World War it had come into the possession of Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal. Later owners found Debden Hall too expensive to maintain, and so the house was demolished and part of the estate sold off in 1935. The

Church of England Parish Church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

of St Mary the Virgin and All Saints is Grade I listed. A flint and stone church is 13th century but with considerable 18th-century restoration and rebuilding after the 1698 fall of the central tower which destroyed the chancel. The clerestorey and chancel were rebuilt in 1793 when the west bell turret, spire and parapets of the nave and aisles were probably added. The restoration and rebuilding was done by Richard Muilman Trench Chiswell of Debden Hall, whose elaborate tomb in the chancel was designed by John Carter. Image:Debden church.JPG, Church of St Mary the Virgin and All Saints Image:Cmglee_Debden_high_street.jpg, High Street, Debden in July 2012 Image:Debden village sign.JPG, Village sign

Notable people

Henry Vane the Younger Sir Henry Vane (baptised 26 March 161314 June 1662), often referred to as Harry Vane and Henry Vane the Younger to distinguish him from his father, Henry Vane the Elder, was an England, English politician, statesman, and colonial governor. He ...

(1613–1662), an English politician, statesman, and colonial governor.

References

External links

Debden Village Homepage

Tang Ting Twinning Association Homepage
Villages in Essex Uttlesford {{Essex-geo-stub

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links