The B184 through High Roding, Essex - geograph

The Rodings are a group of eight villages in the upper part of the

River Roding The River Roding () rises at Molehill Green, Essex, England, then flows south through Essex and London and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames. Course The river leaves Molehill Green and passes through or near a group of eight ...

and the west of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England, the largest group in the country to bear a common name. (Registration required.) The Rodings do not lie within a single district in the county; they are arranged around the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

of the administrative areas of

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

Uttlesford Uttlesford is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the market town of Saffron Walden. At the 2011 Census, the population of the district was 79,443. Other notable settlements include Great Dunmow, Elmdon, Stebbi ...

and

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

. An alternative arcane name, linked to the Middle English Essex dialect, was ''The Roothings''.

History

The Rodings, the remnants of a single

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

community known as the ''Hroðingas'', were led by ''Hroða''; who sailed up the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

and along a tributary, to settle in the area in the sixth century. This was one of the tribal areas that were absorbed into the

Kingdom of Essex la, Regnum Orientalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the East Saxons , common_name = Essex , era = Heptarchy , status = , status_text = , government_type = Monarch ...

.Andrew Reynolds, ''Later Anglo-Saxon England'' (Tempus, 2002, page 67) drawing on S Bassett (ed) ''The Origin of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms'' (Leicester, 1989) The

and the villages derived their name from ''Hroða''. The villages are 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' of 1086 as ''Rodinges'' in the Hundred of Dunmow. In the time of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

, it was held by the Abbey of St Æthelthryth of Ely; however, 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 Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, part was taken by William de Warenne. Part was also held by the de Veres and de Mandevilles families, who became the

Earls of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half centuries, until the death of the 20th Earl in 170 ...

and

Earls of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

. By the 14th century, the boundaries and names of the villages had become fairly established.

Abbess, Beauchamp and Berners Roding Abbess, Beauchamp and Berners Roding is a group of three small villages in the County of Essex, England. Collectively, they form one Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Epping Forest (district), Epping Forest district of Essex. Accord ...

now form a single parish in the district of

. In the second half of the 19th century The Rodings came part of the Dunmow and Ongar Unions –

poor relief In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

provision set up under the

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relie ...

. The parishes were in the rural deaneries of Roding and Ongar, the Archdeaconry of Essex, and the

Diocese of St Albans The Diocese of St Albans forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England and is part of the wider Church of England, in turn part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese is home to more than 1.6 million people and comprises the hi ...

. In 1914 the parishes came under the

Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers Essex and the five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest (most of which wer ...

. Roman remains have occasionally been found in the area. Crops grown at the time were chiefly wheat, barley and beans, on a heavy soil with a clay subsoil.''

Kelly's Directory Kelly's Directory (or more formally, the Kelly's, Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory) was a trade directory in England that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses o ...

of Essex'' 1882 p.245; 1894 p.285; 1902 p.339; 1914 p.477

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

in the same name exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 1,853.

Landmarks

The area is typified by medieval thatched cottages, timber-framed manor houses and farmhouses. There is a mid-18th-century

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

windmill in

Aythorpe Roding __NOTOC__ Aythorpe Roding is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village is included in the eight hamlets and villages called The Rodings. Aythorpe Roding is northwest from the county town of Chelmsford ...

, the only surviving windmill in the area. There are a number of churches dating from the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

period; the oldest is St Margaret of Antioch in

Margaret Roding Margaret Roding is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village is included in the eight Hamlet (place), hamlets and villages called The Rodings. Margaret Roding is north-west from the county town of Chelm ...

, which has a Norman doorway and the tomb of a crusader.

Roding names

Abbess Roding Abbess Roding is a village in the civil parish of Abbess, Beauchamp and Berners Roding and the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. The village is included in the eight hamlets and villages called The Rodings. It is in west Essex, north fr ...

* Beauchamp Roding (pronounced ''Beecham Roding'') *

Berners Roding Berners Roding (pronounced Barnish) is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Abbess, Beauchamp and Berners Roding and the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. The village is included in the eight hamlets and villages calle ...

High Roding High Roding is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village is included in the eight hamlets and villages called The Rodings. High Roding is northwest from the county town of Chelmsford. History Accordi ...

Leaden Roding Leaden Roding is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village is included in the eight hamlets and villages called The Rodings. Leaden Roding is north-west from the county town of Chelmsford. History Ac ...

* White Roding * Morell Roding (previously centred on Cammas Hall, the hamlet was absorbed by White Roding; today nonexistent although a defined area of land)

Transport links

A single bus service, number 59, serves White Roding, Leaden Roding and Margaret Roding. It is operated by

Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Shires & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester. It is a subsidiary o ...

, running hourly in each direction to

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

via

Hatfield Heath Hatfield Heath is a village, civil parish, and an electoral ward in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, and at its west is close to the border with Hertfordshire. In close proximity are the towns of Bishop's Stortford and Sawbridgewo ...

and

via

Roxwell Roxwell is a village and civil parish in the Chelmsford district of Essex, England. The village is approximately west from the centre of the county town of Chelmsford, and to the south of the A1060 road, on which are the parish hamlets of Boyto ...

. The route is on the Hertfordshire

Intalink Intalink is the organisation responsible for organising the management of public transport services, such as buses and trains, in Hertfordshire on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council. They design, create and promote cross-operator multi-jour ...

network.

Ecclesiastical organisation

In the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, Leaden,

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

, White and Beauchamp Roding have formed the ''South Rodings'' parish since 2004. High and

are

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

d to

Great Canfield Great Canfield is a village and a civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village, which sits at the south-east edge of its civil parish, is approximately south-west from the small town of Great Dunmow, and north-west fr ...

and Margaret Roding to

Good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

and High Easter, those 6 parishes are served by one priest-in-charge.

is now part of the Parish of Willingale, the Parish Church of unknown dedication (but thought to be All Saints) is redundant and is privately owned.

References

External links

British History Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodings Villages in Essex Geography of Essex