:''See also, Elmdon, West Midlands.'' Elmdon is a village in the civil parish of Elmdon, Duddenhoe End & Wenden Lofts situated 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 ...

, England, near the boundary with

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. The hilly topography of the area differentiates it from countryside to the north, which is predominantly

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

land and flat.

History

The castle motte at Elmdon, known as 'castle hill', still exists. It was the Norman fortification of Robert de Lucy, brother to Richard de Lucy, Justiciar to King Stephen and

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

. The church at Elmdon was granted by Robert de Lucy to

Lesnes Abbey Lesnes Abbey is a former abbey, now ruined, in Abbey Wood, in the London Borough of Bexley, southeast London, England. It is a scheduled monument, and the abbey's ruins are listed at Grade II by Historic England. The adjacent Lesnes Abbey Wo ...

(founded by Richard de Lucy), around 1180. One mile to the west, at the highest point in

, Eustace de Boulogne (d.1125), father of Matilda of Boulogne (c.1103-1152), the future wife of King Stephen, built and occupied his moated house named 'Flanders' at Chrishall. Elmdon has two Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s: the church, which was, apart from the 15th Century tower, rebuilt in 1852 and 1879, likely on old foundations; and Pigots, an early 1500s moated manor house, which was home to the Mead family from 1554 to 1770. The name ''Elmdon'' means 'hill of elms'. Elmdon includes a village hall, a church, and a recreation ground used for cricket and football.

Transport

Elmdon has an infrequent bus service with links to

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...

. There are three roads out of Elmdon; two are minor roads leading to other villages, and the third provides access indirectly to the nearest station,

Audley End Audley End House is a largely early 17th-century country house outside Saffron Walden, Essex, England. It is a prodigy house, known as one of the finest Jacobean houses in England. Audley End is now one-third of its original size, but is st ...

on the

West Anglia Main Line The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main line railways that operate out of (the other being the Great Eastern Main Line to Ipswich and Norwich). It runs generally north through Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and ...

Utilities

Elmdon is not served by mains gas; houses rely on individually supplied heating oil systems. The village is connected to British Telecom's backbone network through the Chrishall exchange which is

ADSL Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over Copper wire, copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem ...

-enabled. As of January 2007, speeds of up to 2mb ADSL and 3mb ADSL-MAX were available through broadband over copper phone cable. No cable television providers service the village.

Leisure

Elmdon has sporting teams participating in local leagues. The village is a starting point for cross country running with trails of between 3 km and 30 km, some avoiding major roads. Tracks are passable on foot and bicycle between March and November, becoming waterlogged outside this range (passable but not to run on). The Icknield Way Path passes through the village on its journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to

Knettishall Heath Knettishall Heath is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Knettishall in Suffolk, England. A larger area of 176 hectares is the Knettishall Heath Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Despite its n ...

in Suffolk. The multi-user route is open for walkers, horse riders and off-road cyclists.

References

* *

External links

Elmdon village history

The Icknield Way Parish
(includes Elmdon)
Elmdon Village Website
{{authority control Villages in Essex Uttlesford