Gestingthorpe (pronounced , 'guesstingthorpe') is a village and a civil parish in the Braintree district, in the English county 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 ...
. It is approximately halfway between the towns of
Halstead
Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011Sudbury in Suffolk. The nearest railway station is in Sudbury, which offers a shuttle service to
Marks Tey
Marks Tey is a large village and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Essex, England; it is located six miles west of Colchester. It is one in a group of villages called ''The Teys'', including Great Tey and L ...
and at the extremes of the day to
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''.
Colchester occupies the ...
. The village is situated at a set of crossroads, North End Road, Nether Hill, Sudbury Road and Church Street.
In the 19th century the Manor of Over Hall in Gestingthorpe was the home of the Oates family, whose most famous son, the
Antarctic
The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole.
The Antar ...
explorer Captain Lawrence Oates, was born in Putney, London on 16 March 1880. The Oates were originally a
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...
family until they succeeded to the manor. In 1913 his brother officers erected a memorial to Captain Oates in the parish church of St Mary the Virgin.
Just north of the village is Gestingthorpe Roman Villa, the site of a farmstead in the
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
periods. The site has produced many
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
finds including roof tiles, glass and a small ring with an engraving of a lion attacking a deer. The property remains a working farm, but visitors are accepted by appointment.
The
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
of St Mary the Virgin is a
Grade I 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 ...