Gestingthorpe (pronounced , 'guesstingthorpe') is a village and a civil parish in the Braintree district, in the English county 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 ...

. 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 2011 Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

in Suffolk. The nearest railway station is in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

, which offers a shuttle service to

Marks Tey Marks Tey is a large village and electoral ward in Essex, England; it is located six miles west of Colchester. Facilities Marks Tey is one of a group of villages called the Teys, also including Great Tey and Little Tey. Its main features inc ...

and at the extremes of the day to

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...

. 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 ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and o ...

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 is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

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 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 ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

periods. The site has produced many

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

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 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 community activitie ...

of St Mary the Virgin is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

. The church has a ring of 6 bells.

References

Information about the village St Mary the Virgin, Knights-Hospitallers website

External links

Gestingthorpe
at essexchurches.info
St Mary the Virgin
at achurchnearyou.com
Gestingthorpe History Group
Villages in Essex Civil parishes in Essex Braintree District {{Essex-geo-stub