Black Notley is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is located approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) south of Braintree

Braintree, Essex

Braintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.Braintree has grown contiguous...

 and is 15 km (9.3 mi) north-northeast from the county town of Chelmsford

Chelmsford

Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...

. The village is in the district

Braintree (district)

Braintree is a local government district in the English county of Essex. Its main town is Braintree.The main centres of population are Braintree, Witham and Halstead....

 and parliamentary constituency

Braintree (UK Parliament constituency)

Braintree is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

 of Braintree. The parish is part of the Cressing, Black Notley, White Notley and Faulkbourne parish cluster.

The place-name 'Notley' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 998 as 'Hnutlea', and appears as 'Nutlea' in the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 of 1086. The name means 'nut wood'. 'Black Notley' is first attested in 1240.

According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,646.


Cressing railway station

Cressing railway station

Cressing railway station serves the villages of Cressing and Black Notley in Essex, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by National Express East Anglia. It is situated on the Braintree Branch Line.-Service Patterns:...

, on the Braintree Branch Line

Braintree Branch Line

The Braintree Branch Line is a branch line from Witham to Braintree in Essex, England.The line diverges from the Great Eastern Main Line at Witham. Passenger services are currently operated by National Express East Anglia...

 is less than 1 km from the village. It is close to the River Brain

River Brain

The River Brain is a river in Essex, England that gives its name to the town of Braintree, though in fact Braintree lies on a low ridge between the Brain and the River Blackwater. Above Braintree it is known as Pods Brook. The brook rises near the village of Bardfield Saling...

. In 2002 work was completed on the new estate, built in place of the old hospital giving 350 new houses to the area.

Notable residents

• Arthur Halestrap
  Arthur Halestrap
  Arthur Halestrap MBE was one of the last surviving British soldiers of the First World War.Arthur Halestrap was born in Southampton, Hampshire. He tried to enlist in the British armed forces shortly after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. His request was refused on account of his youth...
  
   - one of the last surviving soldiers of World War I.
• William Bedell
  William Bedell
  William Bedell was an Anglican churchman.-Early life:He was born at Black Notley in Essex, and educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was a pupil of William Perkins. He became a fellow of Emmanuel in 1593, and took orders...
  
   - Anglican churchman.
• John Ray
  John Ray
  John Ray was an English naturalist, sometimes referred to as the father of English natural history. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after "having ascertained that such had been the practice of his family before him".He published important works on botany,...
  
  - Naturalist, known as the father of English natural history.