Danbury, Essex
Encyclopedia
Danbury is a village
in Essex, England
. It is located 33.5 miles northeast of Charing Cross
, London
and has a population of 6,500. It is situated on a hill 367 feet (111.9 m) above sea level.
noted for its oval shape.
According to the official parish publication, Danbury Parish Plan 2003, first Iron Age
settlers, then the Romans
and finally the Dæningas tribe of Saxons occupied the Danbury area. They built a hill fort. It was known as Danengeberiam in the Domesday Book
of 1086, a name meaning "stronghold of the family or followers of a man called Dene".
After the Norman Conquest, King William
took the lands and settlement and granted it to Geoffrey de Mandeville
who was made Earl of Essex
.
In medieval times Danbury developed from two manors, St Cleres/Herons and Runsell. Traces of both still exist. There was also a small part of a third, now extinct, manor of Gibcracks.
The village has a long connection with the Sinclair
family, known locally as St Clere. There are three wooden effigies
in the church which date back to the thirteenth and fourteenth century One has been identified as being that of William St Clere. In 1968 it was taken to be exhibited at the Louvre
in Paris
.
In 1779 the tomb of a knight was disturbed, and the body therein was discovered to be perfectly preserved in what was described as "pickle", but this was contested by Joseph Strutt
, MP
for Maldon
. Strutt also attempted to write a romance with a book called Queenhoo Hall. In 1808, Walter Scott
was asked to complete the book by his publisher John Murray
. Scott visited the village and stayed at the Griffin inn
in order to attempt his first venture into romantic fiction. In 1985, the author and psychic-questing investigator
Andrew Collins suggested that the body was that of a Knight Templar
.
The church also contains some memorial slabs to the Mildmays. Sir Walter Mildmay
was the founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
and built Danbury Place in 1589. The original building has disappeared but another was built in 1832 in the Tudor Revival style, with red brick. It was acquired by the Church of England
in 1845 and became the residence of the Bishop of Rochester
. From then on it became known as Danbury Palace. The mansion sits within the historic landscape of Danbury Park, a former medieval deer park
, with later additions dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. The history of the park and garden was researched by Kate Felus
in 2007.
and other preservation organisations. However. the quietude of the surrounding countryside contrasts with the A414, which is the major road which runs through the centre of the village and links it with Maldon
to the east and Chelmsford
to the west. Several bus services running from Chelmsford link Danbury with Maldon, Great Baddow
, Little Baddow
, South Woodham Ferrers
, Sandon
and various villages around Maldon.
It is also praised for it's public built mountain bike and bmx routes hidden in the woodland, this is called Danbury common (see YouTube videos)
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...
in Essex, 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 33.5 miles northeast of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and has a population of 6,500. It is situated on a hill 367 feet (111.9 m) above sea level.
Origins
The village was built on the site of a megalithic hill fortHill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
noted for its oval shape.
According to the official parish publication, Danbury Parish Plan 2003, first Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
settlers, then the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and finally the Dæningas tribe of Saxons occupied the Danbury area. They built a hill fort. It was known as Danengeberiam 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, a name meaning "stronghold of the family or followers of a man called Dene".
After the Norman Conquest, King William
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
took the lands and settlement and granted it to Geoffrey de Mandeville
Geoffrey de Mandeville
Geoffrey de Mandeville is the name of several important medieval English barons:*Geoffrey de Mandeville , was one of the great magnates of the reign of William the Conqueror*Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex Geoffrey de Mandeville is the name of several important medieval English...
who was made Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals. The earldom was first created in the 12th century for Geoffrey II de Mandeville . Upon the death of the third earl in 1189, the title became dormant or extinct...
.
Medieval to Georgian period
The church of St John the Baptist is the oldest building in the village, dating from the 13th centuryIn medieval times Danbury developed from two manors, St Cleres/Herons and Runsell. Traces of both still exist. There was also a small part of a third, now extinct, manor of Gibcracks.
The village has a long connection with the Sinclair
Sinclair (surname)
The Scoto-Norman surname Sinclair comes from the Clan Sinclair whose progenitors conquered England with William the Conqueror then moved to Scotland and were given the land of Roslin, Midlothian by the King of Scots....
family, known locally as St Clere. There are three wooden effigies
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
in the church which date back to the thirteenth and fourteenth century One has been identified as being that of William St Clere. In 1968 it was taken to be exhibited at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
In 1779 the tomb of a knight was disturbed, and the body therein was discovered to be perfectly preserved in what was described as "pickle", but this was contested by Joseph Strutt
Joseph Strutt
Joseph Strutt may refer to:*Joseph Strutt , English engraver and antiquary*Joseph Strutt , Derby textile manufacturer and philanthropist*Joseph Strutt , British soldier and MP...
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Maldon
Maldon, Essex
Maldon is a town on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon district and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.Maldon is twinned with the Dutch town of Cuijk...
. Strutt also attempted to write a romance with a book called Queenhoo Hall. In 1808, Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
was asked to complete the book by his publisher John Murray
John Murray (publisher)
John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
. Scott visited the village and stayed at the Griffin inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
in order to attempt his first venture into romantic fiction. In 1985, the author and psychic-questing investigator
Psychic archaeology
Psychic archaeology is a loose collection of practices involving the application of paranormal phenomena to problems in archaeology.Practitioners of psychic archaeology utilize a variety of methods of divination ranging from pseudoscientific methods such as dowsing for Electromagnetic Photo-Fields...
Andrew Collins suggested that the body was that of a Knight Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
.
The church also contains some memorial slabs to the Mildmays. Sir Walter Mildmay
Walter Mildmay
Sir Walter Mildmay was an English statesman who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of England under Queen Elizabeth I, and was founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.-Early life:...
was the founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
and built Danbury Place in 1589. The original building has disappeared but another was built in 1832 in the Tudor Revival style, with red brick. It was acquired by the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in 1845 and became the residence of the Bishop of Rochester
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
. From then on it became known as Danbury Palace. The mansion sits within the historic landscape of Danbury Park, a former medieval deer park
Medieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...
, with later additions dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. The history of the park and garden was researched by Kate Felus
Kate Felus
Kate Felus is a designed-landscape historian. She studied at University of Warwick and University of Bristol.Her specialist subject area is the social history of 18th-century gardens and their buildings....
in 2007.
Modern day
The village is at the centre of extensive areas of woodland and heath owned by the National TrustNational Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
and other preservation organisations. However. the quietude of the surrounding countryside contrasts with the A414, which is the major road which runs through the centre of the village and links it with Maldon
Maldon, Essex
Maldon is a town on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon district and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.Maldon is twinned with the Dutch town of Cuijk...
to the east and 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...
to the west. Several bus services running from Chelmsford link Danbury with Maldon, Great Baddow
Great Baddow
Great Baddow is an urban village in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the county town, Chelmsford and, with a population of over 13,000, is one of the largest villages in the country....
, Little Baddow
Little Baddow
Little Baddow is a large thriving village to the east of Chelmsford, Essex. The name Baddow comes from an Old English word meaning 'bad water', although this probably refers to the meadow area in Great Baddow as opposed to any water mass in Little Baddow...
, South Woodham Ferrers
South Woodham Ferrers
South Woodham Ferrers is a town and civil parish in the borough of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is approximately from London and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 16,629. The town is located east of Fenn Creek, and near where it meets the River Crouch...
, Sandon
Sandon
Sandon may refer to:* Sandon, Essex* Sandon, Hertfordshire* Sandon, Staffordshire* Sandon, British Columbia* Sandon, Victoria* Sandon County, New South Wales* Sandon, ancient Hittite deity* Gotska Sandön, a Swedish islandPeople with the name Sandon:...
and various villages around Maldon.
It is also praised for it's public built mountain bike and bmx routes hidden in the woodland, this is called Danbury common (see YouTube videos)
Nearby places
- BicknacreBicknacreBicknacre is a village in Essex, England. It is approximately north of South Woodham Ferrers and southeast of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the borough of Chelmsford and in the parliamentary constituency of Maldon & East Chelmsford...
- Great BaddowGreat BaddowGreat Baddow is an urban village in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the county town, Chelmsford and, with a population of over 13,000, is one of the largest villages in the country....
- Little BaddowLittle BaddowLittle Baddow is a large thriving village to the east of Chelmsford, Essex. The name Baddow comes from an Old English word meaning 'bad water', although this probably refers to the meadow area in Great Baddow as opposed to any water mass in Little Baddow...
- MaldonMaldon, EssexMaldon is a town on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon district and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.Maldon is twinned with the Dutch town of Cuijk...
- SandonSandon, EssexSandon is a small village just off junction 17 of the A12 in Essex, adjacent to Great Baddow and close to Danbury. It was known for an ancient oak tree covering most of the village green...
- South Woodham FerrersSouth Woodham FerrersSouth Woodham Ferrers is a town and civil parish in the borough of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is approximately from London and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 16,629. The town is located east of Fenn Creek, and near where it meets the River Crouch...