Downham is a small 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...

 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 11 km (6.8 mi) south of 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 borough of Chelmsford

Chelmsford (borough)

Chelmsford is a local government district and borough in Essex, England. It is named after its main settlement, Chelmsford, which is also the county town of Essex.-History:...

 and in the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh

Rayleigh (UK Parliament constituency)

Rayleigh was a parliamentary constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

. However, the closest two towns are Billericay

Billericay

Billericay is a town and civil parish in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, has a population of 40,000, and constitutes a commuter town east of central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces...

, 5 km (3.1 mi) west-south west, and Wickford

Wickford

Wickford is a town in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of more than 32,500. Located approximately 30 miles east of London, it falls within the District of Basildon along with Basildon, Billericay, Laindon and Pitsea....

, 4 km (2.5 mi) southeast.

The village is close to Hanningfield Reservoir

Hanningfield Reservoir

Hanningfield Reservoir is an artificial body of water in Essex, south of Chelmsford, and is owned by Essex and Suffolk Water. The reservoir was formed by flooding an area of South Hanningfield covering the ancient hamlet of Peasdown although contrary to popular belief, no buildings survive under...

.

The is an Indian / Thai restaurant in the former public house.

Downham has approximately 200 households.