Elsenham is a small village in north west 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...

 in southern 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...

. Its neighbouring towns include Bishop's Stortford

Bishop's Stortford

Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...

, Saffron Walden

Saffron Walden

Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...

, and Stansted Mountfitchet

Stansted Mountfitchet

Stansted Mountfitchet is a village and civil parish in the county of Essex, England, near the Hertfordshire border, north of London. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533. The village is served by Stansted Mountfitchet railway station....

.

History

Elsenham is recorded 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 as Alsenham and Elsenham in the Hundred of Uttlesford. Part belonged to Robert Gernon and part to John, nephew of Waleran

Waleran I of Limburg

Waleran I , called Udon, was the count of Arlon from AD 1052 and Limburg from 1065. He was the son of Waleran, Count of Arlon. He was also the advocate of the abbey of Sint-Truiden....

.

The village is best known for Elsenham Jam, which was produced on the Elsenham estate of Sir Walter Gilbey

Walter Gilbey

Sir Walter Gilbey, 1st Baronet DL was an English wine-merchant and philanthropist.He was born at Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire to parents Henry and Elizabeth Gilbey...

, and marketed with the slogan, "the most expensive jam in the world". Elsenham Jam is no longer produced in Elsenham, the company having moved to Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

.

In April 2008, Elsenham was short-listed by the Government as a potential site for a 5,000 homes 'eco-town

Eco-towns (UK)

Eco-towns are a government-sponsored programme of new towns to be built in England, which are intended to achieve exemplary standards of sustainability.In 2007, the...

' development.

Notable features

Notable features include Elsenham Hall, the home of Sir Walter Gilbey, St Mary's Church, formerly known as the Little Norman Church on the Hill, and The Pump, which stands in the village centre and was built by Sir Walter Gilbey in memory of his wife. A horse, Golden Miller

Golden Miller

Golden Miller was a Thoroughbred racehorse whois the most successful Cheltenham Gold Cup horse ever, having won the race in five consecutive years between 1932 and 1936...

, who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup

Cheltenham Gold Cup

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in the United Kingdom which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...

 five times between 1932 to 1936 and the Grand National

Grand National

The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...

 in 1934 is buried at Elsenham Stud.

Society and leisure

Elsenham has a number of small clubs. A variety of village events are held each year: a village fete; the Flower Show Society's Annual Show; an Arts & Craft Fair and a firework display in the autumn; and Santa and Gift Galore in December. There are tennis courts, a bowling green, cricket field a youth football club and 2 pool teams. The village has a number of small businesses and a pub, and has a primary school, including a pre-school.

Transport

The village is served by a railway station

Elsenham railway station

Elsenham railway station serves the village of Elsenham in Essex, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by National Express East Anglia...

. It is about four miles from junction 8 of the M11 motorway

M11 motorway

The M11 motorway in England is a major road running approximately north from the North Circular Road in South Woodford in north-east London to the A14, north-west of Cambridge.-Route:...

 and also approximately three miles from Stansted Airport. A highly publicised expansion of the airport could include new road and rail links passing within the village boundaries.