Sewards End
Encyclopedia
Sewards End is a village
and civil parish
in the Uttlesford
district of Essex
, England
. The village is about one mile east of Saffron Walden
and is set in the rolling countryside of north west Essex. It became a civil parish on April 1, 2004.
, 43 miles from London, 17 miles from Cambridge
, 14 miles from Bishops Stortford and one mile from Saffron Walden.
known as "The Towers".
, the population frequently commuting to Cambridge
or further afield to London
via road and rail links.
These changes have inevitably led to alterations in the social fabric of the community and they are evidenced by the closure of the village's two pubs
(The Fox and the Green Dragon), its local shop, post office
and garage as well as the folding of its once vibrant cricket
club during the last 3 decades of the 20th century.
Villagers' lifestyles have moved on and so have their social and economic ambitions. The positive aspects of those changes are reflected in the new parish council, village hall
and thriving parish church, St James.
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 the Uttlesford
Uttlesford
Uttlesford is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in Saffron Walden.Its name is derived from the ancient Hundred of the same name....
district of 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...
. The village is about one mile east of 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 is set in the rolling countryside of north west Essex. It became a civil parish on April 1, 2004.
Location
Sewards End is in the county of Essex, in south eastern EnglandEngland
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...
, 43 miles from London, 17 miles from Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, 14 miles from Bishops Stortford and one mile from Saffron Walden.
History
Sewards End dates back many centuries and proudly boasts many examples of architecture across the ages including buildings such as "Everards" and the follyFolly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
known as "The Towers".
Recent Change
In common with many other rural villages of its size, Sewards End has seen many changes in recent decades. The 2nd half of the 20th century saw it moving away from its rural roots where a high percentage of the population either worked on the land or in local industry, to the role of dormitory villageCommuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
, the population frequently commuting to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
or further afield to 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...
via road and rail links.
These changes have inevitably led to alterations in the social fabric of the community and they are evidenced by the closure of the village's two pubs
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
(The Fox and the Green Dragon), its local shop, post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and garage as well as the folding of its once vibrant cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
club during the last 3 decades of the 20th century.
Villagers' lifestyles have moved on and so have their social and economic ambitions. The positive aspects of those changes are reflected in the new parish council, village hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
and thriving parish church, St James.