View source for Stapleford Abbotts

{{Short description|Village in Essex, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{infobox UK place
|country                   = England
|coordinates               = {{coord|51|37|51|N|0|10|37|E|display=inline,title}}
|official_name             = Stapleford Abbotts
|civil_parish              = Stapleford Abbotts<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staplefordabbotts.blogspot.com/|title=Stapleford Abbotts Parish Council|first=Stapleford|last=Abbotts|website=staplefordabbotts.blogspot.com|access-date=3 March 2019}}</ref>
|population                = 959
|population_ref            = (2001)<br> 1,008 (2001)<ref name=ONS/>
|shire_district            = [[Epping Forest (district)|Epping Forest]]
|shire_county              = [[Essex]]
|region                    = East of England
|constituency_westminster  = [[Brentwood and Ongar (UK Parliament constituency)|Brentwood and Ongar]]
|post_town                 = ROMFORD
|postcode_district         = RM4
|postcode_area             = RM
|dial_code                 = [[01708]]
|os_grid_reference         = TQ505955
|static_image_name         = St. Mary; the parish church of Stapleford Abbotts - geograph.org.uk - 819650.jpg
|static_image_caption      = Church of St Mary<br>[[listed building|Grade II architecturally listed]]
|static_image_2_name       = Tysea Hill, Stapleford Abbots, Essex - geograph.org.uk - 25955.jpg
|static_image_2_caption    = Tysea Hill, Stapleford Abbots
|london_distance_mi        = 16.2
|london_direction          = SW
|area_total_km2            = 9.57
|module                    = {{Infobox mapframe|stroke-width=1|zoom=12|width=240}}
}}
'''Stapleford Abbotts''' is a village and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[Epping Forest (district)|Epping Forest]] district of [[Essex]], approximately {{convert|9|km|mi|round=0.5|abbr=on|order=flip}} SW of [[Chipping Ongar|Ongar]], {{convert|7|km|mi|round=0.5|abbr=on|order=flip}} N of [[Romford]] and {{convert|8|km|mi|round=0.5|abbr=on|order=flip}} SSE of [[Epping, Essex|Epping]]. The whole parish is within the [[M25 motorway]]. The village covers {{convert|957|ha|acre}} and had a population of 959 in 2001,<ref>[http://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/Council_Services/planning/census/StaplefordAbbotts.asp Epping Forest District Council – Stapleford Abbotts Parish Profile] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041126085941/http://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/Council_Services/planning/census/StaplefordAbbotts.asp |date=26 November 2004 }}</ref> increasing to 1,008 at the 2011 Census.<ref name=ONS>{{cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11129011&c=Stapleford+Abbotts&d=16&e=62&g=6424961&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1473240064312&enc=1 |title=Civil Parish population 2011 |access-date=7 September 2016 |publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>

==History==
The name of the parish arose because the principal manor was held by the [[Bury St. Edmunds Abbey|Abbey of Bury St Edmunds]] from before the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]] to the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|Dissolution]]. A story is recorded in the abbey's registers that the lord of the manor was miraculously cured of a lingering illness in 1013 by the body of [[Edmund the Martyr|St Edmund]] as it passed back to Bury Abbey from [[London]]. In gratitude for being cured, he gave the manor to the abbey, either then or some time later.<ref name=bh>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=15673 ''British History''] – Access to historic documents and research from the [[University of Portsmouth]] and History of Parliament Trust. A History of the County of Essex: Volume 4: Ongar Hundred (1956), pp. 223–28, ''Stapleford Abbots: Manors''. Accessed: 7 September 2007</ref> After the [[dissolution of the monasteries]] the manor was in the hands of [[Brian Tuke|Sir Brian Tuke]] and was included when he sold [[Pyrgo Park|Pyrgo]] to [[Henry VIII|King Henry VIII]] in 1544 although Navestock and Stapleford were both subsequently leased to George and Walter Cely, relatives of John Cely who had previously been Paler of the Park of [[Havering Palace]] at [[Havering-atte-Bower]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Smith | first = Harold | title = A history of the parish of Havering-Atte-Bower Essex | year = 1925 | publisher = Benham and Company | location = Colchester | pages=33–34 }}</ref>

The population rose from 320 in 1801 to 507 in 1831, then fluctuated within that range until 1921 when it was 391. In the 20th century, there was a gradual increase in population due to new building in the area from the 1930s onwards. In 1951, the population was 731.<ref name="Date accessed: 7 September 2007"/>

Historically Stapleford Abbotts was included in the [[hundred (division)|hundred]] of [[Ongar (hundred)|Ongar]]. It formed part of the [[Ongar Rural District]] Council from 1894 until that authority was absorbed into [[Epping and Ongar Rural District]] Council in 1955. Since the local-government reorganisation of 1974, it has been part of Epping Forest District. The present civil parish retains largely the same boundaries as the parish of the mid-19th century.

==Events==

In September 1927, the village was the scene of the murder of Police Constable George Gutteridge, who was shot at the roadside by two car thieves, [[Browne and Kennedy|Frederick Browne and William Kennedy]], who were later hanged for their crime. Gutteridge Lane is named in his memory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.liverpoolcitypolice.co.uk/murders/pc-gutteridge-killing/|title = PC Gutteridge Killing – Liverpool City Police}}</ref>

==Geography==
The [[civil parishes in England|parish]] is mostly rural and agricultural with a scattering of farms and cottages, much of it is [[Metropolitan Green Belt]] protected land. The northern boundary of the parish is formed by the [[River Roding]]. The remainder of the parish is crossed by streams that feed into it or form the headwater of the [[River Rom]]. The terrain is hilly and 28–90 m (92–295&nbsp;ft) above sea level ([[Above Ordnance Datum|AOD]]) with most between 35 and 80 m (115 and 262&nbsp;ft).<ref name=os/>

The village itself is a straggle of mostly 20th-century housing stretching for about a mile along the elevated [[Romford]] to [[Chipping Ongar|Ongar]] road from the boundary with [[Havering-atte-Bower]]. The medieval church (largely rebuilt in the 19th century) is situated in a relatively isolated position a further mile away from what is now the village, reflecting the fact that it had no single nucleus until the 20th century.<ref name="Date accessed: 7 September 2007">[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=15672 ''British History'']. A History of the County of Essex: Volume 4: Ongar Hundred (1956), pp. 222–23, ''Stapleford Abbots: Introduction''. Date accessed: 7 September 2007</ref><ref>St Mary's Church – Grade II listing {{NHLE|num=1165922|access-date=30 November 2012}}</ref>

Apart from the village of Stapleford Abbotts, the parish includes the hamlets of Bournebridge, Nuper's Hatch and a small part of [[Passingford Bridge]]. Two places use the village's name outside of it: Stapleford Flight Centre which provides sightseeing flights and Stapleford Abbotts Golf Course (see below).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flysfc.com/ |title=Stapleford Flight Centre, London England |website=www.flysfc.com |access-date=3 March 2019}}</ref>

==Localities==
===Bournebridge===
Adjoining a farm on the main street to the south is the Bournebridge hamlet. The actual Bourne Bridge crosses the [[Bourne Brook]], which later becomes the [[River Rom]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.az.co.uk/essex-a-z-street-atlas-spiral.html |title=Essex A-Z Street Atlas (spiral) |website=www.az.co.uk |access-date=3 March 2019}}</ref> The one Grade II listed building in the hamlet is the Old The School House.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1165920 |access-date=30 November 2012}}</ref> Otherwise it consists of fewer than 20 homes and farms.<ref name=os>{{cite web |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/shop/os-maps-online.html |title=OS Maps – online and App mapping system – Ordnance Survey Shop |website=www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |access-date=3 March 2019}}</ref>

===Nuper's Hatch===
This hamlet ranges in altitude from 60 to 82 m (197 to 296&nbsp;ft) compared to the village centre's 55&nbsp;m (180&nbsp;ft) average. It consists of at least 60 properties centred on Nuper's and Lyng's Farm, in particular the neighbourhood and linear development of '''Tysea Hill'''. On the Tysea Hill ridge is Stapleford Abbotts Golf Course, which is across an almost straight north–south divide in the [[Borough of Brentwood]].<ref name=os/> Six other farms adjoin the main road here, using a hilly [[terrain]]. Curtismill Green itself is in the parish, along with a few cottages, including the grade II listed Honeysuckle Cottage.<ref>Honeysuckle Cottage – Grade II listing{{NHLE|num=1165956|access-date=30 November 2012}}</ref> However, most of the hamlet is in [[Navestock]].

==Transport==
Buses are limited in the area, served by the single Route 375.

{| class="wikitable" 
! Route Number
! Route
! Via
! Operator
! Operational details
|-
|'''375''' {{access icon|15px}}
|[[Abridge|Passingford Bridge]] to [[Romford railway station|Romford station]] {{Rail-interchange|gb|rail}}.
|[[Havering-atte-Bower]], [[Collier Row]].
|[[Arriva Southend]] .
|Mon-Sat every 90 minutes. [[London Buses]] service. Times<ref>[http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/375.htm Times]</ref>
|}

The nearest railway station is at [[Romford railway station|Romford]]. There are frequent mainline services from [[Romford railway station|its station]] to [[London]] and [[East Anglia]].

Bus route 575 ran a limited service from Harlow but ended operations in 2021.<ref>[https://busandtrainuser.com/2021/08/24/end-of-the-road-for-londons-route-575/ Bus and Train User, 2021]</ref>

==Notes and references==
;Notes 
{{Reflist|group=n}}  
;References
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Geographic location
|title     = Nearest Notable Settlements
|Centre    = Stapleford Abbotts
|North     = [[Stapleford Tawney]]
|Northeast = <small>''across part of Navestock''</small><br>[[Kelvedon Hatch]]
|East      = [[Navestock]]
|Southeast = [[Harold Hill]]
|South     = [[Havering-atte-Bower]] 
|Southwest = <small>''across Havering Park and Hainault Forest''</small><br>[[Hainault, London|Hainault]]
|West      = [[Lambourne]]
|Northwest = [[Theydon Mount]]
}}

{{Epping Forest}}

[[Category:Villages in Essex]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Essex]]
[[Category:Epping Forest District]]