Finchingfield is a village in the Braintree district in north-west

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England, a primarily rural area. It is approximately from

Thaxted Thaxted is a town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of north-west Essex, England. The town is in the valley of the River Chelmer, not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden, and is 97 metres (318 feet) above sea level (whe ...

, farther from the larger towns of

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

and Braintree. Nearby villages include

Great Bardfield Great Bardfield is a large village in the Braintree district of Essex, England. It is located approximately northwest of the town of Braintree, and approximately southeast of Saffron Walden. The village came to national attention during the ...

Great Sampford Great Sampford is a village and civil parish on the junction of the B1053 and B1051 roads in the north-west of the English county of Essex. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 586. The village includes a primary school, ...

, and Wethersfield.

History

There has been a settlement in Finchingfield since historical records of the area began. Also, there is archaeological evidence for a Roman villa 400 metres south-southwest of the village church. The place-name 'Finchingfield ' is first attested in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086, where it appears as ''Fincingefelda,'' a name that means 'the field of Finc or his people'. The village was an official stop for horse-drawn coaches travelling from London to

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

Spains Hall Spains Hall is an Elizabethan country house near Finchingfield in Essex, England. The building has been Grade I listed since 1953. The hall is named after Hervey de Ispania, who held the manor at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. From th ...

, the nearby Elizabethan country house, was built in the early fifteenth century. The hall is named after Hervey de Ispania, who held the manor at the time of the 1086 ''

''. Since then, the land has been owned by four families: the de Ispania family, the Kempe family, who acquired it when Margery de Ispania married Nicholas Kempe in the early fifteenth century, the Ruggles family (later the Ruggles-Brise family), and currently celebrity chef Jamie Oliver with wife Jools and their 5 children. The hall was the hub of the community, those families owning much of the village, and employing most of the villagers. (Registration required)

Community

Finchingfield and

Cornish Hall End Cornish Hall End is on the B1057 road three miles north of Finchingfield and south of Steeple Bumpstead in the Braintree district of Essex, England. The main part of the village is a ribbon development of about 60 houses on either side of the r ...

combined had a population of 1,471 at the

United Kingdom Census 2011 A Census in the United Kingdom, census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Inter ...

. The

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...

covering Finchingfield includes

, Shalford, and Wethersfield. Societies and clubs founded in Finchingfield, include The Finchingfield Society, the Horticultural Society, the Royal British Legion, and Finchingfield Cricket Club. It often is called the most beautiful village in England, a "picture-postcard" village and one of the most photographed, with a duck pond and village green surrounded by Georgian and medieval cottages; St John the Baptist Church on the hill; an eighteenth-century windmill; three public houses; Post Office; tea rooms; a hall; a primary school; and a doctor's surgery. It often has appeared in television programmes, films, and commercials, as well as on chocolate boxes, biscuit tins, and other products. Finchingfield was the home and is the burial place of

Dodie Smith Dorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith (3 May 1896 – 24 November 1990) was an English novelist and playwright. She is best known for writing ''I Capture the Castle'' (1948) and the children's novel ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1956). Other works i ...

, whose books include ''

The Hundred and One Dalmatians ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' is a 1956 children's novel by Dodie Smith about the kidnapping of a family of Dalmatian (dog), Dalmatian puppies. It was originally serialized in ''Woman's Day'' as ''The Great Dog Robbery'', and details the ...

'' (1956). She lived in The Barretts at Howe Street, a hamlet in the parish about from the village. The 2013 Sky series ''Chickens'' was filmed in the village. The series concerns three young men who avoided going to fight during the First World War, written by and starring

Simon Bird Simon Antony Bird (born 19 August 1984) is an English comedian, actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Will McKenzie in the multi-award-winning E4 comedy series ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008–2010), as well as its two films ...

and Joe Thomas. The village is on the route of the

Dunwich Dynamo The Dunwich Dynamo (sometimes abbreviated to "Dun Run" or "DD") is an annual semi-organised, through-the-night bicycle ride from London Fields park in Hackney, London, England to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast. The distance is approximately . T ...

annual cycle ride.

Notable people

Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel KG, (7 July 1585 – 4 October 1646) was a prominent English courtier during the reigns of King James I and King Charles I, but he made his name as a Grand Tourist and art collector rather than as a politic ...

* Norman Lewis, travel writer, novelist, founder of Survival International *

, author of ''

'' * A J A Symons, author of ''The Quest For Corvo'', an acclaimed biography of the author

Frederick Rolfe Frederick William Rolfe (surname pronounced ), better known as Baron Corvo (Italian for "Crow"), and also calling himself Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), was an English writer, artist, ph ...

. *

Janie Terrero Janie Terrero (14 April 1858 – 22 June 1944) was a militant suffragette who, as a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), was imprisoned and force-fed for which she received the WSPU's Hunger Strike Medal. Early life Born ...

(1858 – 1944), militant suffragette born here. *

Jamie Oliver James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reache ...

, chef, TV personality and author

Gallery

File:Finchingfield(ChristineMatthews)Jun2005.jpg, Finchingfield, June 2005 File:Finchingfield post Windmill.jpg, Finchingfield post mill File:Finchingfield Guildhall.jpg, Finchingfield Guildhall (before 2011-2013 restoration)"Guildhall Finchingfield Essex"
Retrieved 4 January 2015 File:Finchingfield church of St John the Baptist 2.jpg, The church of St. John the Baptist File:02 THE FOX INN, FINCHINGFIELD.jpg, The Fox Inn, Finchingfield

References

External links