''For the historic house in Essex called Langley's, see

Great Waltham Great Waltham — also known as Church End — is a village and civil parish in the Chelmsford (borough), Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex. The parish contains the village of Ford End, and the hamlets of Broad's Green, Howe Street, L ...

.'' Langley is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

near Clavering in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

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 Grea ...

, seven miles west-south-west 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, ...

Governance

There is a Langley Parish Council. It is located in the local government district of

Uttlesford Uttlesford is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the market town of Saffron Walden. At the 2011 Census, the population of the district was 79,443. Other notable settlements include Great Dunmow, Elmdon, S ...

and within the

Saffron Walden (UK Parliament constituency) Saffron Walden is a constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Kemi Badenoch, a Conservative. History Saffron Walden was one of eight single-member divisions of Essex (later classified as cou ...

Topography

The Parish of Langley consists of two parts, "Langley Upper Green" and "Langley Lower Green" which are linked by roads and footpaths. Bull Lane connects Upper and Lower Green. The Upper Green has OS grid reference () and the Lower Green has OS grid reference (). The

River Stort The River Stort is a river in Essex and Hertfordshire, England. It is 24 miles (38 km) long and flows from just south of the village of Langley to the River Lea at Hoddesdon. The river's name is a back-formation; the town of Bishop's Sto ...

passes through Langley Lower Green. The highest point of the county of

at 482 feet (147 m) is near to the village of Langley at Chrishall Common, close to the Hertfordshire border.

Description

Langley in

adjoins two other counties Hertfordshire and

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

, which are both visible on its horizons and has a Cambridge post code. The village has large areas of open

Common Land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a ...

as well as ribbons of

village green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

along its roads. The village is very rural; surrounded by arable farming; with numerous public footpaths; narrow country roads, bridleways and byways and is situated along routes very popular with cyclists.

Village amenities

The Upper Green contains the newly erected "Langley Village Hall and Community Centre" from 2021. The only remaining

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, "The Bull", is located on Bull Lane at the Lower Green. The village's 12th century, Grade 2

Listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

parish church, "St John the Evangelist" is located at The Causeway, Langley Upper Green. Its western tower was added in the 14th century and chancel in the 16th century. It stands at around 450 feet above sea level. It was re-opened in 1885 after thorough restorations.Historic England Facing onto the Upper Green at Bull Lane is the Langley Baptist Church. The building dates from 1828, after the formation of a baptist group by villagers in 1826. The village has an active

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

(the WI). The parish is home to varied business units, a Rally school and a popular tea-room. The upper green is a good size for

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

matches and has a cricket pitch marked on it. The nearest shop is in Clavering and the nearest supermarkets are in Saffron Walden and Royston. The local doctors surgeries and pharmacies are in Newport. The local post office is at Clavering. The nearest railway station is Audley End with links to Cambridge, and London and Stansted airport via Bishop's Stortford. There is no regular public transport.

Events Calendar

The village is known for its popular (locally-organised through volunteers and parish council) "Langley Village Fete" held on the

August Bank Holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...

each year on the Upper Green and in the Village Hall.

History

Langley is an Anglo-Saxon name for a long clearing in woodland. A pathway along the remains of a former Roman road passes along Langley's parish boundary with Clavering. It has its closest historical connections to Clavering.

Wildlife

The skies are patrolled by

Red Kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

s and the village is surrounded by herds of

Fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...

. There are various protected wildflower verges.

References

External links

Uttlesford Villages in Essex {{Essex-geo-stub