Little Waltham 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 ...

just north of

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Londo ...

, in

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, 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 Riv ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is adjacent to the village of Great Waltham. The Domesday Book refers to the two villages as Waltham, consisting of several manors. The site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

village was excavated before upgrading the main road north between the current villages. The village straddles the River Chelmer. Its main street has a number of old houses near the bridge, notably a rare Essex example of a

Wealden hall house The Wealden hall house is a type of vernacular medieval Timber framing, timber-framed hall house traditional in the south east of England. Typically built for a yeoman, it is most common in Kent (hence "Wealden" for the once densely forested Wea ...

, now divided into three cottages. A footpath leads south alongside the river to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, part of which is a nature reserve. The countryside is under continued threat from housing and road development.

Amenities

The parish church, St Mary the Virgin, is dedicated to St Martin of Tours, and has a Norman south door with a window above. Its East window features local landmarks shown at the foot of the cross. There is also a United Reformed Church in The Street. There is a pub in the centre of the village, The White Hart. This has undergone extensive renovation in recent years to turn it from a traditional pub into a more modern "gastro-pub" serving quality food. It has good reviews and an overall 4/5 rating on trip advisor. The village has a doctor's surgery in Brook Hill, with a pharmacy on site. There are two main halls in the village, Tufnell Hall and the Memorial Hall. Tufnell Hall is home to the Little Waltham Sports and Social Club, which hosts the village football team as well as badminton. Tufnell Hall has a main hall which is used by the Montessori Nursery School during term times (see Education) and is available for hire for functions, plus a separate bar area open to members and visitors. The Memorial Hall is used by the village playgroup and is also used as the polling station for elections. The United Reformed Church also has a smaller hall which is primarily used for church functions plus the Applepips nursery school.

Sport

The village also has a cricket team; the ground is in the centre of the village opposite the White Hart pub and Tufnell Hall. A short-lived

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tr ...

track was opened in the spring of 1930 on the main Braintree-Chelmsford Road. The racing on Friday evenings was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the

National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom. History The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the ...

) and was known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. The grass track held races over 550 yards races and had a covered stand with refreshments available on site. The four-acre site near Ash Tree Corner was put up for sale in February 1931; meetings after this were organised by the Waltham Greyhound and Whippet Club. Equipment from the track at

New Writtle Street Stadium New Writtle Street Stadium was a football and short lived greyhound racing stadium located in Chelmsford, Essex, adjacent to the Essex County Cricket Club ground. Origins The stadium was constructed on spare land on the north side of New Writtl ...

was installed here in March 1936.

Education

Most Primary School age children in Little Waltham attend either Little Waltham Church of England Primary School, with some attending Great Waltham Church of England Primary School nearby. High School age children typically attend Chelmer Valley High School in nearby Broomfield. There are also nursery schools in the village, including a Montessori Nursery School; Rainbow Little Waltham, for 2- to 5-year-olds; Applepips at the URC; and the playgroup at the Memorial Hall.

Notes

External links

Essex Walks - Little and Great Waltham
{{authority control Villages in Essex Civil parishes in Essex