Old Harlow is the historic part of the new town and district of

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

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 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 b ...

12th Century Beams in Harlowsbury Church

Old Harlow is situated in the north-east area of the town and is the oldest area of the town. Old Harlow pre-dates the first written record 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, so it is unknown when the town first came into existence. Originally Old Harlow was going to be the central area of Harlow New Town, but due to the amount of demolition works and the loss of agricultural land it was decided to build Harlow New Town to the west of Old Harlow. As Harlow New Town was being built, Old Harlow seemed to be forgotten and fell behind in its development. It was not until 1977 that Old Harlow was improved with the building of a health service and a senior citizens day centre. Old Harlow still remains village-like with two Grade I

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and many Grade II listed buildings. Old Harlow ward has a total population of 5,845 and comprises 2,498 homes.

History

Old Harlow was known as Harlow before the building of

Harlow New Town Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

, at which point it was renamed Old Harlow and became a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of the

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. It is now known to be an affluent area and it attracts a premium with its cottages and periodic manors. The High Street has various shops, cafés and restaurants. Opposite the High Street runs Fore Street and Market Street, where there are three of the ''Old Town'' pubs, the Chequers, the Marquis of Granby and the Crown. At the other end of High Street is the Green Man Hotel. The town is served by Harlow Baptist Church and St Mary's Church. The town also contains a small extension campus of

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...

, Canada.

Historic estates

Harlowbury

The former manor of Harlowbury lies immediately to the north-east of the town. It was for a time a seat of the Addington family. A Norman chapel survives on the site.

Transport

Bus

Most bus services operate to nearby

, with some buses also linking to other major towns such as

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...

and

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 London a ...

. Some routes are operated under contract to

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council meets at County Hall ...

(route 59 and HSB1), but most routes are operated commercially (routes 8, 10, 508, 509, 510). Routes 508, 509, 510 is the most frequent service, offering links to

Sawbridgeworth Sawbridgeworth is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is east of Hertford and north of Epping. It is the northernmost part of the Greater London Built-up Area. History Prior to the Norman ...

, Bishops Stortford and

Stansted Airport London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acros ...

24-hours a day, including Christmas Day. This is served by

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...

Rail

Harlow Mill railway station Harlow Mill railway station is on the West Anglia Main Line serving the eastern part of Harlow in Essex, England. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between and stations. Its three-letter station code is HWM. T ...

, which is located in Old Harlow, is served by the

West Anglia Main Line The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main lines that operate out of , the other being the Great Eastern Main Line, which operates services to Ipswich and Norwich via Colchester. It runs generally north through Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Har ...

and is operated by Greater Anglia to such destinations such as

Audrey End Audrey () is an English feminine given name. It is the Anglo-Norman form of the Anglo-Saxon name ''Æðelþryð'', composed of the elements '' æðel'' "noble" and ''þryð'' "strength". The Anglo-Norman form of the name was applied to Saint Aud ...

London Liverpool Street Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

and Stratford. There is also a connection between the two main Harlow stations but it is not frequent.

Pubs

* The Chequers * The Crown * The Green Man * The Marquis of Granby * The Queen's Head Inn * The White Horse

Schools

* Fawbert and Barnard's School *

Mark Hall Academy Mark Hall Academy, formerly Mark Hall Specialist Sport College, is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in Harlow, Essex, England. History The school was previously a specialist Sports College Sports Colleges are ...

* Saint Nicholas School * Memorial University of Newfoundland – Harlow Campus

References

{{Essex Areas of Harlow Local government in Essex Historic districts in the United Kingdom