Stow Maries is a village and civil parish in the English county of Essex. It is located on the western (inland) end of the Dengie peninsula and forms part of the Purleigh ward in the Maldon district. The place-name 'Stow Maries' is first attested in the Feet of Fines for 1230, where it appears as ''Stowe''. In a Feudal aid of 1420 it appears as ''Stowe Mareys''. The name means 'place belonging to the Marisc family'. (Robert de Marisc held the manor in 1250. The name comes from ''Marais'' in France, meaning 'marsh' – the words are cognate.)

Stow Maries Aerodrome

An Aerodrome was established at Stow Maries in September 1916 during the First World War for the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. By 1919 the need for airfields lessened and Stow Maries was closed. The site was considered for development as an airfield during the Second World War but considered unsuitable due to the clay soil. Even though not opened it played a role nonetheless, being bombed by the Luftwaffe and used as an emergency landing site by a damaged Hurricane fighter plane. The airfield buildings are still mostly intact, with the original windows still in place. The buildings were used to store grain and farm vehicles until 2008. The airfield has subsequently been purchased by Steve Wilson and Russell Savory and is being restored to a state that it would have been found in 1919. Starting in 2014, to commemorate the Centenary of World War I, and in partnership with the 14-18 Aviation Heritage Trust and the Vintage Aviator Lt
The Vintage Aviator
(both New Zealand), th
WW1 Aviation Heritage Trust Ltd
("WAHT", United Kingdom) will bring 5–8 different

World War I aircraft World War I was the first major conflict involving the large-scale use of aircraft. Tethered observation balloons had already been employed in several wars, and would be used extensively for artillery spotting. Germany employed Zeppelins for reco ...

to the UK to tell the story of the technical and tactical aerial combat that occurred between allied and German aviators throughout the Great War. Subject to funding, WAHT will acquire a WW1 aircraft each year on behalf of the nation to tell the story of each year of the War at airshows and commemorative events in the form of

air display Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

s, flypasts and static diorama. It is planned that ultimately these aircraft will be based at the Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome in Essex supported by an apprenticeship scheme to foster the preservation and restoration of World War I aircraft and creating a centre of excellence dedicated to keeping the aviation legacy of the war alive.

Stow Maries Halt

Stow St Mary Halt railway station Stow St. Mary Halt railway station was a halt that served the village of Stow Maries, Essex. It was opened on 24 September 1928 by the London and North Eastern Railway on the single-track branch line (Engineer's Line Reference WFM) that the G ...

on the

Woodham Ferrers Woodham Ferrers is a small village and former civil parish about southeast of Chelmsford, located between South Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre, now in the civil parish of Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre in the county of Essex, England. The villag ...

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...

branch line served the village until closure in 1939. The track has been removed and the area and an adjoining meadow are now managed as

Stow Maries Halt Stow Maries Halt is a nature reserve south of Stow Maries in Essex. It is owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The former Stow St Mary Halt railway station has marshes, a pond and scrub, together with adjoining pasture which is also pa ...

nature reserve by the Essex Wildlife Trust. It can be reached from Church Lane. Ordnance Survey grid reference ().

Local amenities

Stow Maries has one public house, ''The Prince of Wales''. There is a table tennis team, which trains in the Smythe Hall, many footpaths and the old railway line, part of which is used as a cycle route.

Religious sites

The local parish church is the Church of St Mary and St Margaret in the

and

Dengie Dengie is a village and civil parish in the Maldon district of Essex, England, with a population of 119 at the 2011 census. It gives its name to the Dengie peninsula and hundred and to the Dengie Special Protection Area. The place-name 'Dengi ...

Deanery, part of the

Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers Essex and the five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest (most of which wer ...

. The church has a 14th-century chancel and a 15th-century nave that was extended in the 16th century. Some refurbishment took place in 1870. The north vestry was added in 1912 and rebuilt in 1950. The Rectory House (now The Old Rectory) was built in 1799 and is thought to have been designed by Humphry Repton assisted by his son John Adey Repton.

References

Essex Journal, Spring 2009 - The Rectory House, Stow Maries a Repton Design? by Beryl Board

External links

Information and photographs of Stow Maries villageThe history of Stow Maries
{{authority control Villages in Essex