Stebbing is a small village in the Uttlesford district of northern Essex, England. The village is situated north of the ancient

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

Stane Street. It is from the nearest railway station (), and from nearest airport ( London Stansted). The village has a pub and a bowling green and has a population of about 1,500.

History

Stebbing is mentioned in the Domesday Book

" Henry de Ferrers holds Stebbing in
demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
which Siward held as a manor and as two hides and 30 acres. Then and later two ploughs in demesne; now 3. Among the men then 4 ploughs now six and a half. There were six villans now eight. Then 16
bordars Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which devel ...
now 33."''Domesday Book: A Complete Transliteration''. London: Penguin, 2003. p.454

Half a mile north-west of the church is The Mount, the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

ed earthwork identified as the remains of the medieval castle. In the late 13th century the manor of Stebbing passed briefly to the Scottish noble house of Douglas by virtue of the marriage of William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas to Eleanor de Lovaine, the widow of William de Ferrers of Groby. Eleanor was a ward of Edward I, and had her late husband's manors of Stebbing and

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 ...

made into a dowry for a future remarriage. Douglas absconded with Eleanor, when she was attending to her late husband's estates in Scotland, and married her c.1288. Douglas, a significant figure on the Scottish side during the First Scottish War of Independence, had his English manors finally forfeited by 1298 when he died of mistreatment in the Tower of London. His son Hugh Douglas having been captured previously at Stebbing in 1296, by the

Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of t ...

The church

St Mary the Virgin, Stebbing, Essex - East end - geograph

The Grade I listed church was built mainly around 1360. An outstanding feature is the stone

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

, one of only three that survive in Europe (the others are at Great Bardfield and in Trondheim). The earliest written record referring to the present church dates from 1377, when it was reported of Henry de Ferrers that he was “said to have been born in the Abbey of Tilty and baptised in the church of St. Mary the Virgin, Stebbing”. During work inside the church a few years ago part of the foundations of an earlier building were uncovered along with coins of King Henry II (1154 - 1189). During restoration work in 2010 remnants were discovered of medieval wall paintings.

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

in the same name exists. This ward had a population of 1,560 at the 2011 census.

Residents

The writer Henry De Vere Stacpoole lived in the village with his wife Margaret for over a decade, during which time he served the area as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. In 1922 they moved to the Isle of Wight.

References

External links

Stebbing village page

old Stebbing census records

Stebbing Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Essex Civil parishes in Essex Uttlesford