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Toppesfield is a village and
civil parish in the Braintree district of
Essex, England. The village is approximately north from the
county town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
of
Chelmsford, and west from the village of
Great Yeldham. The parish contains the hamlets of
Gainsford End
Gainsford End is a hamlet in the civil parish of Toppesfield, and the Braintree district of Essex, England. The hamlet is southwest from the parish village of Toppesfield.
Gainsford End, with the village of Toppesfield, won first prize in the 20 ...
and Grass Green.
History
The derivation of the name 'Toppesfield' is 'open land on the hill top', a possible agglomeration of the phrase 'Top of the Field'.
Geography
Toppesfield, from the
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
border, is part of North Essex which has higher terrain than most of Essex. The village sits on a small and shallow hill, about 75 metres above sea level.
Community
Toppesfield is a rural community historically associated with
arable farming. The village has approximately 300 inhabitants. The hamlet of
Gainsford End
Gainsford End is a hamlet in the civil parish of Toppesfield, and the Braintree district of Essex, England. The hamlet is southwest from the parish village of Toppesfield.
Gainsford End, with the village of Toppesfield, won first prize in the 20 ...
, of approximately fifty inhabitants, is about southwest from the village, and contains the listed
Gainsford End Mill.
Toppesfield's only
public house is the Green Man. The pub is owned by Toppesfield Community Pub Limited (TCP), an Industrial & Provident Society which was established in 2012. TCP gained control of the Green Man in December 2012 from Admiral Taverns, a national pub chain which had financial problems. TCP is owned by more than 150 shareholders who raised share capital exceeding £150,000 to help finance the purchase.
St Margaret’s Church, Topplesfield, a
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
, is part of the Upper Colne Valley Parishes joint benefice. Affiliated to the church is St Margaret's
Church of England primary school.
The church has a ring of 8 bells. https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?tower=10568
During the 1980's, several championship games of "Shed and Gate" were played at St Margaret's school.
References
External links
*
St Margaret's C of E Primary School
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Villages in Essex
Braintree District
