__NOTOC__ Stambourne 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 ...

in the Braintree District in north

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 Grea ...

, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 409. Stambourne's closest neighbouring villages are

Ridgewell Ridgewell is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England, about six miles from Haverhill on the main road between Haverhill and Braintree. Its population was 503 in 216 households in the 2001 census, with mean age ...

Toppesfield __NOTOC__ Toppesfield is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. The village is approximately north from the county town of Chelmsford, and west from the village of Great Yeldham. The parish contains the hamlet ...

, Cornish Hall End and

Great Yeldham Great Yeldham is a village in north Essex, England, about from the Suffolk border. Great Yeldham is situated along the busy main A1017 road (formerly A604) between Braintree, Essex, Braintree and Haverhill, Suffolk, Haverhill. The village is w ...

Cottages at Stambourne Green, Essex - geograph

History

Stambourne derives from an old local dialect term for 'stony brook'. A part of the British 17th-century witchcraft trials, the spinster Sarah Houghton of Stambourne, in 1663, was charged by the authorities with causing John Smyth to become "consumed and made infirme." A jury, including John Levett and Matthew Butcher, found Houghton guilty, and she was ordered to be hanged. She was reprieved after the jury had rendered their judgment. Dame

Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies Dame Gwen Lucy Ffrangcon-Davies, (25 January 1891 – 27 January 1992) was a British actress and centenarian. Early life She was born in London of a Welsh family; the name "Ffrangcon" is said to originate from a valley in Snowdonia. Her pare ...

, a stage actress of the early- and mid-20th century, lived in Stambourne in later life, dying in 1992 at the age of 101.

Community

The parish church of St Peter and St Thomas Becket dates from the 11th century and is a Grade I listed building. Every year a bonfire and fireworks display is held in the village playing field. The event attracts people from surrounding areas (including Great Yeldham, Hedingham and Halstead). The local handyman is known for lighting the bonfire every year wearing short shorts and a cowboy hat.

References

External links

Main website for Stambourne, with a brief history of Stambourne and access to its history documentWebsite for St Peter & St Thomas’ Church, Stambourne, part of the Upper Colne Valley Parishes
Villages in Essex Braintree District Witch trials in England {{Essex-geo-stub

History

Community

See also

References

External links