Stanstead Abbotts (alternatively Stanstead Abbots) 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

East Hertfordshire East Hertfordshire is one of ten Non-metropolitan district, local government districts in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire. The largest town in the district is Bishop's Stortford, and th ...

, Hertfordshire, England; it lies on the county boundary with

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,983. The village is situated approximately south-southeast of Ware, southeast of

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...

, north-northeast of Hoddesdon and west of

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

. The village is separated from the village of Stanstead St Margarets by the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

History

Name and origins

The earliest mention of Stanstead Abbotts found so far goes back to 693 - 709. In a charter of AD693 from Swaefred, King of Essex, giving some land in Nazing. Rob Bennett, one of Stanstead Abbotts history researchers, found the following charter for the endowment of a nunnery/monastic house, at Nazing, south of the village at the following website: Anglo-Saxons.net : S 65a He ran the text through a couple of translators and then re-wrote it for sense; the early part reads like A-S poetry! Here is his translation: I the king have understood. I understood and urgently considered the nearness of my end. Nothing is steady in the affairs of man, nothing permanent. Only a good standing without blemish in the eyes of God. For this reason, for the remedy of my soul, I have to give you a fymme (farm?) of my land that is in Nazing, of which the land is part of an nodmerese? with all of my belongings. The fields of the woods and fisheries...Sadly the text at this point is damaged and fragmentary. However the last few words read in Latin: cuius terre terminibus est Stanhemstede in australi parte . This is difficult to translate though seems to say 'this landmark (or site) is in the southern part of Stanhemstede. king (of Essex), to Fymme; grant of 30 hides (manentes) in Nazeingbury, Essex. Latin. We know the exact site of the nunnery from Archeological excavations and it's about 3.5 miles away from the centre of Stanstead Abbotts. What we have here is possibly the first reference to our area in a charter. The village's name was recorded as "Stanstede" 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. In the twelfth century the manor passed to the abbot of Waltham Holy Cross. By the fourteenth century the suffix "Abbatis", "Abbotts" or "Abbot" formed part of the parish's name. The abbey continued possession of the manor until its dissolution in 1531. The manor of Stanstead Abbotts was granted to

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

and remained with the crown after her execution. In 1559 Queen Elizabeth granted it to Edward Baeshe and it remained in the Bashe family for several generations.

The village

Once situated on the main A414, Stanstead Abbotts has many old buildings in its High Street, although many have now made way for newer residential properties. The village is on the Hertford East branch line, with trains from St Margarets station to

Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a major 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 i ...

. The main industry in the village used to be making ale but many of the original maltings have now been demolished to make way for a small business park. The main entrance to the All Nations Christian College in Stanstead Abbotts was used as the entrance to the school in the " St Trinians" films. The local school is St Andrews Primary CE (VC) Primary School. The Lee Valley

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

, part of the

Lee Valley Park Lee Valley Regional Park is a long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire. The park follows the course of the River Lea (Lee) along the Lea Valley from Ware in Hertfords ...

, is located to the south of the village on the

. The village was awarded the title " Best kept village in Hertfordshire – large village" in 1999. Several bus routes run through or near the village, including buses to

, Hunsdon,

Cheshunt Cheshunt (/ˈtʃɛzənt/ CHEZ-ənt) is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, situated within the London commuter belt approximately north of Central London. The town lies on the River Lea and Lee Navigation, bordering th ...

, and Waltham Cross.

Sport and leisure

The village has a Scout Group, the 1st Stanstead Abbotts & St. Margaret's Scout Group. Stanstead Abbotts has a Non-League football club St. Margaretsbury F.C., which plays at The Recreation Ground.

References

External links