Population 437 Region East Sovereign state United Kingdom Local time Friday 8:26 AM District Uttlesford | OS grid reference TL605235 Country England Post town Dunmow Shire county Essex | |
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Weather 7°C, Wind NE at 23 km/h, 87% Humidity | ||
Little Easton is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. The village is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) east from the town of Bishop's Stortford, and 12 miles (19 km) north-west from the county town of Chelmsford. Little Easton parish is defined at the west by the River Roding, and the east by the River Chelmer. The village and civil parish of Great Easton lie one mile (1.6 km) to the north.
Contents
Map of Little Easton, Dunmow, UK
Little Easton parish population in 2011 was 437.
The village public house, The Stag, is on Duck Street, the main road of the village. The parish church, the Grade I listed St Mary the Virgin, is on Park Road at the south of the village. Mike Reid, the actor and comedian, was buried in the churchyard following his death on 29 July 2007. Adjacent to the church is the Manor house, which is not open to the public, although there are four ornamental lakes which are open for recreational use, including fishing.
History
Little Easton dates from the 12th century and is recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Estaines Parva in the hundred of Dunmow.
During the second world war the US Air Force created an airfield at nearby Easton Lodge, which was the base of the 386th Bomb Group (Marauders) of the 9th AF USAAF. Although the airfield has long been transformed back into fields, the outline of the airport is evident from the air, as seen through Google Earth, just to the right of the current Stansted Airport.
Easton Lodge itself was built in 1597 by Henry Maynard, to replace a medieval manor house which was situated by the church. Most of the original house has been destroyed over the years by fires, but there is a project underway to restore the gardens. Easton Lodge was the home of Frances Evelyn Maynard (1861-1938), also known as Daisy, who became Countess of Warwick and a noted 'champagne socialist'. The Lodge gave its name to a railway station on the now-closed line between Braintree and Bishops Stortford.