Stansted Mountfitchet
| Stansted Mountfitchet | |
| Essex | |
|---|---|
 Stansted Mountfitchet | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL5124 |
| Location: | 51°53’53"N, -0°11’53"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 5,533 (2001) |
| Post town: | Stansted |
| Postcode: | CM24 |
| Dialling code: | 01279 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Uttlesford |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Saffron Walden |
Stansted Mountfitchet is a village in Essex, near the Hertfordshire border. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533. The village is served by Stansted Mountfitchet railway station.
The village is in north-western Essex, 3 miles north of Bishop's Stortford. Stansted Airport is two miles from the village. The village has two primary schools and one high school which was renamed the Forest Hall School in September, 2013.
History
Stansted was a Saxon settlement; the name 'Stansted' means 'stony place' in Old English. From the Normans came the suffix 'Mountfitchet', from the Norman baron who settled there. A small remnant of his castle, Stansted Mountfitchet Castle, remains, around which a reconstruction of an early Norman castle has been built. The site of the castle is believed to have been fortified originally in the Iron Age, and subsequently by the Romans and Vikings, construction of the Norman castle began in 1066.
St Mary the Virgin's Church, built in the 1120s, is a redundant church under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The brick west tower was added in 1692. A chapel of ease dedicated to St John the Evangelist was built in 1889 nearer the centre of the village and is now the village church.
Stansted Hall was built in 1871.
Landmarks
Other village attractions include the House on the Hill Toy Museum, which its owners claim "is the largest toy museum in the World". Located next to Mountfitchet Castle and Norman Village of 1066, both attractions are owned by Alan Goldsmith. The museum opened in 1991 and holds over 80,000 toys, mostly from the 1950s to the 1990s.
A working windmill built in 1787 is in the village, and is open to the public once a month.
During the Second World War, the US Air Force constructed an airfield near the village. After the war ended, it was subsequently taken over by the government and developed as a commercial airport. Today, Stansted Airport is accessible by road from Junction 8 of the M11 motorway, near Bishop's Stortford and direct by train from London Liverpool Street.
A large number of homes have been built in a new development to the southeast side of the village, at the site of the former Rochford Nurseries in Forest Hall Road.
Economy
In March 2013, Stansted Mountfitchet was named as the United Kingdom's fourth most internet-friendly town. The Google eTown Awards recognise the top places where businesses are most actively embracing the web, and Stansted's high ranking reflects the increased use of the internet to spur economic growth. The results put Stansted in fourth place behind Richmond, in third, Edinburgh, in second, and Stratford upon Avon, which took the top spot.[1]
Titan Airways has its head office in the Enterprise House on the property of Stansted Airport.[2]
Several defunct airlines had their head offices on the Stansted property. AirUK (later KLM uk) had its head office in Stansted House.[3][4] Buzz (airline)|Buzz had its head office was in Endeavour House.[5] AB Airlines had its head office in the Enterprise House.[6] Lloyd International Airways had its head office at the Lloyd House.[7] Go Fly had its head office at the Enterprise House.[8]
Until it merged with Lastminute.com in 2006, Travelocity.co.uk had its headquarters in Stansted Mountfitchet, and employed around 60 Essex and Hertfordshire locals. The office closed in the early part of 2006, and Travelocity.co.uk formally came under the umbrella of Lastminute.com, who has offices in London and Woking, Surrey.
Sport and leisure
- Football: Stansted FC, who play at the Hargrave Park sports ground in the village
- Cricket
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Stansted Mountfitchet) |
References
- ↑ http://www.hertsandessexobserver.co.uk/Business/Business-News/Stansted-crowned-as-leading-UK-e-commerce-town-20130321144254.htm
- ↑ "Contact Us." Titan Airways. Retrieved on 16 December 2011. "Titan Airways Ltd Enterprise House Stansted Airport Essex CM24 1RN"
- ↑ "Home-page." AirUK. Retrieved on 28 February 2010.
- ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 18–24 March 1998. 82.
- ↑ "Contact Us." Buzz
- ↑ "An Introduction to AB Airlines." AB Airlines. 30 January 1998. Retrieved on 7 February 2011. "AB Airlines - Internet Enquiry Office Enterprise House, Stansted Airport Essex. CM24 1QW"
- ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 10 April 1969. 580. "Head Office: Lloyd House, First Avenue, Stansted Airport, Essex."
- ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 27 March-2 April 2001. 77. "Enterprise House, 2nd Floor, Stansted Airport, Stansted, Essex, CM241SB, UK"