Aldham, Essex
| Aldham | |
| Essex | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Margaret and St Catherine | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL917253 |
| Location: | 51°53’36"N, 0°47’7"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 491 (2011, with Fordstreet) |
| Post town: | Colchester |
| Postcode: | CO6 |
| Dialling code: | 01206 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Colchester |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Harwich and North Essex |
Aldham is a village in Essex, four and a half miles west of Colchester and two miles from the A12 trunk road.
The ancient parish covered 1,847 acres (the current civil parish just 1,770 acres)[1] The village borders Fordstreet, Marks Tey and the River Colne to the north.
The 2011 census gave the parish population as 491
History
There have been Iron Age finds in the area near Fordstreet and also pottery that may indicate Roman settlement.[1] The village was founded in the Middle Ages, and by the time of the Domesday Book of 1086 there was a population of 12 with four households.[2] The population rose in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and by 1671 there were at least 55 households in the village.[1]
Church
Aldham's parish church is dedicated to St Margaret and St Catherine and is a Grade II* listed building.[3]
A church in the village is first mentioned in 1145. The original church stood by Old Church Farm to the west of the village. By the middle of the 19th century, it had become very decrepit; the floor was damp, the walls had to be supported by large brick buttresses, and stout wooden posts had replaced some of the pillars. In 1853, it was decided to build a new church in a more central location, modelled on the old one (but enlarged) and re-using as much of the original fabric as possible, notably the whole of the 14th-century south porch. Although located near the geographical centre of the parish, only a few cottages were in close proximity to the new church, with the majority of the buildings in the parish on the main road at Fordstreet. However, since that time, there has been much building near the church and the area has become known as "Aldham Village" to differentiate it from Fordstreet.[4]
Philip Morant, a historian of Essex, was Rector from 1745 to 1770. His profile appears on the village sign.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Aldham, Essex) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 A History of the County of Essex - Volume 10 pp pp9-13: Aldham introduction (Victoria County History)
- ↑ Aldham, Essex in the Domesday Book
- ↑ National Heritage List 1170063: Church of St Margaret and St Catherine (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ Aldham Church History: VCS Parish Churches