Hatfield Peverel

Hatfield Peverel

St. Andrew's church, Hatfield Peverel
Hatfield Peverel
Hatfield Peverel shown within Essex
Population 4,376 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference TL7911
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town CHELMSFORD
Postcode district CM3
Dialling code 01245
Police Essex
Fire Essex
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK Parliament

Hatfield Peverel is a large urban village and civil parish at the centre of Essex, England. The 2004 parish population, including the hamlet of Nounsley, was approximately 5,500. Hatfield means a 'heathery space in the forest'; Peverel refers to William Peverel, the Norman knight granted lands in the area by William the Conqueror after the Norman invasion of 1066. Sited on high ground east of the River Ter, between Boreham and Witham on the A12, it is situated in the southern extremity of the Braintree District Council area (to which it elects two members).

Hatfield Peverel is 6 miles (10 km) northeast from Chelmsford, the nearest large town, to which it is connected by road and rail. Hatfield Peverel railway station is on the Abellio Greater Anglia East Anglia rail network. London is 45 minutes away by train, a journey to Colchester takes 30 minutes and provides access to and from Witham, London and Ipswich. The station is open seven days a week, though ticket office opening times vary. There is a notable railway viaduct across the River Ter just west of the station.

Hatfield Peverel is the site of a priory founded by the Saxon Ingelrica, wife of Ranulph Peverel and reputed to be the mistress of William the Conqueror, to atone for her sins, and dissolved by Henry VIII. The parish church, St Andrew's (Church of England) is the surviving fragment of the Norman priory church nave. There is also a Methodist Church and a Salvation Army (northeast London headquarters) congregation. The village has a Junior School (St Andrew's C of E) and an adjacent County Infant School, and Scout and Guide organisations with headquarters in Church Road, a Post Office, library, and doctors' surgery. Hatfield Peverel was the site of a Arla Foods factory which closed in July 2016, it used to produce dairy products, and other small business concerns. The factory which has subsequently been demolished and there are plans to build up to 177 houses on the former site.[2] There are six public houses, a farm shop and other retail outlets. Major houses include Berwick Place, Crix, Hatfield Place, Hatfield Wick, and The Priory.

The parish council meets at the Village Hall. The community is diverse. There are transport links, for employment and entertainment, connecting the wider area of Essex and the city. Local activities include a fete run by the Carter family. Richard Carter takes a group of children up to London weekly. He was awarded an OBE.

Hatfield Peverel Station is seen in the 1976 film Exposé starring Linda Hayden and Fiona Richmond. The surrounding countryside is also seen.

Hatfield Peverel Football Club has been established since 1903. Originally based at the Duke of Wellington Public House before moving to the Recreation Ground in 1936. The club are now based on the outskirts of the village at a former gravel pit at Wickham Bishops Road and fields men's, ladies and junior teams.

Hatfield Peverel is the home of the first woman who was executed for witchcraft in England. Her name was Agnes Waterhouse, locally known as Mother Waterhouse, and she confessed to witchcraft in 1566, and two other women were also accused of witchcraft at the same time: Elizabeth Francis and Joan Waterhouse (Agnes' daughter)[3]. Her trial took place in Chelmsford, where she was found guilty and executed for using witchcraft to disease and cause the death of William Fynne. Elizabeth admitted to having a familiar- a cat called Satan, who she fed drops of her blood and it helped to kill people, terminate pregnancies and stole cattle. She sold the cat to Agnes in exchange for cake and both Agnes and Joan tested the cat's abilities. Joan got the cat to turn into a toad, and when a child refused to give Joan food, Satan offered to help Joan in exchange for her soul, which she agreed to. The toad harassed the child and threatened her with death, and eventually the child asked Satan who its 'dame' was, and it told the child the 'dame' was Agnes Waterhouse, leading her to be accused of witchcraft by the child. She was executed two days after the trial based on the evidence and word of the child.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Abandoned dairy could be turned into 177 homes". Braintree and Witham Times. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
  3. ↑ http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/agnes-waterhouse-first-woman-executed-witchcraft-england-005747
  4. ↑ https://historywitch.com/tag/agnes-waterhouse/
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