Manuden to Stansted Mountfitchet - Around Essex (13)

A short circular to tie-up this awkward corner of the county! Wanted to edge around the Essex/Hertfordshire border without bumping into the sprawl of Bishop's Stortford, I've walked that often enough in the past, & by ending up at Mountfitchet I'll be able to use the railway to make the next stretch a linear walk

Slightly dull start after a couple of wet, dismal days but the sun was working hard & I finished in lovely sunshine!

Good place to start! This is Manuden's old maltings, one of two in the village
It's next door to 'The Yew Tree' & opposite the church!

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Manuden
Unusually, the war memorial lists only servicemen from 1914-1918; the village suffered no casualties at all in World War II

Fascinating tapestry but almost impossible to photograph without my reflection or the flash spoiling everything!

Old cottages overlooking the churchyard - interesting to note that Manuden is a conservation area & has little modern street-lighting.... yet seems quite happy to accept TV aerials!

This depiction of leather-worker, James Watt, who also owned Watts Yard, is all that remains of that Manuden industry

The archers & fletchers may have gone but the yew trees, central to Manuden's other medieval industry, still stand tall and proud around the village

Hassobury House, Farnham

Little alarmed to find this listed as being in Hertfordshire by The Telegraph, The Independent & upmarket Estate Agents, Fine & Country - had to check my map just to make sure I knew where I was!

A manor since before Domesday, the current house was rebuilt by the Gosling family in 1868

Various bits have been for sale at different times - perhaps a Hertfordshire tag is more lucrative!

Highlight of the Day: when researching today's walk it was with some dismay that I read, in an extract from the 'Herts & Essex Observer', that 'The Three Horseshoes' at Hazel End had closed in June!


Most websites confirmed this & I even found the Estate Agent's publicity for the property

Only the bigreddirectory was adamant that the pub is open for business & they are quite correct!

Reopened only 3 weeks ago, the place was a veritable hive of activity; car park almost full & dining areas busy
Stopped here on many occasions over the years & it's brilliant in these days of mass pub-closures to find another one, after Elmdon, that is fighting back!

Beer of the Day: pint of Adnam's 'Broadside' here - sampled on numerous occasions but the important thing is to know that they serve a good beer!




It's a short & pleasant walk from Hazel End, over the fields to Mountfitchet - I struggle to use the prefix, associating it only with aeroplanes, yet Stansted was a Saxon settlement long before the Norman Lord, Mountfitchet, turned up & added his name to the village!

Mountfitchet's five-storey windmill was built for Joseph Lindsell in 1787
It was last worked commercially in 1910 & scheduled as an Ancient Monument in 1952

Built as recently as 1889, Mountfitchet's Church of St John the Evangelist was originally a chapel of ease for Stansted's villagers... the 'real' church being much closer to William Mountfitchet's grand house

I'll be walking there on my next outing!

Finished the day at one of the county's tourist attractions - even signposted off the M11!
Haven't been to Mountfitchet Castle for many years.... since the children were little
Thought I might have a wander around today but this was as close as I could get - it closed at the weekend, for Winter!

Virtually nothing left of the original castle, built by Robert Gernon, Duke of Boulogne, who came over with William the Conqueror

His descendants took on the name Montfitchet & a young Richard de Montfitchet was its last occupant in the early 13th century

He had been made a ward of King John upon the death of his father but supported the Barons against the King as soon as he came 'of age'

John retaliated by destroying Richard's castle but the knight had the last laugh when he was chosen as the youngest of those charged with upholding Magna Carta after the King had been defeated at Runnymede in 1215

Richard, subsequently, had his land & titles restored by Henry III

 

Not quite the end! Finished with a quick pint here at Mountfitchet's 'Dog & Duck'

Not the only pub in the village but I remember, on my first visit, being attracted by the sign.... or perhaps it was the kids who noticed it! Anyway, I've found my way back here on most visits since - a creature of habit!