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The 10 prettiest villages in Essex

Take a tour of the county’s finest spots, chosen by our local expert and heavy on duck ponds, weatherboarded cottages and proper pubs

Having grown up in Essex, you get used to hearing the county – or perhaps more accurately, its people – disparaged. Those who write the place off, however, are fools. Some historians say the worst thing that happened to Essex was that London expanded into it. Perhaps this is why “Essex man” is such a comic figure – he’s really a Londoner, displaced and out of context, pruning roses beside a white picket fence. 
Essex is actually full of history, and the villages that haven’t been spoilt by urban sprawl have attractive conservation areas at their centre. Some of Essex’s loveliest houses are either cladded in clapboard or decorated with a pretty pargeting technique that’s typical of East Anglia.
It’s a shame that I couldn’t include on this list the small towns of West Mersea, Coggeshall and Thaxted as they are, technically, towns. What follows, then, are my 10 favourite villages in Essex. Perhaps you have your own picks – if so, please share them in the comments at the bottom of the article. 
First recorded in 1086, Felsted has an air of elegance, as much of the village is part of the campus for Felsted School, where Oliver Cromwell sent his sons. The private establishment’s impressive 19th-century building is Grade II-listed, with a clock tower. Well-maintained lawns lie in all directions, including in front of a row of almshouses. Dip under a covered alleyway to reach the Holy Cross Church, which has a lively congregation and a solid 12th-century tower.
On a sunny day, the best place to admire the school building is from the other side of the cricket pitches, in the beer garden at the Chequers. The few tables are popular with passing cyclists, so if you fail to bag one, cross over to the Wood Cottage Tearoom and Patisserie, all wooden beams and sloping floors. Alternatively, the Swan Inn has a good pizza menu.
There is nothing in the village, but the Pig & Truffle is found in Little Dunmow, just up the road. It used to be the Michelin-starred Flitch of Bacon but has changed hands. The restaurant with rooms offers three comfortable, boutique-style bedrooms in vibrant colours. 
Look up, at the corner of Chelmsford Road and Braintree Road, for details you might otherwise miss at Boote House. A carving of a woman with cloven hooves leans over the heads of passers-by. Beside it, the listed building’s exterior beam reads “George Boote made this house 1596”.
Popular with railway and, at times, real-ale enthusiasts, these two villages more or less merge into one beneath the graceful arches of the Chappel viaduct. Work began on the 32 arches in 1846 and this is thought to be the second-largest brick-built structure in England. The East Anglian Railway Museum is housed at the Victorian Chappel and Wakes Colne station. On display are steam and diesel locomotives, vintage carriages and a working restoration shed. The lively Chappel Beer Festival is held in the station every September and run by Camra. You can walk beneath the viaduct to a country park at Millenium Green.
With a leafy beer garden that looks across to the viaduct, the Swan is a charming place for a refresher. The popular gastropub sits on The Street, the prettiest road in the village, and is smartly furnished inside, in an exuberant, modern-Essex style. 
Wakes Hall Lodges are five upmarket cabins five minutes’ drive away, beside a meadow on 500 acres of private land. They are hi-tech, with smart TVs and an eco-friendly design. Each has a hot tub on a raised terrace and there are freestanding baths in the master suites.
The band Blur played their first gig in the Goods Shed at the East Anglian Railway Museum, in 1988. A plaque commemorates the occasion. Members Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon went to school in nearby Colchester.
The large, tree-lined village green is what makes Writtle special, and on a warm day it is full of families picnicking or playing outdoor games. A small duck pond sits on the eastern edge of the green, while, to the south, an attractive, half-timbered house stands on the path leading to boxy All Saints Church. 
On the western corner of the green, the Chequers is fairly new but loved by locals. Expect it to be heaving for Sunday lunch, with extended families passing the gravy beside big windows. There is a spacious beer garden too.
Just outside Writtle (and within walking distance to Hylands Park country house and estate), you can camp or take a caravan to the well-regarded site at Corner Cottage Estate, which has flat grassy and hard-standing pitches with hookups. If camping’s not for you, then stay in Chelmsford, a 15-minute drive to the north; one of the best options is the Channels Hotel, once a Tudor farmhouse. 
The first regular radio broadcast in the UK took place on February 14 1922, in Writtle. It was made from a wooden hut by a team of Marconi engineers. It was a success and paved the way for the formation of the BBC later that year. 
Sitting at the head of the navigable section of the river Crouch, among marshes and mudflats, Battlesbridge has been a port since medieval times. A Victorian bridge is at its heart, and remnants of its industrial and agricultural past include a tall granary, a tide mill, tide gates and a drying kiln. The appealing jumble of buildings has become a centre for antiques. Spend an enjoyable afternoon admiring the village green and cottages, and browsing the collections – more than 90 dealers offer everything from garden ornaments to furniture, teacups, jewellery, motorbikes, records and retro toys.
There are a couple of good pubs within walking distance, including One Green Bottle, offering real ales and cheese rolls, and the weatherboarded Barge Inn, which has existed since 1911 and sits closest to the river, with picnic benches, plus a big range of gins and pub-grub classics. For a more substantial menu, try the Hawk, which has a lawned garden. 
In the village centre, Fraser’s is a homely guesthouse with six bedrooms, a garden and a tea room. Two rooms are in converted stables.
Barges from London once came to Battlesbridge to load up on flour and hay, while coal was brought from the North of England. Lime, chalk and malt were traded too.
The landscapes are bleak and the settlements sparse as you head towards the estuary of the river Blackwater. Set on the Dengie Peninsula, the village’s conservation area contains a 14th-century tower, two 15th-century pubs and a string of weatherboarded farm cottages, all surrounded by fields. The neighbouring nature reserve is known for its mudflats, saltmarsh and birdlife. Ten minutes’ drive from the village you will reach the estuary shore, where stands St Peter-on-the-Wall, a lonely silhouette against big skies and one of England’s oldest still-in-use chapels, dating from AD 660.
The Cap and Feathers is a 16th-century inn on the site of a 12th-century pilgrim’s lodge. Its exterior is white weatherboard, while inside are plenty of beams and a warm welcome. The Fox and Hounds is also worth a stop, with picnic tables beside the green.
Lime Tree Cottage is a sweet, white clapboard cottage not far from Tillingham’s church. The interiors are cosy and contemporary and there are two bedrooms, plus a garden with decking.
Fleeing a martian invasion in London? You might want to consider Tillingham, which is where the narrator’s brother escapes to in HG Wells’s The War of the Worlds.
With a long, rectangular village green, home to two old oaks and lined with listed brick houses, Stock is full of quirky charm. The village’s conservation area also contains some half-timbered buildings, a Grade II-listed windmill and a good selection of traditional pubs. Stock Tower Windmill is five stories high and was built around 1804. It has a boat-shaped cap and has been restored, with machinery inside.
Stock’s three pubs are all recommended, but the best is the Hoop. Right on the green, the gastropub is weatherboarded and surrounded by listed buildings. Inside, the ceilings are low, with lots of exposed beams and a lively atmosphere. Out the back are covered seating dens and an outdoor bar. The Bear is also a convivial place, with a duck pond in the garden.
The Harvard Inn dates from the 15th century and is the third of Stock’s pubs, with attractive brickwork. It offers 15 unfussy bedrooms, all with super-king-size beds. Four of these lie beside the garden.
Historians believe that Stock’s High Street probably began as a track, in pre-Roman times, that ran through the great forest that once covered most of Essex (of which Epping Forest is part). 
Towards the Suffolk border, Hedingham Castle is a 900-year-old Norman keep, and this small village has grown up around it. The lawn around the castle is a pleasant spot for picnicking. The castle was formerly the seat of the de Veres, the Earls of Oxford, and is still owned by their descendants. Visit on bank holidays, and you might be able to catch public jousting and other fun events. The nicest street in the village is Churchponds, where a quaint row of cottages curves around the back of St Nicholas Church.
Fans of tradition will love the Bell, a quirky community pub, which serves real ales straight from the barrel and dedicates a whole room to its fine collection of vintage games. These include shuffleboard, toad-in-the-hole and a doodlebug pinball machine.
Sleep like a noble in a four-poster bed in the Royal Chamber at Hedingham Castle itself. This exposed stone room is available on a B&B basis, or there are self-catering options available in the castle grounds, including a lodge and a cottage.
Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, was a patron of the arts, a poet and courtier. Some people believe he may have written works attributed to Shakespeare.
A large duck pond and humpback bridge makes Finchingfield a much-photographed village. It has two other knockout sights: the oldest windmill in Essex, tucked behind houses, and a 15th-century guildhall, beside a church with a large Norman tower. The guildhall’s exterior features one of many examples of pargeting in the village, with comb and zig-zag marks visible in the plaster. It has been carefully restored, using expert craftsmen, and is where priests and village boys once studied. Its museum is open at weekends from 2-4pm.
The giant taxidermy is what you notice first when you step into the Finchingfield Lion, a thriving community pub. A buffalo head is mounted onto a back wall, plus there are a host of other creatures. The landlady is friendly and the beer garden is attractive, with views over rooftops and a large model rhino. The pizzas are popular.
The Old Farmhouse is a pink 16th-century property with an inglenook fireplace and a hot tub. Period features are stylishly paired with contemporary furnishings and a large modern kitchen. The four-bedroom house sits in 400 acres of farmland, which includes a vineyard.
The village pond was formed back when the valley was carved out by melting Ice Age glaciers. The oldest flint tool found in Finchingfield dates from around 12,000 years ago.
A stay on salty Osea provides a guaranteed break from the stresses of life. The island is reached from Maldon via a Roman causeway; twice a day it is cut off by the Blackwater estuary. Anyone left in the rustic village then has the surrounding marshland, beaches and meadows to themselves. Though the island is now privately owned, its black weatherboard cottages were once home to a community linked to the temperance movement. Osea also bears evidence of neolithic villages and Viking burial grounds.
Osea’s cute pub, the Puffin, opens every Friday and occasional Saturday nights, too. Chat to the landlord and learn more about the island’s ways, or just settle in for the night beside the inglenook fireplace. Expect a decent soundtrack, as Osea’s owner is a music producer. Acts such as Rihanna have recorded here.
The houses and cottages in Osea are now holiday homes, and groups can even rent out the whole island, enjoying the heated outdoor swimming pool, free bikes and quiet, wildlife-rich landscapes. Choose between a hi-spec two-bedroom cottage, or a house that sleeps up to 22. With all that freedom and space, it won’t feel like you’re in England, let alone Essex.
The filming of The Third Day – the 2020 folk-horror mini-series starring Jude Law and Naomie Harris – took place on the island. The plot gradually builds suspense when Law’s character becomes stuck on the island with fictional villagers.
At number one, it’s a village on the river Stour that inspired the paintings of John Constable. The artist’s romantic portrayal of rural scenes are what draws tourists to Dedham Vale, now known as Constable Country. Dedham also wins for its colourful Georgian buildings, its tea houses, the walks through water meadows and for the chance to row past weeping willows in a hired river boat. There is also the Munnings Art Museum, with its paintings of racehorses, and a lovely garden café. What more could you want from an English village?
Step off the high street opposite the church and into the Sun, a 15th-century inn with a bright yellow exterior. It manages to be both a proper pub and a top-notch restaurant, with the first half and various nooks kept for drinkers, and excellent Italian-influenced cooking at the back.
Roll upstairs into bed at one of the Sun’s seven rooms. All are stylishly furnished and many have period features and wonky floors. 
One of the best bedrooms at the Sun is Elsa, which has village views, a fireplace and, according to legend, its own ghost.

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