Stambourne

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Stambourne is a village and civil parish in the Braintree District in north Essex, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 409. [1] Stambourne's closest neighbouring villages are Ridgewell, Toppesfield, Cornish Hall End and Great Yeldham.

Contents

St. Peter and St. Thomas Becket church St. Peter and St. Thomas Becket church, Stambourne, Essex - geograph.org.uk - 153202.jpg
St. Peter and St. Thomas Becket church
Cottages at Stambourne Cottages at Stambourne Green, Essex - geograph.org.uk - 166827.jpg
Cottages at Stambourne

History

Stambourne derives from an old local dialect term for 'stony brook'.[ citation needed ]

A part of the British 17th-century witchcraft trials, the spinster Sarah Houghton of Stambourne, in 1663, was charged by the authorities with causing John Smyth to become "consumed and made infirme." A jury, including John Levett and Matthew Butcher, found Houghton guilty, and she was ordered to be hanged. She was reprieved after the jury had rendered their judgment. [2]

Dame Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, a stage actress of the early- and mid-20th century, lived in Stambourne in later life, dying in 1992 at the age of 101.[ citation needed ]

Community

The parish church of St Peter and St Thomas Becket dates from the 11th century and is a Grade I listed building. [3]

Every year a bonfire and fireworks display is held in the village playing field. The event attracts people from surrounding areas (including Great Yeldham, Hedingham and Halstead).[ citation needed ]

See also

References

  1. UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Stambourne Parish (1170213793)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  2. Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England, Alan Macfarlane, James Anthony Sharpe, published by Routledge, 1999 ISBN   0-415-19612-4 ISBN   978-0-415-19612-3
  3. Historic England. "PARISH CHURCH OF ST PETER AND ST THOMAS (1317130)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 20 April 2014.

52°01′N0°30′E / 52.017°N 0.500°E / 52.017; 0.500