Visit Stanford Rivers Places

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The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Stanford Rivers

  

Stanford Rivers Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Stanford Rivers

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Stanford Rivers history

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According to A Dictionary of British Place Names, the ‘Stanford’ in Stanford Rivers derives from the Old English for “a stone ford or stony ford”. Stanford Rivers is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ‘Stanfort’, and in 1289 as “Stanford Ryueres”, ‘Ryueres’ being the 13th-century manorial family. In trade directories Stanford Rivers is described as a parish three miles south from Ongar station on a branch of the London and North Eastern Railway, and seven miles from Brentwood and nineteen from London. The parish, part of the Ongar Hundred, Ongar Rural District, and Ongar petty sessional division, is in the Brentwood county court district. Population shown in directories for Stanford Rivers parish were in 1851: 1,052; in 1871: 938; in 1881: 975; in 1891: 982; in 1901: 982; in 1911: 864, and in 1931: 758. The populations of 1891, 1901 and 1911 includes the officers and inmates of the Ongar Union workhouse. The workhouse—established in 1836 for poor relief provision set up under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834—united poor relief for twenty-six nearby villages or parishes. The Ongar workhouse building survives today as a trade and business area in the hamlet of Little End at the southeast of Stanford Rivers parish. Little End dates to at least 1777, when houses were recorded at the settlement. Recorded area of parish land in 1855 was 4,386 acres (18 km); in 1874, 4,926 acres (20 km) with a rateable value of £6,970; in 1882, 4,296 acres with a ratable value of £6,968; in 1894, 4,402 acres (18 km) of land and 12 acres (50,000 m) of water with a rateable value of £4,809; in 1902, 4,402 acres of land and 12 of water with a rateable value of £5,007; in 1914, 4,405 acres (18 km) of land and 9 acres (40,000 m) of water with a rateable value of £5216; and in 1933, 4,405 of land and 9 of water. Over this period chief crops grown were wheat, barley and beans, on a soil of clay or heavy loam overlaying clay, gravel or sand. Recorded in 1855 was a National School for boys and girls, which was built in 1850 for 190 children, which in 1882 had an average attendance of 100, in 1894, 146, and in 1902, 152. By 1914 the school had become a Public Elementary School with an average attendance of 125, under the control of the Essex Education (Ongar District) Advisory Sub-committee. Notable people and principal landowners in Stanford Rivers were, in 1874 and 1882 Sir Charles Cunliffe Smith, 3rd Baronet (1827–1905); in 1894 Sir Cecil Clementi Smith GCMG (1840–1916) who was also lord of the manor, and Capt George Edward Capel Cure; in 1902 Sir Charles Cunliffe Smith again with the now Major George Edward Capel Cure of Blake Hall; in 1914 Sir Drummond Cunliffe Smith, 4th Baronet (1861–1947) of Suttons, Stapleford Tawney who was also lord of the manor, and Major George Edward Capel Cure of Shakenhurst (hall and estate), Cleobury Mortimer. Drummond Cunliffe Smith was still a principal landowner and lord of the manor in 1933. The Smith estate and manor of Suttons in Stapleford Tawney contained 1,384 acres (6 km) of land in Stanford Rivers. Isaac Taylor (1787-1865), artist, author, and inventor lived at Stanford House at Little End. Licensees of the White Bear Hotel and the Toot Hill Green Man public house were listed from 1855 to 1933, with that of the Green Man being a baker in 1874, 1882 and 1894. A further listing for a baker was in 1902. Beer retailers were also listed as trading in the parish: two in 1874, one in 1882, and two in all lists from 1894 to 1933. From 1855 to 1874 there were 18 parish farmers; of those one was also a beer retailer, and another a cattle dealer. By 1882 directories separate out Toot Hill farmers from the rest of the parish, with six at Toot Hill, and seven elsewhere where one was a cattle dealer, and one farmed at Littlebury at the extreme east of the parish. Of the 11 farmers in 1894, two were cattle dealers, and two were at Toot Hill. Of the 15 farmers in 1902, one was also a cattle dealer and land steward to Sir Charles Cunliffe Smith. Of the nine 1902 farmers in Toot Hill, one was also an agricultural implement owner. Of the 15 farmers in 1914, eight were in Toot Hill where one was a poultry farmer. By 1933 there were 19 farmers (eight of whom were at Toot Hill with one there a poultry farmer), and a parish smallholder. There were previously in 1894 and 1902 two poultry dealers, one at Toot Hill. There were three shopkeepers in 1855, with one also a surveyor of roads; which rose to four in 1874; three in 1882; three in 1894 with one at Toot Hill; two in 1902 and 1914 when there was a Toot Hill grocer who was also a baker; and four in 1933, when there was a grocer who also ran the post office at Toot Hill. Boot and shoe makers are listed one each for 1855 to 1882, four in 1894, two in 1902, and one in 1914. By 1933 no boot and shoe makers were listed. Blacksmiths are listed from 1855 to 1933, and wheelwrights from 1855 to 1894, but not beyond. There were carpenters in 1855, 1894 (Toot Hill), 1914 and 1933. Bricklayers were trading in 1855 and 1874, and hay carters between 1874 and 1894. Later trade businesses in the early 20th century included Holly Tree Laundry (1914), and an electrical engineers, chimney sweeper and an Egg Grading Station (1933). Millers are listed from 1855 to 1933, particularly a miller (wind) at Toot Hill in 1894, and a miller (steam and water), at Littlebury Mill who was also a farmer (1902 and 1914). Littlebury as a hamlet settlement [surrounding a country house] was listed until at least 1914. Largely non-manual occupations included a relieving officer and registrar (1855), a registrar of births & deaths & relieving & vaccination officer (1882 and 1894), a head keeper to Charles Cunliffe Smith, and a head gamekeeper of Ongar Park wood (1902 Toot Hill), a sanitary inspector to the Ongar Rural District Council, a land steward (1914 and 1933), and a head [game]keeper (1914 and 1933).

Religion

The Church of St Margaret, of 300 sittings, is of Norman style, with chancel and nave, and a western tower with a spire containing two bells. Members of the Stuart family, Earls and Marquisses of Bute were buried here but with the exception of two they have been removed to Roath.

Blake Hall station

Blake Hall is located 450 yards (400 m) north from Greensted Green in Ongar, between North Weald and Ongar stations. The line was opened by the Great Eastern Railway on 1 April 1865, serving principally as a goods yard. On 18 April 1966 the goods yard was closed and Blake Hall became a dedicated passenger station. London Underground closed the station on 31 October 1981 because of a lack of custom.

Stanford Rivers landmarks

There are 90 Grade II listed houses, cottages and structures in Stanford Rivers. The Grade II* St Margaret of Antioch’s Church is the parish church, dating in parts to the 12th century with 16th to 19th-century additions and fittings. Littlebury Hall Farm, a Grade II c.1840 timber-framed and weatherboarded watermill that was later converted to use steam and then electricity. Stanford Rivers Hall, 40 yards (37 m) north from St Margaret’s Church, is the focus for Stanford Hall Farm.

Farmhouses

Stanford River Grade II listed farmhouses have attached, variously, Grade II barns, granaries, kennels, cottages and other outbuildings. Listed farmhouses in Stanford Rivers are Traceys Farmhouse (at the south of the parish), dating to the 17th century, with remains of a moat.

You can visit Stanford Rivers places with Walkfo Stanford Rivers to hear history at Stanford Rivers’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Stanford Rivers has 24 places to visit in our interactive Stanford Rivers map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Stanford Rivers, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Stanford Rivers places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Stanford Rivers & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 24 audio facts unique to Stanford Rivers places in an interactive Stanford Rivers map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Stanford Rivers Places Map
24 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Stanford Rivers historic spots	Stanford Rivers tourist destinations	Stanford Rivers plaques	Stanford Rivers geographic features
Walkfo Stanford Rivers tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Stanford Rivers

  

Best Stanford Rivers places to visit

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Stanford Rivers has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Stanford Rivers’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Stanford Rivers’s information audio spots:

Greensted Church Greensted Church, in the small village of Greensted, near Chipping Ongar in Essex, England, is claimed to be the oldest wooden church in the world. Grade I listed building lies about a mile west of the town centre. It is still a functioning church and holds services every week.

Dial House, Essex Dial House is a self-sustaining anarcho-pacifist open house since 1967. The house is located in the countryside of Epping Forest in Ongar Great Park, an area covering 5-by-3 kilometres. It has been used as a base for a number of cultural, artistic, and political projects.

Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker The Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker is located in the Borough of Brentwood in the English county of Essex. The bunker was maintained during the Cold War as a potential regional government headquarters. Since being decommissioned in 1992 the bunker has been open to the public as a tourist attraction.

Kelvedon Hall Kelvedon Hall is a country house near Brentwood, Essex, England. It was built in the 1930s. It is located in the village of Kelvedon Hatch, near the city of Brentwood.

Visit Stanford Rivers plaques