Great Totham is a village and civil parish in Maldon district, Essex, England, and midway between Chelmsford and Colchester. The village includes the Island of Osea in the Blackwater estuary and is separated into two parts, north and south. The north side and the south side are about a mile and a half apart, distributed along the B1022.[2] The parish contains the hamlet of Totham Hill.
| Great Totham | |
|---|---|
 Great Totham | |
  Great Totham Location within Essex | |
| Population | 2,930 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TL862122 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Maldon |
| Postcode district | CM9 |
| Dialling code | 01621 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Great Totham Parish Council |
History
editAccording to the old maps, before the time of the enclosures, the outskirts of Great Totham North were part of Tiptree Heath, which was then a haunt of smugglers, attested in the name of a house in Mountains Road called Spirits Hall. The 'mountain' in question is Beacon Hill which at 272 feet (83 m) is one of the highest points in the village of Great Totham. St Peter's Church which dates to Norman times. There is also the thatch-roofed Barn Chapel. This became a chapel in 1822 when an Isaac Foster donated the barn to be a place of worship for non-conformists.[3]
The ancient road to Colchester by Tiptree Heath led through the parish of Great Totham, which in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603) was held of the Queen's manor of East Greenwich by William Beriff, an Alderman of Colchester, as her sub-tenant.[4]
Great Totham village school's centenary was in 1977, but by that time the Victorian building, now demolished, had been replaced by a larger modern school on a different site. Honeywood School, a Grade II listed building, is a church school which was founded by the Honywood family of Marks Hall at Coggeshall in the mid-19th century, which had inherited the manor of Great Totham. This is still in use as the church hall and meeting room.[3]
In the north of Great Totham there is a United Reformed Church dating to 1871. Recently refurbished, it is used for services and activities including a pre-school playgroup. Nearby, and adjoining the small village green, is the former Compasses public house which dates to the late 17th century.[3] The Prince of Wales pub in Totham South was gutted by fire in 1990 with loss of historic features, but it has been rebuilt and reopened.[3]
There are several former gravel pits that have become recreation areas for fishing lakes.[3]
Great Totham has a village sign. A plaque, dated October 2002, attached to the village sign of the north area reads:
On 17 October 1952, two Gloster Meteors of No 72 Squadron, Royal Air Force, crashed nearby killing both pilots. F/O Charles Muldownie from Rotherham and P/O Ian Carmichael from Devon. Two local people were injured and many were affected by the accident.
Local people assisted at the time and this village green became the base for recovery operations by RAF personnel. This plaque is in memory of the pilots and for all those involved.
Governance
editThe population of the electoral ward was 3,660 at the 2011 Census.[5] Elected representatives at different levels of government act for Great Totham and surrounding villages.[6] Two elected district councillors represent the parish on Maldon District Council. Great Totham is part of the Witham parliamentary constituency, and is represented in the House of Commons by Priti Patel of the Conservative Party.[6]
Community
edit
St Peter's Church on Church Road was Grade II listed in 1959, and dates to the 13th century.
The nearest National Health Service hospitals are Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford[7] and Colchester General Hospital in Colchester.[8]
Great Totham Primary School is in Walden House Road, Great Totham. The school's motto is "Enjoy, Respect, Achieve".[9] In its Ofsted inspection in October 2007, the school received an overall rating of Grade 2, 'Good'.[10]
The closest National Rail service is in Witham or Hatfield Peverel, operated by Abellio Greater Anglia, with destinations including London Liverpool Street and Ipswich, Clacton, Harwich, Braintree and Norwich via the Great Eastern Main Line.[11] The nearest London Underground line is the Central line at Newbury Park.[12]
The Witham South District of Girlguiding UK comprises two Rainbow packs for girls aged 5–7 years old, three Brownie packs for girls aged 7–10 years old, a Guide unit for girls aged 10–14 years old and a Ranger unit for girls aged over 14 that live in Wickham Bishops, Great Totham and the surrounding villages.
Climate
editIn East Anglia, the warmest time of the year is July and August, when maximum temperatures average around 21 °C (70 °F). The coolest time of the year is January and February, when minimum temperatures average around 1 °C (34 °F) East Anglia's average annual rainfall is about 605 millimetres , with October to January being the wettest months.
| Climate data for East Anglia (1971–2000 averages) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.7 (44.1) |
7.1 (44.8) |
9.9 (49.8) |
12.3 (54.1) |
16.1 (61.0) |
19.0 (66.2) |
21.8 (71.2) |
21.9 (71.4) |
18.6 (65.5) |
14.4 (57.9) |
9.8 (49.6) |
7.6 (45.7) |
13.8 (56.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.1 (34.0) |
0.9 (33.6) |
2.6 (36.7) |
3.9 (39.0) |
6.7 (44.1) |
9.6 (49.3) |
11.8 (53.2) |
11.8 (53.2) |
9.9 (49.8) |
7.0 (44.6) |
3.6 (38.5) |
2.1 (35.8) |
6.0 (42.8) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 53.4 (2.10) |
37.2 (1.46) |
44.8 (1.76) |
45.3 (1.78) |
44.8 (1.76) |
54.3 (2.14) |
46.0 (1.81) |
50.1 (1.97) |
55.6 (2.19) |
59.0 (2.32) |
58.5 (2.30) |
56.8 (2.24) |
605.8 (23.85) |
| Source: Met Office | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ (TL862122)
- ^ a b c d e ISBN 978-1-85306-685-6, The Essex Village Book
- ^ England’s Gazetteer – An Accurate Description of All the Cities, Towns, and Villages of the Kingdom, vol.ii, London, date unclear but circa 1590. Under page “TO”.
- ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ a b Great Totham find your local MP, WriteToThem. Retrieved 10 May 2012
- ^ Broomfield Hospital Archived 9 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Colchester General Archived 23 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Colchester Hospital University NHS Website. Retrieved 10 May 2012
- ^ [1], Great Totham Primary, accessed 24 May 2012
- ^ Ofsted Report[permanent dead link], Current Ofsted Report. Retrieved 24 May 2012
- ^ Greater Anglia, Greater Anglia Website. Retrieved 10 May 2012
- ^ [2], Transport for London Website. Retrieved 10 May 2012
- ^ Met Office Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Met Office Climate Data,accessed 10 May 2012
External links
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Media related to Great Totham at Wikimedia Commons