Great Bentley

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.8521
longitude= 1.0648
official_name= Great Bentley
population = 2,259 (Tendring 009C [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/soa.asp LSOA] 2001 Census)
shire_district= Tendring
shire_county = Essex
region= East of England
constituency_westminster= North Essex
post_town= Colchester|postcode_district = CO7
postcode_area= CO |dial_code= 01206
os_grid_reference= TM110215

Great Bentley, in the Tendring district of Essex, England, has the largest village green in the country and has won 'Village of the Year' several times. A short stroll and you come to Great Bentley railway station and the historic manually operated gates which are in the process of being upgraded to automatic barriers on the Colchester to Clacton Line. Great Bentley is a large and pleasant village, scattered round an extensive level or common, of 42 acres, on the eastern side of the vale of a rivulet, eight miles east-south-east of Colchester. The parish contains 2500 inhabitants, and 3,188 acres (13 km²) of fertile land, pleasingly diversified with hill and dale, and extending southward to the Flag Creek, which empties into the Colne, near Brightlingsea. Pubs in the area include: The Plough Inn beside the village green and the [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/125671 Royal Fusilier ] in the nearby hamlet of Aingers Green which is in Aingers Green Road (gbmapping|TM116203).

Contenders for the title of largest village green in England include West Auckland and Old Buckenham. Frampton on Severn has also been cited, but at 22 acres it does not even match Great Bentley.

Great Bentley School

Great Bentley School was built in 1896 and it's front facade is a good example of a School built in the late Victorian era. The School retains many of its original features including wooden parquet flooring and high ceilings in the original part of the building. Several extensions have been added to the school over the years, and the most recent was completed in 2003. In the year 2000 a clock was added to the centre of the original building in commemoration of the new millennium. The school currently has 210 pupils aged between 4 and 11 years. The school is maintained by Essex County Council, and is now called Great Bentley Country Primary School. The school's catchment area includes the nearby villages of Thorrington, Frating, Aingers Green and Little Bentley.

Great Bentley Football Club

Great Bentley football club was founded between 1895 and 1896, where its original head quarters were the Victory Inn public house (now a hair salon) in Great Bentley. However the club now has its own clubhouse and dressing rooms built on the site of an old world war II nissen hut in 1959. The club has three senior teams, two of these play in the Essex and Suffolk Border Football League, and the other in the Colchester and East Essex Football League.

Great Bentley Village Green

The village green covers some 42 acres and is reputed to be the largest in England. The village green was once the site of a steam mill which was built in 1886. The chimney was demolished in 1925, and what remains of the structure today has been converted into apartments. Just adjacent to the mill was a large pond which no longer exists, and a handful of willow trees mark the spot. To the north of the mill is a children's play area and a small nature reserve containing various species of grasses that can only be found in the local area. To the east of this is the old mill house where a Windmill once stood within the walled gardens of the house, but this was also demolished in the late 19th century.The green has long been used for various recreational and sporting events. In the Edwardian times, the green at Great Bentley was used as a golf course and today the local cricket and football teams can often be seen playing matches.During the last weekend of June, the green provides the venue for Great Bentley Village Carnival and Fete. This has been happening every year since 1974.In recent years, the Green has also become popular with motorcyclists from around the country. During the summer months, the Green becomes the site of a mini motorcycle rally on Wednesday evenings. This can be quite an impressive spectacle as on some occasions there has been in excess of over 1,000 motorcycles there.

Public Houses

Up until the 1980s Great Bentley had five public houses. These were The Red Lion (now used as offices), The Victory Inn (now a hair salon), Dusty's Wine Bar (now the pharmacy), The Plough Inn and The Royal Fusilier at Aingers Green. Only the latter two still exist today.

Public Transport

Great Bentley is on the Colchester to Clacton Line and electric railway services are operated by National Express East Anglia. West bound services go to Colchester and London Liverpool Street Station, while east bound services go to Walton on the Naze and Clacton.There is also a weekly bus service to Colchester.

aint Mary's Church

The church of St Mary the Virgin dates back to the 11th century, and was built by the Normans. The tower was added some 200 years later, and has recently undergone a £100,000 restoration project. The church itself is constructed from stone and flint, and still has its original door (the oldest surviving church door in the country), although it is no longer in use.

References

* Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership

External links

* [http://website.lineone.net/~greatbentley/ Village website]

=