Elmdon

:"See also, Elmdon, West Midlands."infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 52.03456
longitude= 0.13429
official_name= Elmdon
population =
shire_district= Uttlesford
region= East of England
shire_county = Essex
constituency_westminster=
post_town= SAFFRON WALDEN
postcode_district = CB11
postcode_area= CB
dial_code=
os_grid_reference= TL465395

Elmdon is a village in the Uttlesford district of Essex and near the boundary with Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.

The name means 'hill of elms' and this village homes the only three elm trees in Essex. Elmdon includes a public house and restaurant; a village hall; a church; a recreation ground used for cricket and football; and a bus shelter with bus links to Bishop's Stortford.

Transport, communication and utilities

While Elmdon has a bus stop the service is infrequent and almost all residents rely on private vehicles to travel to and from the village. There are three roads out of Elmdon, two of which are minor roads leading to other villages with the third providing access indirectly to the nearest station (Audley End on the Cambridge to London Liverpool Street line).

Elmdon is not served by mains gas with houses relying on individually supplied heating oil systems. All other major utilities are present, the village is connected to British Telecom's backbone network through the Chrishall exchange which is ADSL enabled. At time of writing (January 2007) speeds of up to 2mb ADSL and 3mb ADSL-MAX are available through broadband over copper phone cable. No cable television providers service the village and given the relatively remote location and small population it is unlikely that any will do so in the near future.

Television and radio reception is weak and varies within the village with houses in the higher (North and West) areas having stronger reception. In these areas full Freeview and DAB reception is possible with suitable passive aerials. Satellite is the only option available for non terrestrial television, a visual survey suggests that approximately one in four households make use of this.

Pubs present and past in Elmdon

Current - The Elmdon Dial

The Elmdon Dial is a modern pub built partly in traditional style and making use of existing structures. The Elmdon Dial was named after a recently uncovered sundial near the village.

Recent History - The King's Head

Elmdon's previous pub, the King's Head was bought in 1997 for conversion into rented property. At the time this caused significant protest, the pub being the last community meeting space in regular use other than the church. Many people from the village protested, as the loss of their pub meant that there were no longer any amenities in Elmdon. It ended up in court, where many people from Elmdon turned up. It was then that Mrs Longman, a resident of Elmdon (now deceased), shouted out the infamous comment "You can't do this to our pub! We want it back!" For many years following, a fundraising event, 'The King's Headless' was held twice a year for the reopening the pub and to draw the community together. This involved turning the bus shelter into a pub for the thirsty villagers and even appeared on Anglia news. The villagers keep the spirit of the King's headless alive and continue this tradition every Christmas, when Father Christmas himself attends the proceedings.

Leisure activities

Elmdon has various village sporting teams participating in local leagues. The village is also an excellent starting point for cross country running with trails of between 3km and 30km possible entirely avoiding major roads. The undulating nature of the local geography makes it particularly suitable for runners and differentiates it from countryside to the north which is predominantly fendland and therefore flat. Tracks are passable on foot and bicycle between March and November, becoming waterlogged outside this range (passable but not to run on and cyclists will end up carrying their bikes).

References

*"Elmdon" by Jean Robin, published by Cambridge University Press. This book gives a detailed outlook on Elmdon between 1861 and 1964 including censuses, records, statisticsand changes. ISBN 0-521-22820-4

*"Kinship at the Core: An Anthropology of Elmdon, a Village in North-west Essex in the Nineteen-Sixties" by Marilyn Strathern and Audrey Richards, published by Cambridge University Press in 1981.

External links

http://www.recordinguttlesfordhistory.org.uk/elmdon/elmdon.html
* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/i.rose/elmdon.htm Elmdon Parish Church] A picture taken by Ian Rose in 1999
* [http://www.unitedbenefice.net/ The benefice of seven churches] (includes Elmdon)
* [http://www.sundialsoc.org.uk/Dotm/jun2000.htm The Elmdon Dial sundial]
* [http://www.theelmdondial.co.uk/ The Elmdon Dial (Pub and Restaurant) website]