Rayne, Essex
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Rayne is a village of about 3,000 residents in the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England.
It lies on the Roman road called Stane Street, about two miles (3 km) to the west of Braintree, which is the nearest town.
It used to be a more important settlement than Braintree in Norman times, although this has not been the case for a long time now.
If you enter Rayne from Braintree, you immediately arrive at a crossroads. The playing field is to your left, while to your right is a pub called The Swan. Turning left into Gore Road takes you to the village hall, which overlooks the playing field. Alternatively, turning right into Shalford Road takes you into the north of the village, where there All Saints' church, a war memorial, a stream called Pod's Brook, and a small airfield. There are also the old manor houses of Rayne Hall and Old Hall. Rayne Hall was for a long time the home of the Capel family, who became Earls of Essex.
If you continue west along the main road ("The Street"), you will pass an Indian restaurant, another pub, the Welsh Princess, the disused Rayne Iron foundry, the Post Office stores, and another pub, The Cock. Continuing in that direction out of the village leads to the town of Great Dunmow.
Just after the Post Office is a turning into Station Road, which leads down to the former Rayne Railway Station, which is now the Rayne Station Centre of the Flitch Way Country Park, a linear park stretching along the former trackbed of the railway. This is also now National Cycle Network route No. 16.
Rayne, which is located about 40 miles [65km] north-east of London, is twinned with Verberie which is about 40 miles north-east of Paris in the Department of Picardie, which coincidently is twinned with the County of Essex.
On 12 July 2006, Rayne was named Essex Village of the Year, in a competition organised annually by Rural Community Council of Essex (RCCE) and sponsored by Calor. Rayne will go forward to represent the county in the high profile Calor Village of the Year® for England competition.
[edit] External links
- Rayne - White's Directory of Essex, 1848
- Rayne Village Website
- Essex County Council - Flitch Way Country Park
- Sustrans Flitch Way National Cycle Network Route No. 16
- Rayne Twinning Association
- Some images of Rayne
- Rural Community Council of Essex, Village of the Year
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