Castle Hedingham

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Castle Hedingham
Castle Hedingham shown within Essex
Population	1000
OS grid reference	TL787357
District	Braintree
Shire county	Essex
Region	East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Halstead
Postcode district	CO9
Dialling code	01787
Police	Essex
Fire	Essex
Ambulance	East of England
European Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Saffron Walden
List of places: UK • England • Essex

Coordinates: 51°59′28″N 0°36′14″E / 51.991, 0.604

Castle Hedingham is a small village in north-east Essex, UK, located four miles west of Halstead and is situated in the valley of the River Colne on the ancient road from Colchester, Essex, to Cambridge.

It developed around Hedingham Castle, the ancestral seat of the de Veres, Earls of Oxford. Hugh de Vere, fourth earl of Oxford, purchased the right to hold a market in the town of the crown in the mid-13th century. He also founded a hospital just outside the gates of the castle around 1250.

The village's main attractions are the well-preserved Norman castle and the Colne Valley Railway. It features many timber-framed medieval buildings and a parish church, St. Nicholas, which is renowned for its Hammerbeam roof, Romanesque wheel window, and de Vere heraldry. The churchyard contains a Norman cross.

[edit] Notable residents

Aubrey de Vere, holder of the entire manor of Hedingham (later Castle Hedingham) in Domesday Book
Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford - completed the stone keep at Hedingham
Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford - one of the 25 Barons of Magna Carta
Mark Catesby - English naturalist.
Edward Bingham - Victorian potter whose Castle Hedingham Ware has become increasingly sought-after.
Eric Ravilious - Painter, book illustrator & wood engraver.