Stansted Mountfitchet
| Stansted Mountfitchet | |
 Stansted Mountfitchet |
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  Stansted Mountfitchet |
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| Population | 6,011 (2011) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | TL5124 |
| Civil parish | Stansted Mountfitchet |
| District | Uttlesford |
| Shire county | Essex |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STANSTED |
| Postcode district | CM24 |
| Dialling code | 01279 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Saffron Walden |
Coordinates: 51°53′53″N 0°11′53″E / 51.898°N 0.198°E
Stansted Mountfitchet is an English village and civil parish in Uttlesford district, Essex, near the Hertfordshire border, 35 miles (56 km) north of London. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533, increasing to 6,011 at the 2011 census.[1] The village is served by Stansted Mountfitchet railway station.
Stansted Mountfitchet is situated in north west Essex near the Hertfordshire border and 3 miles (5 km) north of Bishops Stortford. Stansted Airport is 2 miles (3 km) from the village. The village has two primary schools (Bentfield Primary School and St Mary's (C of E) Primary School), and one high school which was renamed the Forest Hall School in September, 2013.
History
Stansted was a Saxon settlement (the name means 'stony place' in Anglo-Saxon) and predates the Norman invasion of England, although it was not until this invasion that it acquired the suffix Mountfitchet from the Norman baron who settled there. A small remnant of his castle remains, around which a reconstruction of an early Norman castle has been built. Believed to have been fortified originally in the Iron Age, and subsequently by the Romans and Vikings, construction of the Norman castle began in 1066.
St Mary the Virgin's Church, built in the 1120s, is a redundant church under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The brick west tower was added in 1692. A chapel of ease dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist was built in 1889 nearer the centre of the village and is now the village church. Stansted Hall was built in 1871.
Landmarks
Other village attractions include the House on the Hill Toy Museum, which its owners claim "is the largest toy museum in the World". Located next to Mountfitchet Castle and Norman Village of 1066, both attractions are owned by Alan Goldsmith. The museum opened in 1991 and holds over 80,000 toys, mostly from the 1950s to the 1990s. A working windmill built in 1787 is in the village, and is open to the public once a month.
During the Second World War, the US Air Force constructed an airfield near the village. After the war ended, it was subsequently taken over by the government and developed as a commercial airport. Today, MAG Stansted Airport is accessible by road from Junction 8 of the M11 motorway, near Bishop's Stortford and direct by train from London Liverpool Street.
Economy
In March 2013, Stansted Mountfitchet was named as the UK's fourth most internet-friendly town. The Google eTown Awards recognise the top places where businesses are most actively embracing the web, and Stansted's high ranking reflects the increased use of the internet to spur economic growth. The results put Stansted in fourth place behind Richmond, in third, Edinburgh, in second, and Stratford upon Avon, which took the top spot.[2]
Titan Airways has its head office in the Enterprise House on the property of Stansted Airport.[3] Several defunct airlines had their head offices on the Stansted property. AirUK (later KLM uk) had its head office in Stansted House.[4][5] Buzz had its head office was in Endeavour House.[6] AB Airlines had its head office in the Enterprise House.[7] Lloyd International Airways had its head office at the Lloyd House.[8] Go Fly had its head office at the Enterprise House.[9]
Until it merged with Lastminute.com in 2006, Travelocity.co.uk had its headquarters in Stansted Mountfitchet, and employed around 60 Essex and Hertfordshire locals. The office closed in the early part of 2006, and Travelocity.co.uk formally came under the umbrella of Lastminute.com, who has offices in London and Woking, Surrey.
Sport and leisure
Non-League football club Stansted F.C. (winners of the FA Vase in 1983/4) play at the Hargrave Park sports ground in the village, and there is also a cricket club based at the ground.[10]
Notable locals
- Actor James Frain was raised in Stansted Mountfitchet.
References
- ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ↑ Stansted crowned as leading UK e-commerce town, hertsandessexobserver.co.uk; accessed 11 November 2015.
- ↑ Titan Airways website; retrieved 16 December 2011.
- ↑ AirUk homepage; retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ↑ 82 "World Airline Directory", flightglobal.com, 18–24 March 1998.
- ↑ Buzz website, archive.org; retrieved on 2 September 2009.
- ↑ An Introduction to AB Airlines, archive.org, 30 January 1998; retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ↑ 580 World Airline Directory, Flight International, 10 April 1969.
- ↑ "World Airline Directory", Flight International, 27 March-2 April 2001.
- ↑ Thompson, Nick. "Stansted FC: Ground-share option will be explored". Dunmow Broadcast (Archant Community Media). Retrieved 11 November 2015.
See also
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stansted Mountfitchet. |
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