Messing-cum-Inworth is a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in north-east Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, 8.5 miles west of Colchester

Colchester

Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...

, and 15 miles east of Chelmsford

Chelmsford

Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...

. The parish consists of two small villages; Messing (population 250), and Inworth (population 100).

Geography

The parish of Messing-cum-Inworth is bounded by the parishes of Kelvedon

Kelvedon

Kelvedon is a village and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex in England, near to the town of Witham. It has a population of 3,485.-Origins:...

 to the west, Feering

Feering

Feering is a village in Essex, England. Situated between Colchester and Witham, this village boasts three pubs, the oldest of which is The Old Anchor. However, on 14 July 2008 the Old Anchor pub suffered major damage caused by a fire which required 8 fire crews to contain and lasted over 3...

 to the north, Birch

Birch, Essex

Birch is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located approximately southwest of Colchester and northeast of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the borough of Colchester and in the parliamentary constituency of North Essex...

 to the east and Tiptree

Tiptree

Tiptree is a village in the English county of Essex, situated south-east of Colchester and around north-east of London. Surrounding villages include Messing, Tolleshunt Knights, Layer Marney, Inworth, Birch, Great Braxted, Great Totham and Little Totham....

 to the south. The highest point in the parish is no more than 69 metres (226 ft) above sea level dropping to 32 metres (105 ft) in the vicinity of Domsey Brook. It is situated in the Birch & Winstree ward of Colchester Borough Council. Amenities in Messing include a church, a pub/restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

, and a large garden centre

Garden centre

A garden centre is a retail firm that sells plants and products related to gardens as its primary business. It is open to the public, with facilities to care for and display plants.- UK :...

, while Inworth hosts most of the small business

Small business

A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...

es in the parish.

History

The history of Messing has been published twice, in Roger Carter’s Simply Messing and William Goldsborough Whittam’s The Story of Messing. Known historically as Maesa's settlement, and Mething, the village is close to a site called ‘The Rampart’, which according to legend is where Boudica

Boudica

Boudica , also known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug" was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire....

, Queen of the Iceni

Iceni

The Iceni or Eceni were a British tribe who inhabited an area of East Anglia corresponding roughly to the modern-day county of Norfolk between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD...

 was defeated by the Romans

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

.

Inworth village dates back to medieval times, and has been known in the past as Ineworth, Inneworth, Inneworde and Inford. The famous grave of local celebrity 'Spotty', a faithful golden retriever, can be found by the village post office, attracting many visitors. His ghost is said to haunt the meat shop on the corner

Notable residents

• John Haynes
  John Haynes
  John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...
  
  - Colonial Governor
• Reynald Bush - Ancestor of George H. W. Bush
  George H. W. Bush
  George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
  
   and George W.Bush.

External links