Stanstead Abbotts is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire

East Hertfordshire

East Hertfordshire is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England. Its council has offices in Bishop's Stortford and Hertford ....

, Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,983. It lies on the county boundary with 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...

, and is situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) SSE of Ware, 6.5 miles (10.5 km) SE of Hertford

Hertford

Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...

, 3 miles (4.8 km) NNE of Hoddesdon

Hoddesdon

Hoddesdon is a town in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. The town grew up as a coaching stop on the route between Cambridge and London. It is located southeast of Hertford, north of Waltham Cross and southwest of Bishop's Stortford. At its height during the 18th...

 and 5 miles (8 km) W of Harlow

Harlow

Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...

.

Name and origins

The village's name was recorded as "Stanstede" at the time of the Domesday Survey

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 in the late eleventh century. In the twelfth century the manor passed to the abbot of Waltham Holy Cross

Waltham Abbey (abbey)

The Abbey Church of Waltham Abbey has been a place of worship since at least 1030, and is in the town of Waltham Abbey, Essex, England. The Prime Meridian passes through its grounds. Harold Godwinson is said to be buried just outside the present abbey...

. By the fourteenth century the suffix "Abbatis", "Abbotts" or "Abbot" formed part of the parish's name. The abbey continued possession of the manor until its dissolution in 1531.

The manor of Stanstead Abbotts was granted to Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...

 and remained with the crown after her execution. In 1559 Queen Elizabeth granted it to Edward Baeshe

Edward Baeshe

Edward Baeshe or Bashe was an English naval administrator and politician.He was born the son of Richard Baeshe of Worcester.He worked under Thomas Cromwell, and in 1550 became surveyor-general of victuals for the navy...

 and it remained in the Bashe family for several generation.

Geography

The Greenwich Meridian (longitude 0°) passes through the village with its exact position marked by Meridian obelisks which were erected in 1984 to commemorate the centenary of the adoption of the prime meridian line. The current line is one of many that have existed, however the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system uses a prime meridian that is about 100 metres east of the Greenwich Meridian at Stanstead Abbotts.

In recent years the village was awarded the title "Best kept village

Best kept village

A best kept village is a village that has won an annual competition in the UK for its tidiness, appropriateness and typicality...

 in Hertfordshire - large village" which if nothing else establishes that it is a "large" village.

The Village

Once situated on the main A414

A414 road

The A414 is a major road in England. It runs from the A41 at a junction west of Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, through the town to junction 8 of the M1 motorway at Buncefield, and running parallel to the M1 until junction 7, heading south of St Albans, east through Hatfield, Hertford, then...

 it has many old buildings in its High street although many have now made way for newer residential properties because the village is on the main railway line into Liverpool Street Station

Liverpool Street station

Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...

. The main industry in the village used to be making ale but again many of the original maltings have now been demolished to make way for a small business park.

The main entrance to the All Nations Christian College

All Nations Christian College

All Nations Christian College is a missions college, located in Hertfordshire and validated by the Open University.- Aims :Unlike some Bible colleges, the focus of ANCC is primarily missiological - that is, it is focused on training people for cross-cultural Christian mission service anywhere in...

 in Stanstead Abbotts was used as the entrance to the school in the "St Trinians" films.

The local school is St Andrews Primary CE (VC) Primary School.

The village has a Scout Group

Scout Group

The Scout Group is the local organisation for Scouting in most countries where it is active. It combines together the different sections into a single body. Scout Groups can consist of any number of sections in the different Age Groups in Scouting and Guiding...

, the 1st Stanstead Abbotts & St. Margaret's Scout Group.

The Lee Valley Marina

Marina

A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....

, part of the Lee Valley Park

Lee Valley Park

Lee Valley Regional Park is a long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of London, Essex and Hertfordshire from the River Thames to Ware in Hertfordshire, England through areas such as Hackney, Tottenham, Enfield, Stratford, Tower Hamlets, Walthamstow, Cheshunt,...

, is located to the south of the village on the River Lea.