The upmarket village of Essendon sits on a hilltop four miles east of Hatfield, overlooking the valley of the River Lea. We found out more about this highly desirable location...
Surrounded by picturesque countryside, this high end rural village features pretty period properties and a historic church.
Essendon is well connected due to its proximity to both Hatfield and Hertford, and is surrounded by amenities - offering residents the best of both worlds.
Property
Perhaps unsurprisingly for such an attractive, well-located place, property in Essendon does not come cheap.
According to Rightmove, homes in the village had an overall average price of £753,000 over the last year.
Homes currently on the market in the village include a three-bedroom semi-detached house for offers over £900,000 and a two-bedroom ground floor flat on School Lane for offers over £260,000.
Claims to fame
Essendon was once home to some famous 20th century writers. Novelist Barbara Cartland - who died in 2000 - is a former resident who once lived in the huge 10-bedroom mansion Camfield Place.
Beatrix Potter, who died in 1943, was also a regular visitor to the area as her grandfather used to live there.
In more recent years, Essendon was the home of actor Simon Pegg.
History
St Mary the Virgin Church contains evidence of previous rectors dating as far back as 1213, with Norman fragments discovered at the site in the 19th century.
The church was damaged in 1916 during the largest air raid of The Great War, when 16 airships struck Essendon farmland and parts of the church and village.
In the aftermath of the bombings, it emerged that two sisters - Frances, 26, and Eleanor Bamford, 12, had been killed in their nearby home. A plaque commemorating the event is on the wall of the church.
A restoration project to reconstruct the church was completed by the following year, with many of the previous features replicated.
As well as Camfield Place, another historic house in the parish is Holwell Court, a Grade II listed building built in about 1900 for Sir Ernest George, which has now been converted to private apartments.
Essendon Place was also the seat of the Barons Dimsdale. Thomas Dimsdale was an expert on the treatment of smallpox by inoculation, and in 1768 he was invited to Russia to inoculate Catherine the Great.
Amenities
The village hall serves as a community hub, hosting pilates classes as well as meetings of The Essendon Society and the Women's Institute. The venue can also be hired for weddings, birthday parties and other celebrations.
Essendon Country Club is home to two 18-hole golf courses, a nine-hole pitch and putt, a driving range and a 'swing studio'.
There's also a popular restaurant on site, and space is available to hire for private events.
Essendon is also home to a highly regarded local pub. The Rose and Crown has its own top class restaurant headed up by chef Alex Parker, who used to work for Gordon Ramsay.
Travel
Essendon is a well connected village. Rail links from nearby Hatfield reach London King's Cross within half an hour, and major roads, including the A1(M) and the M25, are a short drive away.
Schools
Essendon C of E (VC) Primary School has only four classes with two year groups in each, starting with nursery and Reception. In its most recent Ofsted report, the school was found to be 'good'.
The report - dated July 2022 - found: "Pupils quickly learn and live up to the school’s values, encapsulated in the 'Essendon Way'.
"Pupils behave with tolerance and respect, showing the love for others that ties in with the Christian ethos of the school.
"As a result, bullying is rare. When it does happen, it is dealt with sensitively."
The school has close links to St Mary's church.
Nearby secondary options include Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School (rated 'outstanding').
