Our Area
North Weald Bassett is a civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. Other than the village of North Weald it also includes Thornwood, and Hastingwood.
The local council of the parish is North Weald Bassett Parish Council.
Located approximately 15 miles north east of London, it is a rural parish with large sections of land used by North Weald Airfield and North Weald Golf Course.
North Weald Bassett Parish Council is the local authority for the civil parish. The parish council offices are located in the library off North Weald High Road.
North Weald village is part of the Brentwood and Ongar parliamentary constituency, while Thornwood is in Epping Forest and Hastingwood in Harlow.
It is located approximately 15 miles northeast of London and abuts the outskirts of the towns of Harlow to the north and Epping to the southwest. It is split between these post towns for postal addresses.
To the west, it borders Epping Forest and the M11 motorway.
Demography
As at the 2011 census the population was 6,030. 62.3% of residents are of working age, with just over 20% aged over 65. There are 2,683 households, just under 75% of which are owned. Just over 91% of the population classifies themselves and White British. The entire Parish is 2,278 hectares.
An increasing proportion of North Weald residents commute to London for work.
Transport
The M11 motorway cuts through the middle of the parish and has a junction with the A414 road. The southern boundary runs parallel to the heritage Epping Ongar Railway and makes a small deviation to include the whole of North Weald railway station.
The nearest regularly served stations are outside the parish, with Harlow Town railway station 4 miles to the north and Epping tube station 2 miles to the southwest.
North Weald Airfield occupies a large part of the parish.
North Weald is linked also to surrounding areas by numerous footpaths and bridle paths.
Architecture
North Weald has a wide range of architecture from cottages and farms dating back many hundred years, impressive Elizabethan structures, such as the Kings Head pub, to many newer recent developments.
Housing ranges from small, low-level blocks of flats and maisonettes to large detached houses. Terraced and semi-detached housing, much dating from the 1930s and later is perhaps the most prevalent.
Heritage & Features
North Weald Airfield (ICAO: EGSX) is an operational general aviation aerodrome founded for the Royal Flying Corp in 1916 and which was an important fighter station during the Battle of Britain in 1940, when it was known as the RAF Station RAF North Weald. During the war it was the base for the exiled Norwegian Air Force and special links to Norway exist to this day.
Post war it was home to Squadrons of RAF jets such as Meteors and Vampires.
In the 1980s and 1990s, North Weald was famous for its spectacular airshows. It has since become a base for over 100 privately owned general aviation aircraft. It has also been a location for filming for TV and major movies, including The Battle of Britain and Band of Brothers. Other leisure activities also take place there including archery, cycling and motor sports and North Weald Airfield is also the home of the UK’s largest outdoor market.
Latton Priory was a small priory of Augustinian Canons Regular, the remains of which are a Grade II listed building.
Paris Hall is a 16th-century grade II listed house.
North Weald Redoubt, located on the former Ongar Radio Station site, is a fortification from the Napoleonic period which also found use as a gun emplacement during the Second World War.
Epping Ongar Railway is a heritage railway running on a disused section of the London Underground which closed in 1994. The track runs from just outside Epping Station to Chipping Ongar. Much of the railway’s maintenance facilities and a large proportion of its rolling stock are located at North Weald Station.
Social & Community
There are 5 public houses located within the parish. The historic Kings Head inn near the centre of North Weald village and the Talbot at the Eastern end of the High Road. In Hastingwood, there is the Rainbow & Dove, a Miller & Carter and the Horns and Horsehoes at Foster Street.
A small parade of shops occupies the centre of North Weald village close to a veterinary surgery and a newsagent which also hosts the village Post Office. There is an Indian restaurant as well a fish & chip shop / Chinese takeaway. A convenience store is also located at Tyler’s Green in North Weald.
Education is provided at the recently expanded St Andrew’s Primary School, located in the eastern part of North Weald village and there are several nurseries across the parish for younger children.
There are a number community halls in the parish. The Village Hall in the centre of North Weald village, the Queens Hall near the school, the Parish Hall at Thornwood and Hastingwood Village Hall.
The parish also has a number of care homes and sheltered accommodation for the elderly, including Wheelers Farm Gardens, Leonard Davis House, Cunningham House and Weald Hall Residential Home.
A hospice providing care and support to adults with life-limiting illnesses is located in Hastingwood.
The locally published “North Weald Village Life” provides residents with regular news, information and updates on what is happening in and around the parish and the related facebook group provides a platform for information exchange and lively discussion on local issues.
There are leisure, sports and interest groups operating across the parish which utilise the facilities on offer, including those available on the airfield.
The parish church of St Andrew’s is located to the north of North Weald village. There is also a Methodist Church more centrally located in North Weald High Road. The main cemetery is adjacent to St Andrew’s Church and there is also a Woodland Burial Park to the south.