Sawbridgeworth

infobox UK place

country = England
official_name= Sawbridgeworth
latitude= 51.814
longitude= 0.150
population= 8,400 (2005 est.)
shire_district= East Hertfordshire
region= East of England

shire_county = Hertfordshire
constituency_westminster= Hertford and Stortford
post_town= Sawbridgeworth
postcode_district = CM21
postcode_area= CM
dial_code= 01279
os_grid_reference= TL481151

Sawbridgeworth is a small, mainly residential, town in Hertfordshire, England.

Location

Sawbridgeworth is four miles south of Bishop's Stortford, twelve miles east of Hertford and nine miles north of Epping. It lies on the A1184 and has a railway station that links to Liverpool Street station in London. The river Stort flows through the east of the town, past the Maltings (now a small business and residential area).

Nearby towns and cities: Bishop's Stortford, Harlow

Nearby villages: High Wych, Spellbrook, Much Hadham

History

Prior to the Norman Conquest, most of the area was owned by the Saxon Angmar the Staller.

The Manor of "Sabrixteworde" (one of the many spellings previously associated with the town) was recorded in the Domesday Book. After the Battle of Hastings it was granted to Geoffrey de Mandeville by William the Conqueror. Local notables have included Sir John Leventhorpe, who was an executor of King Henry V's will, and Anne Boleyn, who was given the Pishiobury/Pishobury estate, located to the south of the town.

Much of the town centre is a conservation area; many of the buildings date from the Tudor, Stuart, and Georgian periods. Great St. Mary's church was originally built in the 13th century (although a church on the site existed in Saxon times) and includes a Tudor tower containing a clock bell (1664) and eight ringing bells, the oldest of which dates from 1749. [ [http://www.sawbridgeworthchurch.com/bells.htm Sawbridgeworth Church bells] ] Ralph Jocelyn of Hyde Hall, who was twice Lord Mayor of London in the 15th century, is buried here; images of many of his family and other locals have been engraved on brass, and hence the church is popular for enthusiasts of brass rubbing.

The town's prosperity came from the local maltings, owned by George Fawbert and John Barnard; in 1839 they set up the Fawbert and Barnard charity to fund local children and their education, funding a local infant school that still exists today.

Apart from the historic nature of the town, attractions include local river cruises in the summer and two annual fairs held on Fair Green on St George's Day and the Feast of Saint Dionysius.

By the time of the Norman conquest, or soon after, Sawbridgeworth's rich farming land was fully developed for cultivation as was possible with the means available at the time: it was the richest village community in the country. It is, then, hardly surprising that many important medieval families had estates here. The land was divided amongst them, into a number of manors or distinct estates; the Lord of each manor had rights not only over this land but also over the people who farmed it. The number of manors increased during the Middle Ages, by a process of subinfeudation, that is the granting out of a part of an existing manor to a new owner so that the new manor was created. Many manors sprang from the original Domesday Book holding of the de Mandeville family. The first came to be called Sayesbury manor, from the de Say family who inherited it from the de Mandeville's in 1189. The many important people who held these manors built themselves houses with hunting parks around them; when they died their tombs enriched the parish church, so that today St. Mary's has one of the finest collections of church monuments in the country.

The Lordship of Sawbridgeworth includes the following estates: Sayesbury, Pishobury, Gilston, Eastwick Hall, Overhall, Giffards, Shingle Hall and Tedmanbury.

Pronunciation

The name of the town is now almost universally pronounced in the obvious way, but this was not always the case. In the Middle Ages it is believed to have been pronounced "Sapserth", and since then the pronunciation has varied to include "Sapsa", "Sapster" and "Sapsworth", and even until the Second World War was pronounced "Sapsed". Current residents often use the casual abbreviated name "Sawbo".

Politics and local government

Sawbridgeworth is administered by East Herts district council. The local Town Council currently has 12 councillors, covering both Sawbridgeworth and Spellbrook.

Sawbridgeworth is twinned with:
* Bry-sur-Marne in France (1973)

In Parliament, it is in the Hertford and Stortford constituency. Since the election of May 2005 Sawbridgeworth is represented by Mark Prisk, a Conservative.

The village of Lower Sheering in Essex adjoins Sawbridgeworth, east of the railway station, along the Hertfordshire - Essex border. It shares the same postal code as Sawbridgeworth, although for local government purposes it comes under the Epping Forest district of Essex, with the Member of Parliament being Bill Rammell (Labour).

Education

Sawbridgeworth has a secondary school, the Leventhorpe School, which also offers a public swimming pool and gym. There are also three primary schools and one infant school in Sawbridgeworth.

port

Sawbridgeworth Cricket Club is one of the leading cricket clubs in the south of England, fielding seven senior sides and seven colts sides, from ages nine to fifteen. The 1st XI plays in the Home Counties Premier Cricket League, and the other league sides play in the Hertfordshire Cricket League. The main ground is Town Fields, situated behind Bell Street. The second ground is at the Leventhorpe School.

Sawbridgeworth also has a football (soccer), tennis and bowls clubs.

Transport

Sawbridgeworth railway station is situated on the London to Cambridge line. There is a ticket office but as of 2007 there is no longer a ticket machine.

Trivia

* Notable inhabitants include Victoria and David Beckham at "Beckingham Palace" since 1999.
* The Leventhorpe School has a fully functioning and operational wind turbine, the first in the local area.
* Sawbridgeworth has its own brewery, located at The Gate pub. [ [http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/prod/dialspace/town/estate/afq07/gate/brewery.html Sawbridgeworth Brewery] ]
* Every Christmas Eve, the town's population gather together for a session of carol singing. This takes place at Fair Green.

References

External links

* [http://www.hydehall.demon.co.uk Town guide]
* [http://www.sawbridgeworth.com Alternative link to town guide]
* [http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/district/district_guide/dgsawbri.htm Local council guide]
* [http://www.sawbridgeworthchurch.com/ Great St. Mary's church]
* [http://www.leventhorpe.herts.sch.uk/ Leventhorpe School]
* [http://sawbridgeworthcc.hitscricket.com/home/ Sawbridgeworth Cricket Club]
* [http://www.johnwmills2.plus.com/original/Christ.htm Sculpture of Risen Christ in Sawbridgeworth church]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2680362 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Sawbridgeworth and surrounding area]