Tolleshunt Major
| Tolleshunt Major | |
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 St. Nicholas' church, Tolleshunt Major |
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 Tolleshunt Major
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| Tolleshunt Major shown within Essex | |
| Population | 695 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | TL900113 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MALDON |
| Postcode district | CM9 |
| Dialling code | 01621 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Tolleshunt Major is a small village approximately five miles north east of Maldon, in the Maldon District of Essex, England. It forms part of the electoral ward of Tolleshunt D'Arcy and is situated on the northern bank of the River Blackwater.
The Tolleshunt group of villages (Major, Knights, D'Arcy and Tollesbury) grew up in the area settled by the Saxon chief Toll who cleared areas of forest round local water sources. Tolleshunta was the Anglo Saxon name for Toll's spring. The name Tolleshunt Major (or Mauger as it was previously known), was granted by King Henry VIII to Stephen Beckenham, in 1544. Beckenham bought various landscapes in and around the village and built a semi-fortified manor house with a turreted gatehouse within a red-brick boundary wall. This became known as "Beckingham House". The house was demolished in 1782 and was replaced by a farmhouse. The former gatehouse which formed part of Beckingham Manor, complete with turrets and boundary wall still remain.
In 1609, Beckingham completed the design and construction of a heraldic shield which featured statuettes of himself and his wife Alvis Beckingham (née Terral). The monument was displayed at the parish church of St. Nicholas. This has since been pulled down and scrapped.
The Beckingham family originally came from Wiltshire. Stephen’s son Thomas Beckingham received a knighthood and died in 1633. His son, William, became heir to the estate aged 12. The estate was eventually sold to Sir Thomas Adams, an alderman from London. The manor house changed hands several times before eventually becoming the property of the current owners.
Tolleshunt Major's only streets are Beckingham Street, Bakers Lane, Mill Lane, Witham Road, Tudwick Road and Tolleshunt D'Arcy Road, all situated within the built up part of the village, which consists of just over one hundred dwellings.
The village's parish boundaries stretch as far as Little Totham, taking in parts of Sawyers Lane and Plains Road. Other rural parts of the village include Church Road to the east, Tudwick Road to the north, Sawyers Lane and Plains Road to the west, parts of Scraley Road, Wash Lane and Bakers Green to the south.
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Wikipedia