Area Guide: The desirable Hertfordshire village of Essendon

The high-end rural village of Essendon features pretty period properties and a historic church, all surrounded by picturesque countryside.

Essendon offers residents the best of both worlds, with a rural setting close to Hatfield and Hertford and surrounded by amenities.

Property  

Property in Essendon does not come cheap - which is perhaps unsurprising due to its attractive location.

According to Rightmove, homes in the village had an overall average price of £522,000 over the last year.  

Homes currently on the market in the village include a three-bedroom semi-detached property at Bedwell Park for £980,000 and a four-bedroom detached property at Hanbury Lane for £995,000. 

Claims to fame  

The village of Essendon was once home to some famous 20th century writers. These include novelist Barbara Cartland - who died in 2000 and who once lived in the huge 10-bedroom mansion Camfield Place.

Beatrix Potter, who died in 1943, regularly visited 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 in Essendon contains evidence of previous rectors dating as far back as 1213, while Norman fragments were 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, two sisters, 26-year-old Frances and 12-year-old Eleanor Bamford, were found to have been killed in their nearby home.

A plaque commemorating the tragedy is on the wall of the church.

The following year, a restoration project was completed to reconstruct the church, with many of the previous features replicated.

Along with Camfield Place, another historic house in the parish is Holwell Court, a Grade II listed building which was built in around 1900 for Sir Ernest George, and has now been converted to private apartments.

Essendon Place was also the seat of the Barons Dimsdale. Thomas Dimsdale was an experton treating smallpox by inoculation, and in 1768 he was invited to Russia to inoculate Catherine the Great.

Amenities 

Essendon's village hall serves as a community hub, which hosts 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.

Meanwhile 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 is also a popular restaurant on site, with space available to hire for private events.

Essendon is home to a highly regarded local pub - the Rose and Crown - which has its own top class restaurant headed up by chef Alex Parker, who used to work for Gordon Ramsay.

Travel  

The village is well connected to other areas, with rail links from nearby Hatfield reaching London King's Cross within half an hour.

Major roads, including the A1(M) and the M25, are just a short drive away.

Schools  

Essendon C of E (VC) Primary School has only four classes with two year groups in each, beginning with nursery and reception.

The school was found to be 'good' in its most recent Ofsted report.

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 (which is rated 'outstanding'). 

This area guide is sponsored by Frost's, which has offices in Redbourn, Harpenden and Wheathampstead (Image: Frost's)