Alresford, Essex

This article is about place in Essex, England. For the town in the county of Hampshire also known as Alresford, see New Alresford.
Alresford

Ruins of St Peter's Church
Alresford
 Alresford shown within Essex
Population 2,009 (2011)
OS grid referenceTM069214
DistrictTendring
Shire countyEssex
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Colchester
Postcode district CO7
Dialling code 01206
Police Essex
Fire Essex
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentNorth Essex
List of places
UK
England
Essex

Coordinates: 51°50′57″N 1°00′08″E / 51.8492°N 1.0022°E / 51.8492; 1.0022

Alresford (/ˈɒlsfərd/ or /ˈeɪlsfərd/)[1] is a village and electoral ward in Essex, England. It is located 9 km (5.6 mi) southeast of Colchester and is 39 km (24 mi) northeast from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Tendring and in the parliamentary constituency of North Essex. As Alresford has expanded towards the B1027 it has effectively subsumed the hamlet of Elmstead Row. The local primary school is Alresford Primary School (~150 pupils, ages 4–11). A pre-school also meets there.

Population

According to national census figures for April 2001, there were 2,125 inhabitants in 842 households, with an almost even gender balance. The percentage of the population above the age of 45 is higher than the national average.[2] The population of the parish reduced to 2,009 at the 2011 Census.[3]

Geography

The village, 9 km (5.6 mi) southeast of Colchester, lies above Alresford Creek, a tributary to the River Colne.

The village's railway station usually sees one service per hour to Walton-on-the-Naze and Colchester. There are also some peak-time services to Clacton-on-Sea and London, operated by Abellio Greater Anglia.[4]

The village is on the 74 and 87 bus routes. Services are provided by First Essex and New Horizon Travel respectively.

Culture

The village contains the ruins of an old Anglican church (St Peter's), built about 1300, by Anfred de Staunton, which burnt down in 1971,[5] replaced by the 1975 essex-barn style church of St Andrew's. There is a thriving congregation of 70 adults with a children's and youth ministry. This is also used by local groups, including scramblers (for toddlers), Razmatazz (for 5 -11) and Police liaison meetings. The Rector is Rev Pauline Scott (since July 2009). St Andrew's is also the home of P@STA - Alresford's own puppet company.

Close to the church is the Village Hall that is used for many other local activities including the local Scout Group, indoor bowling, weddings, photographic club,luncheon club and for elections. Behind the church and village hall is the recreation ground, with a children's playground and space for football pitches used by Alresford Colne Rangers F.C. who have a club house with changing rooms attached to the Village Hall. There are also two bookable, flood-lit all-weather pitches.

A mile to the south of the village, past the ruins of St Peter's, is the picturesque Alresford Creek. Here are fifty yacht moorings managed by the Alresford Creek Boat Owners Association. (The ford is no longer passable by 4x4 vehicles due to the amount of mud at the bottom of the creek. Although it is still marked as fordable on GPS and paper maps.)

2008 Crime and Policing Issues

In 2008 Alresford made news as it was reported that its residents were unhappy with the rising levels of crime. In response to this on top of their normal taxes the villages paid an additional £13,000 so that the local force Essex Police could have an officer assigned to specifically patrol the village. The officer appointed Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Louise Cox a former airline stewardess was seen as a success by the villages and was credited in overall reducing crime in the village. Despite the large amount spent on having her specifically patrol the village residents voted eight to three to keep her post. Official figures show that since the deployment of a dedicated PCSO for the village crime has been reduced including criminal damage and anti social behaviour which was previously increasing in the village before PCSO Cox was appointed.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ G.M. Miller, BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 4.; note /s/, not /z/
  2. ↑ National Statistics Online: statistics for Alresford
  3. ↑ "Ward/Parish population 2011". Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Ltd, swlines. "Realtime Trains | Departures from Alresford (Essex)". Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  5. ↑ St. Peter's Church, 1969
  6. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1061093/Village-splashes-13-000-buy-Blunkett-Bobby--crime-rate-falls.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alresford, Essex.
Nearest Settlements
Colchester Elmstead Market Frating
Wivenhoe Great Bentley
   Alresford  
Across the Colne:
Fingringhoe		 Brightlingsea Thorrington
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