Sawbridgeworth
 |
|
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Population: | 8,400 (2005 est.) |
| Ordnance Survey | |
| OS grid reference: | TL481151 |
| Administration | |
| District: | East Hertfordshire |
| Shire county: | Hertfordshire |
| Region: | East of England |
| Country: | England |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Hertfordshire |
| Historic county: | Hertfordshire |
| Services | |
| Police force: | Hertfordshire Constabulary |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | Sawbridgeworth |
| Postal district: | CM21 |
| Dialling code: | 01279 |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | Hertford and Stortford |
| European Parliament: | East of England |
 |
|
Sawbridgeworth is a small, mainly residential, town in Hertfordshire on the Essex border, situated between Bishop's Stortford and Harlow.
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 link to London Liverpool Street station. 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
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 picturesque 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 (1664) and eight bells dating from around 1700. 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 a 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 Maneville family. The 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 monumental sculptures in the country.
The Lordship of Sawbridegworth inlcudes the following estates: Sayesbury, Pishobury, Gilston, Eastwick Hall, Overhall, Giffards, Shingle Hall and Tedmanbury.
Recent notable inhabitants include Victoria and David Beckham.
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 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.
Education
Sawbridgeworth has a secondary school, the Leventhorpe School, which also offers a public swimming pool and gym.
