About Me
Castle Hedingham is a picturesque village in North Essex dating back thousands of years. With a population of between 1,000 and 1,500, the village is located approximately 10 miles from Braintree (of Crittalls Windows fame), 18 miles from Colchester, the oldest town in Britain, 10 miles from Haverhill, birthplace of the legendary 13th Chime and home to IFF (International Farts & Fumes)and 30 miles from Cambridge, the esteemed seat of learning.Centrepiece of the village is the Norman keep from which the village takes its name. Dated to approx 1140, it was the home of Edward de Vere, author of all Shakespeare's plays.There are 3 pubs in the village: The Wheatsheaf, The Rising Sun, and most importantly The Bell, a 16th Century former coaching inn. They have a great beer festival every summer in about the middle of July. The festival is held in the pub's 'Disraeli Room', so-called after the rock band Cream roadtested their 'Disraeli Gears' album there in 1967.There is also a restaurant, a tea-room, a steam railway, a bowling green and a cricket pitch, where the local side has remained unvanquished for 43 years. Come and try your luck!Once a thriving community, the village has taken a bit of a beating in recent years from the number of rich people who have moved there to exploit its picturesqueness, simultaneously ruining it with their big cars which block the narrow lanes and annoy the locals, earning the village the epithet Arsehole Hedingham.Famous people from the village include naturalist and artist Mark Catesby, war artist Eric Ravilious, 'The Blue Lagoon' author Henry de Vere Stacpoole, broadcaster Rene Cutforth, mad potter Edward Bingham, lofty art critic Brian Sewell, hugely influential folk group Stained Glass and rock'n'roll revivalists Sha Na Na.
