Fyfield Village Hall

Fyfield is a small historic settlement whose exact
beginnings are lost in the mists of time. The name
itself comes from the Saxon word Fyfe, which
means five, and Hyde which is the amount of land
an able-bodied man could reasonably be
expected to plough in a day with a good team of
oxen. Historically, the first mention of the village
is in the Doomsday Book of 1086.

The parish has remained almost entirely an agricultural
community throughout history to the present day.
Intensification of farming and the arrival of the railway in
Ongar in the 1900s led to changes in the modern
landscape. Small fields with plenty of hedgerows have
now given way to large scale farming, leaving only
relics of an ancient landscape. Despite its closeness
to London, Fyfield retains a distinct rural character.

Ownership of the parish ‘tithes’, or land, has had a
rather chequered history. The most notable of these
owners was the Scrope (or Scroop) family from
Masham, in the north of England, who took ownership
after 1331. Henry le Scrope came under suspicion for
treason due to his political links with the French in the
reign of Henry V. Following a speedy trial at
Southampton he was beheaded for being, in the words
of Shakespeare, ‘a vile traitor’. His headless body is
said to be buried in the Church of St. Nicholas, under
the site of the existing organ.

The parish still contains many clues to the past. Both
the village and the surrounding countryside provide
enough to tempt the amateur historian and those keen
on natural history. With its mixture of small woodlands,
ancient hedgerows, ponds, streams and the River
Roding, there is a wide range of good habitats, home
to a diversity of wildlife.

Many of the buildings in the parish are of great
historical interest, in particular the church, Lampetts
and Fyfield Hall, which is the oldest of three manor
houses in Fyfield.

Fyfield Village Hall
Houchin Drive
Fyfield
Ongar
Essex
CM5 0RG

Fyfield is located on the B184 2.5 miles North of Ongar.

Click here for a map

If you approach Fyfield from the diredtion of Ongar then
Houchin Drive is the first road on the right. Take this road
and go past Walker Avenue on your left continuing and
bearing left where the Village Hall car park is at the end of
the road past the Scouts Headquarters.