Toppesfield


Toppesfield is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. The village is approximately north from the county town of Chelmsford, and west from the village of Great Yeldham. The parish contains the hamlets of Gainsford End and Grass Green.

History

The derivation of the name 'Toppesfield' is 'open land on the hill top', a possible agglomeration of the phrase 'Top of the Field'.

Geography

Toppesfield, from the Suffolk border, is part of North Essex which has higher terrain than most of Essex. The village sits on a small and shallow hill, its roads running downhill from the centre. Toppesfield church tower is visible from villages more than 10 miles away.

Community

Toppesfield is a rural community historically associated with arable farming. The village has approximately three-hundred inhabitants. The hamlet of Gainsford End, of approximately fifty inhabitants, is about southwest from the village, and contains the listed Gainsford End Mill.
Toppesfield's only public house is the Green Man. The pub is owned by Toppesfield Community Pub Limited, an Industrial & Provident Society which was established in 2012. TCP gained control of the Green Man in December 2012 from Admiral Taverns, a national pub chain which had financial problems. TCP is owned by more than 150 shareholders who raised share capital exceeding £150,000 to help finance the purchase.
St Margaret’s Church, Topplesfield, a Church of England parish church, is part of the Upper Colne Valley Parishes joint benefice. Affiliated to the church is St Margaret's Church of England primary school.
Toppesfield village hall is attached to a shop and post office. The hall holds a yearly flower show, and in 1999-2000 held a Millennium party.
At the centre of the village is a village pump around which local events have been held, including a June 2002 Golden Jubilee celebration.