Welcome to the local history of Henham, Little Henham and Pledgdon

This village may be lost forever if developers and the government win their proposal to build 3000+ houses here, to keep up with the news on our fight visit saveourvillage

The Parish of Henham consists of Henham on the Hill, as it has been known in historical documentation, and the two hamlets Little Henham and Pledgdon (sometime known as Prison Green).  Henham is the third highest point in the county of Essex in England,  Archaeological digs have revealed evidence of occupation during Neolithic and Roman times and the village is documented in the Domesday Survey of 1086.
 
The Parish remained an almost exclusively agricultural community until the early 20th century.  At that time there were about 14 different trades people here. 

We had three churches, three pubs and several beer-houses, and at least 12 shops throughout the parish.  We were largely self sufficient.  There is now only one community run village shop which incorporates the village post office, one pub and one church.The fields and properties retain ancient names such as Claypits and Sandpits, depicting their original uses.

The break-up of the landed estates, which saw the auctioning of properties between 1860 and 1922, brought a rapid decline for men, women and children employed in domestic service.
The construction of the Elsenham-Thaxted Railway in 1913 gave access to the mainline to London and Cambridge. Post World War II mechanisation reduced the need for agricultural workers and turned the area into a satellite commuting village for the two cities. This line was closed in 1952 thus contributing to the increase of cars in the village. There is little opportunity for local employment and the lack of affordable housing for our young people has forced them to move from their home village to more urban areas of habitation.

When this web site was envisaged, it was anticipated that there were going to be just a few interesting articles. However, the web site has taken a life unto itself and it grows monthly. Each month I will show what new articles have been included. I have used a cut-off date of 1955. If you want information regarding present Henham life visit our village website.