Ingatestone is a village and former civil parish in Essex, England, with a population of 5,409 inhabitants according to the 2021 census. Just north lies the village of Fryerning, the two now forming the parish of Ingatestone and Fryerning, in the Borough of Brentwood. Ingatestone lies in the Metropolitan Green Belt 20 miles (32 km) north-east of London. Its built-up area straddles the A12 trunk road and the Great Eastern Main Railway Line. It has become an affluent commuter village, seen as one of the UK's best places to live by the Sunday Times in 2020.
History
Ingatestone appeared in Saxon times on the Essex Great Road (now the A12) between the Roman towns of Londinium (London) and Camulodunum (Colchester). The name means "Ing at the Stone", the suffix distinguishing it from nearby settlements that also formed part of the manor of Ing. It is first recorded in 1283 as Gynges atte Ston. It appears as "Inge atte Stone" in 1433.
Stone is not prevalent in the local geology. The village stone, deposited by glacial action, is unusual for the area. A large Sarsen stone can still be seen, split into three, with one piece by the west door of the St Edmund and St Mary's parish church and one each side of the entrance to Fryerning Lane.
Ingatestone belonged to Barking Abbey from about 950 CE until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, when it was purchased from the Crown by Sir William Petre. Petre, originally a lawyer from Devon, had risen to become the Secretary of State to Henry VIII. He built a large courtyard house, Ingatestone Hall, as his home in the village, along with almshouses which still exist today as private cottages in Stock Lane.
By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, Fryerning and Ingatestone (Inga) were assigned to the Hundred of Chelmsford, as part of the land of St Mary of Barking with a value of 60 shillings (£3), held by Robert Gernon in demesne.
By the 18th century Ingatestone had become a coaching centre, but the advent of the railway saw its importance decrease, along with the traffic on the Essex Great Road. By 1881 the parish had a population of 926 and on 24 March 1889, the parishes of Ingatestone and Fryerning merged to form Ingatestone and Fryerning, encompassing an area of almost . Ingatestone grew further in the 20th century as commuters moved in, attracted by the surrounding countryside.
Plans to bypass the narrow Roman road through the village were first drawn up before the Second World War, but construction of a dual-carriageway bypass did not begin until 1958. Further dual-carriageway sections of the A12 trunk road were added in the 1960s, to bypass Brentwood and Chelmsford.
Geology
Ingatestone lies just to the north of the southernmost limit of glaciation in the British Isles. Surface deposits over much of the area consist of boulder clay and it is only to the north-east that there are more sandy deposits. Geologist Ciara Lovatt conducted several rock mineral experiments on deposits within Ingatestone in the 1980s. The glacial deposits overlie London clay, which can be seen occasionally in the bed of the River Wid and its tributaries.
The geology of the area is responsible for the landscape and the character of farming in surrounding area. Crop farming is the typical use of boulder clay lands. The sandy deposits to the north-east of Ingatestone are a contributory factor in the greater incidence of woodland and non-arable land in this area.
Places of interest
Ingatestone Hall has been the home of the Petre family since the 16th century, who reside there to this day. The location was chosen due to the similarity of the village's Latin name with their own. A tomb monument to members of the family is located in the parish church of St Edmund and St Mary's.
The hall is currently open as a tourist attraction. It largely retains its Tudor appearance following restoration carried out between 1915 and 1937, and is set in formal gardens surrounded by eleven acres of grounds. Inside is a range of antique furniture, paintings and other historical artefacts. Queen Elizabeth I spent several nights at the hall on her Royal Progress of 1561. St. John Payne, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, resided at Ingatestone Hall in the late 16th century as chaplain and steward for Lady Petre. He was martyred at Chelmsford in 1582. The smallpox inoculator, Daniel Sutton, made his base on Ingatestone High Street in Brandiston House, and carried out much of his work here.