Halstead

History

Halstead is an ancient community that developed initially on the hill to the north of the River Colne. Archaeological evidence indicates that Halstead has been occupied since the early Bronze Age. The sites of Iron Age and Roman settlements, including a villa, were discovered in the vicinity of Greenstead Hall, where Saxon pottery was also found. A Romano-British villa also lies in a field to the south of the River Colne at Blue Bridge, indicating early settlement in the fertile river valley. The name Halstead derives from the Old English gehæld / hald (refuge, shelter, healthy) and stede (site, place or farm), meaning "healthy farm" or "place of refuge". After the Norman Conquest, in the Middle English of the 11th century, hald was written and spoken as halt, holt, or holð. Halstead is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Haltesteda and thrice as Halsteda in the Hundred of Hinckford, where it was mainly held by many freemen as feu in 1066, at the time of King Edward. In 1086, Halstead was one of the largest 20% of settlements recorded in Domesday, and had four owners. Most of the manor of Halstead had been granted by King William to William de Warenne as tenant-in-chief and lord of most of its wealth, and about one-third of the manor of Halstead was possessed by Richard, son of count Gilbert as tenant-in-chief. In the Rebellion of 1088, William de Warenne took the winning side of William Rufus and was named Earl of Surrey, while Richard supported Robert Curthose which led to retirement at a monastery and transfer of his portion of Halstead to his son Gilbert fitz Richard. There was evidence of a market in Halstead before 1251 when a royal charter was granted for a weekly market and an annual fair. Further grants were made in 1330 and 1467 for the market which…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  7,099
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,662
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,649
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,436
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,094
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,046
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,022
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,564

Most recent

• M 3.9 — 2020-09-08
  2 km WSW of Pitstone, United Kingdom
• M 3.7 — 2015-05-22
  3 km SSE of Ramsgate, United Kingdom
• M 3.5 — 2009-03-03
  1 km ENE of Hawkinge, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2008-08-08
  27 km ESE of Felixstowe, United Kingdom
• M 4.6 — 2007-04-28
  1 km WNW of Lympne, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2007-03-02
  46 km NE of Broadstairs, United Kingdom