Woodham Walter

{{Short description|Village in Essex, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox UK place |country = England |static_image_name=Image:St. Michael; the parish church of Woodham Walter - geograph.org.uk - 733815.jpg |static_image_caption=St Michael's, Woodham Walter |coordinates = {{coord|51.732|0.618|display=inline,title}} |official_name= Woodham Walter |population = 583 | population_ref = (Parish, 2021)<ref name=2021census>{{cite web |title=2021 Census Parish Profiles |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_pp |website=NOMIS |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=31 March 2025}} (To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.)</ref> |shire_district= Maldon | shire_county = Essex |region= East of England |constituency_westminster= Witham |post_town= Maldon |postcode_district=CM9 |postcode_area=CM |dial_code= 01245 & 01621 |os_grid_reference= TL808070 }}

'''Woodham Walter''' is a village and civil parish in the Maldon District of Essex, England. It lies about three miles west of the town of Maldon. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 583.

==History== The village was first recorded as "Wudeham" in c. 875.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} The name, which means "village in the wood"<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fPoujUPs3hYC&q=wuduham&pg=PA3480|title=A Dictionary of English Surnames|author1=Reaney, P.H. |author2=Wilson, R.M. |name-list-style=amp |year=1958|isbn=0-415-05737-X|publisher=Routledge|accessdate=2012-10-22|page=3480}}</ref> is derived from the Old English words ''wudu'' (wood in modern English)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://info.sjc.ox.ac.uk/forests/Place-Name-Elements.htm|title=Woodland Terns in Place Names|accessdate=2012-10-22|publisher=St John's College Research Centre, University of Oxford|author1=Jones, Graham |author2=Langton, John |name-list-style=amp }}</ref> and ''ham'' (home, or homestead).{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} The modern name may derive from the Fitzwalter family who owned Woodham Walter Hall, a moated manor house in the village for many generations. The house was demolished in the 17th century by William Fytch.<ref>[http://unlockingessex.essexcc.gov.uk/uep/custom_pages/monument_detail.asp?content_page_id=89&monument_id=1014563&content_parents=61 Unlocking Essex Ruins of Old Woodham Walter Hall]</ref>

There is evidence of earlier settlement. A hoard of silver coins was found in the village, dated to c. 700.<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/cm/s/silver_pennies_from_the_woodha.aspx British Museum: Silver pennies from the Woodham Walter hoard]</ref> At Oak Farm in 1991 three gold and bronze torcs were discovered; they have been dated to c. 1000 BC.

The Domesday Book of 1086 entry for Woodham Walter lists a population of 18.

==Local amenities== thumb|The Queen Victoria pub

There are three public houses, the Bell Inn, the Queen Victoria and The Cats.

==Education== There is one school in the village, Woodham Walter Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School. There are c. 75 students.<ref>[http://www.schoolsnet.com/uk-schools/school-details-reviews/essex/woodham-walter-church-england-voluntary-controlled-primary-school/16180339/0/217785.html Schoolsnet entry for Woodham Walter Primary School]</ref>

==Religious sites== Thomas, Earl of Sussex, obtained a licence from Elizabeth I on 26 June 1562 to build the new parish church of St Michael the Archangel. It was largely completed (of red brick) in 1563 and consecrated on 30 April 1564, making it probably England's first new post-Reformation Church of England place of worship.<ref>[http://www.stmichaelsww.org.uk/ St. Michael the Archangel, Woodham Walter.]</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Woodham Walter}} *[http://www.dengie.org.uk/woodwindex.htm Information and photographs of Woodham Walter Village]

Category:Villages in Essex