The hamlet of Littlebury Green is situated about 3km west of the main village of Littlebury, two miles West of Littlebury itself. It is surrounded by open countryside, most of which forms part of the Audley End Estate. However there are ample opportunities for country walks and dog walks. Littlebury Green is a hamlet of around 50 houses which owes its existence to the rich boulder clay soils of the area, noted for growing excellent crops of cereals since Roman times.
Until the middle of the last Century it was primarily an agricultural village with at least 5 farms. In 1851 it had 32 houses and two pubs, the Rose and the Hoops. The pubs are long gone and the only farm is Audley End Estate’s operation at Howe Hall at the eastern end of the village. Today there are 55 houses most of which lie along the straight Littlebury Road. These include 6 Grade II listed buildings. A further cluster of dwellings at Elmdon Lee, 750m further west is socially part of the village though it lies outside the Parish.
There are few amenities, but three focal points within the hamlet. The Village Green with children’s play equipment, is one last remnant of the original Littlebury “Green”. Second, at the centre of the village is St. Peter’s Church which arrived in 1885, and is one of the best preserved examples of a Victorian ”tin tabernacle” in the country, a type of flat-packed church that Britain sent to the far-flung corners of The Empire to help export Christianity. This has served as a church continuously since 1885. It has recently been upgraded internally and now serves a dual function as church and community hub. Adjacent to St.Peter’s is the “Bumpy”, a former gravel pit owned by the Parish Council. Formerly a children’s wild play area, since 2019 it has been developed as a community project into a nature reserve by a group of volunteers.
In addition to the Community Hub and Bumpy Volunteer Group there is a well-established Book Club and the recently reformed Hamlets History Group.
With the intensification and consolidation of farming over the past 100 years, the number of farms in Littlebury Green has reduced to two, Audley End Estates and Dukes Farm. Huge tracts of the surrounding fields remain in production, and harvest time will still see many tractors and trailers passing through the hamlet.
The farm buildings that are no longer used have been converted for residential use, and the village green that once ran the length of the village has been gradually infilled with housing over the past 200 years. Littlebury Green is now a linear settlement that clusters along a single road. It is situated at one of the highest points of Essex, 118 metres above The North Sea creating fine views for the residents, but a challenge for cyclists.
