Word count: 643
Ye Olde Pleshey
An excellent walk round a very historical piece of Essex.
Words and images by Charlotte Fellingham
1 From the church, turn right back into Pleshey then right down Pump Lane to the castle. Geoffrey de Mandeville, first Earl of Essex, built the castle here and at Saffron Walden. PlesheyCastle is the best example of an earth-built Motte and bailey Norman castle, the whole village is surrounded by the defences. The castle is open to the public if you make an appointment, see ‘Places to visit’. The castle can only be visited by appointment only and you won’t be able to see the castle from this point in the walk but you’ll be able to see the moat towards the end of the walk. Turn right onto a path running beside a horse paddock. This used to be the cricket ground; you can still see the pavilion in the corner of the field. At the corner of the field you meet a track, bear right along it. Continue along the track until you have gone down a dip and up the other side, then left off the track, still following the bridleway. Stay on this tree-lined lane until a path junction at the corner of Fitzjohn’s Wood. Turn right onto Leftfield Lane.
2 At the road cross straight over onto another bridleway. These paths are wide and easy to follow. Eventually you will reach a junction of three bridleways, turn left, where you’ll go past a rather pretty thatched cottage. Just before you reach the track at the end of the walled garden, turn left onto a field edge path. When the path opens up into a field in front of you, turn left with the hedge on your left. Follow this round to the right and up a track through the fields. As you reach Israel’s Farm, turn right at the barns and continue straight ahead through the farmyard to the road. Turn right the take a left onto a bridleway signed ‘Fitzjohn’s Barn’. Continue on the track past Fitzjohn’s Farmhouse to a junction. Fitzjohn’s Farm is a Grade II listed building and dates back to the 15th century. Continue straight ahead onto a field edge footpath. At the next junction, turn left, past Deadman’s Bank on your right (hidden in the trees) to a field. Deadman’s Bank was a dam for a mill pond, possible for the castle mill. There is a story that the bank got its name through a duel fought on the site. The path bears right across the field to the white-topped post and bridge. Cross the bridge, go up the steps and turn left onto the Essex Way, an 81 mile long-distance route between Epping and Harwich.
3 Cross the small bridge and at the next white-topped post turn right, following a field edge path uphill towards the road. At the road, cross straight over to join another footpath, turning right along the field edge. This saves walking on the road. Turn left at the road, and then left at the road junction onto another bridleway. Continue past Oak Hall on the wide grassy track, bearing left at the next path junction and ignoring the bridleway to the left further on. Turn left at the next junction signposted as a footpath, an attractive tree-line avenue, then cross the bridge and go out into the field. The path takes you to the road and passes by the remnants of the earthworks that surround Pleshey. At the road turn right to walk back through the village to the church, making sure you stop at Pleshey Mount View Point on the left as you pass through. Pleshey was a seat of importance in the 1300’s when its lord was the Duke of Gloucester. Lord High Constable of England and uncle of Richard II. It had 40 shops and market and a mayor, which is quite hard to imagine as you walk through the main street today.
Distance: 4 ½ miles / 7.2 km / 2 hours
Terrain:Easy walking on wide open tracks, one set of 3 steps TL675 142
Start / parking: On road parking by the church on The Street TL663 143
Map: OS Explorer 183 Chelmsford and the Rodings
Refreshments: Two pubs in Pleshey, The Leather Bottle and The White Horse, both en route
Tourist Information Centre: Saffron Walden Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Place, Market Square, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1HR, Tel: 01799 524002
Places to visit: PlesheyCastle can be visited by prior appointment only, telephone 01245 360239 to contact the owners