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Woodham Mortimer is a village on the Dengie peninsula about three miles west-south-west of Maldon in the English county of Essex. The village is part of the Wickham Bishops and Woodham ward of the Maldon district.

History

The village was first recorded as "Wudeham" in c. 975. The name is derived from the old English words "wudu" (wood in modern English) and "ham" (home, or homestead). At the time of the Norman Conquest the parish belonged to Ralph Peverell and was known as Little Woodham. Henry II gave the parish to Robert de Mortimer, leading to the change in name.

Economy

There are two public houses, the Royal Oak on the A414 and the Hurdlemakers Arms on Post Office Road. Its name refers to the hurdles which used to be made from materials cut in the nearby woods. There is a golf driving range with 9-hole pitch and putt that was opened in 1967 on Burnham Road.

Education

The village has a pre-school based in the village hall on Post Office Road. It was established in 1972. Next to the village hall is a playing field with swings and a small football pitch.

Religious sites

The parish church is St Margaret's. The original church on the site may date from the 16 century, however, it was rebuilt in the 19 century leaving little evidence of the older church with only the south wall and east end remaining.

Evidence for the age of the church includes the 13 century font (although the base is newer) and the 17 century carvings on the pulpit.

The church has a small window commemorating Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.

The graveyard includes the grave of Peter Chamberlen.

Landmarks

Woodham Mortimer Hall is a 17 century gabled house that Hugh and Peter Chamberlen lived in. There is a blue plaque fixed to the hall noting them as pioneering obstetricians who invented the forceps. The hall passed out of the Chamberlen family in 1715 when the family home was sold. The forceps were found in 1813 under a trap door in the loft of the hall and given to the Medical and Chirurgical Society which passed them to the Royal Society of Medicine in 1818.

There is a war memorial commemorating the nine people from the village who died during the World Wars. There is also a memorial erected in 1825 to William Alexander, who left his lands to the poor.

References

1. "Maldon District Council". Retrieved 2008-11-03.
2. Directory of the County of Essex. White's. 1848.
3. Rothwell, David. Dictionary of Pub Names. Wordsworth. p. 197. ISBN 1-84022-266-2.
4. "Woodham Mortimer Golf Range". Retrieved 2008-11-03.
5. "Woodham Mortimer Pre-school Nursery Education Inspection Report". Retrieved 2008-11-03.
6. Christie, Damian (September 2004). "The Surgeon returns to Melbourne; Chamberlen's forceps find a home at the College" (PDF). O&G. 6 (3). Victoria, Australia: The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists: 246–247. Retrieved 2008-11-16.

External links

• Woodham Mortimer Cricket Club
• A local directory with history, current life and photographs of Woodham Mortimer
• Woodham Mortimer Pre-school

v t e The towns and villages of the Maldon district, Essex, England
Towns	Maldon Burnham-on-Crouch
Villages	Althorne Asheldham Bradwell Waterside Bradwell-on-Sea Cold Norton Creeksea Dengie Goldhanger Great Braxted Great Totham Hazeleigh Heybridge Heybridge Basin Langford Latchingdon Little Braxted Little Totham Mayland Maylandsea Mundon North Fambridge Purleigh Snoreham Southminster Steeple Stow Maries St Lawrence Tillingham Tollesbury Tolleshunt D'Arcy Tolleshunt Major Ulting Wickham Bishops Woodham Mortimer Woodham Walter
Maldon is the seat of the Maldon district List of places in Essex

• Maldon District
• Villages in Essex