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The Parish

Little Hadham - ancient and modern

The village and its hamlets

Little Hadham first appeared on the map as a small Anglo-Saxon settlement. Today it is a village with a population of 1,200 and comprises eight hamlets with some 500 dwellings, many of them historic buildings, as well as modern homes, farms and small businesses. It covers an area of approximately 12 square miles in a largely rural area of East Hertfordshire.

Little Hadham is surrounded by other villages, its closest neighbours being Albury and Much Hadham. Other nearby villages include Widford and Stanstead Abbotts to the south; Standon and Puckeridge to the west; and Braughing and the Pelhams to the north. The closest towns are Bishop's Stortford, two miles away, and Ware, six miles to the south-west. The nearest city, Cambridge, is some 20 miles north of the village.

Little Hadham is 35 miles from central London, making it possible for people to live in the village and work in London.

Lying in the valley of the river Ash, Little Hadham has several working farms, rural businesses, and large areas of woodland, all set in a gently undulating landscape. The village is still essentially a rural community although there is a sense of unease that its status could be threatened by proposed housing development in the region, possible expansion of Stansted Airport and other signs of potential urbanisation.

The Hamlets

Little Hadham's eight hamlets are The Ash, The Ford, Westland Green, Bury Green, Green Street, Cradle End, Hadham Hall and Church End. One of the aims of our Neighbourhood Plan is to address the scattered nature of the village and to try to bring the various hamlets closer together by organising community-wide events and making facilities in and around the Village Hall more of a focal point for everyone.