Finchingfield - The 'most photographed village in England'

In the Braintree district of north Essex sits Finchingfield, a village with a "picturesque" setting.

There has been a settlement in Finchingfield since historical records of the area began and the name first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it appears as Fincingefelda.

Visit Essex describes Finchingfield as 'a textbook example of the traditional English village' (Image: Google)

Visit Essex describes Finchingfield as "a textbook example of the traditional English village" and, according to Google Maps, it is less than an hour and 10 minute's drive away from the centre of Romford.

It says: "Finchingfield is described as the 'most photographed village in England' and has won awards for its traditional picturesque setting.

"The combination of duck pond, village green, hump-backed bridge and pub, overlooked by colour-washed cottages, a windmill and a medieval church, give it an unbeatable series of views, which are often found on calendars, chocolate boxes, tea towels, postcards and jigsaws."

Visit Essex notes the duck pond, village green and hump-backed bridge as contributing to the aesthetic (Image: Google)

Finchingfield is home to several buildings steeped in history including the Grade I-listed Guildhall, described by Historic Houses as a building of "exceptional importance".

The Guildhall was built around 1500 and was used for the benefit of the village as a schoolhouse and almshouse but is now used as an interactive museum.

The Round House is also a notable site in Finchingfield. It is a cottage of 18th century Dutch design and referred to locally as the Pepper Pot.

Finchingfield Windmill is Grade-II listed (Image: Visit Essex)

It was formerly owned by the author of 101 Dalmatians, Dodie Smith, and a blue plaque on the house can be seen today.

"The most important house," according to Visit Essex is Spains Hall, named after the Hispanis - a Norman family who owned a property here in the 11th century.

This is an Elizabethan building in the heart of 150 acres of woodland, 11 miles of public footpaths and nine miles of bridle paths.

Finchingfield Windmill is also known as Finchingfield Post Mill or Duck End Mill (Image: Visit Essex)

Finchingfield Windmill, more formally known as Finchingfield Post Mill or Duck End Mill, is a Grade-II listed 18th‑century corn mill.

Explore Essex labels it "the oldest windmill in Essex".

In May last year, flower company Bloom & Wild formed a list of the UK's top 15 "most loved" lavender fields to visit and Finchingfield Lavender, part of the Finchingfield Camping Site was named seventh in the rankings.

Bloom & Wild wrote: "Finchingfield Lavender can be found just an hour away from London in the beautiful countryside of Essex."

Finchingfield was named the seventh most loved lavender field in the UK (Image: Finchingfield Lavender Field)

The village is also home to three pubs - all of which are highly rated on Google.

The Finchingfield Lion in Church Hill has an average rating of 4.7 out of five stars and describes itself as offering a "superb range of cask and keg beers" and serving "gorgeous Italian style pizzas".

The Three Tuns in Wethersfield Road averages a Google rating of 4.6 out of five and The Fox Inn in The Green has an average rating of 4.3.

According to Rightmove, houses in Finchingfield have an overall average price of £692,483 over the last year.

The majority of properties sold in Finchingfield during the last year were detached properties and sold for an average price of £791,422.

Semi-detached properties sold for an average of £395,667.