Toppesfield

Toppesfield is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. The village is approximately 19 mi north from the county town of Chelmsford, and 1.5 mi west from the village of Great Yeldham. The parish contains the hamlets of Gainsford End and Grass Green.

History
The derivation of the name 'Toppesfield' is 'open land on the hill top', a possible agglomeration of the phrase 'Top of the Field'.

Geography
Toppesfield, 8 mi from the Suffolk border, is part of North Essex which has higher terrain than most of Essex. The village sits on a small and shallow hill, about 75 metres above sea level.

Community
Toppesfield is a rural community historically associated with arable farming. The village has approximately 500 inhabitants. The hamlet of Gainsford End, of approximately fifty inhabitants, is about 1.5 mi southwest from the village, and contains the listed Gainsford End Mill.

In 2002, following the closure of the last privately owned shop in the parish, a community owned and volunteer-run shop was built. This is attached to the village hall, which itself had been built and opened in 1961, following several years of fundraising by parishioners and financial support from Lord Sainsbury and Sir Leslie and Lady Plummer, who all lived in the village. Toppesfield's only public house is the Green Man. The pub is owned by Toppesfield Community Pub Limited (TCP), a Community Benefit Society which was established in 2012. TCP gained control of the Green Man in December 2012 from Admiral Taverns, a national pub chain which had financial problems. TCP is owned by more than 150 shareholders who raised share capital exceeding £150,000 to help finance the purchase.

St Margaret’s Church, Toppesfield, a Church of England parish church, is part of the Upper Colne Valley Parishes joint benefice. Affiliated to the church is St Margaret's Church of England primary school.

The church has a ring of 8 bells.

The village has a primary school, St Margarets CofE Voluntary Controlled School, which dates back to 1854. The school is rated 'Good' by OFSTED following an inspection in late 2022.