Etymology

Stambourne derives from an old local dialect term for 'stony brook'.

Stambourne's closest neighbouring villages are Ridgewell

Ridgewell

Ridgewell is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England, about six miles from Haverhill on the main road between Haverhill and Braintree....

, Toppesfield

Toppesfield

Toppesfield is a small village, historically associated with arable farming, in north Essex, England.-Inhabitants:Toppesfield has approximately three-hundred inhabitants...

, Cornish Hall End

Cornish Hall End

Cornish Hall End is on the B1057 road three miles north of Finchingfield and south of Steeple Bumpstead in the Braintree district of Essex, England...

 and Great Yeldham

Great Yeldham

Great Yeldham is a village in north Essex, England, about from the Suffolk border. Surrounding villages and towns include Little Yeldham, Tilbury Juxta Clare, Toppesfield, Stambourne, Ridgewell, Sible Hedingham, Castle Hedingham, Halstead and Sudbury...

.

History

Stambourne was caught up, as was much of England, in the witchcraft hysteria of the seventeenth century. In 1663, the spinster Sarah Houghton of Stambourne was charged by the authorities with causing John Smyth to become "consumed and made infirme." A jury including John Levett and Matthew Butcher found Houghton guilty, and she was ordered to be hanged. She was reprieved after the jury had rendered their judgment.

The Fireworks Display

Every year a bonfire and spectacular fireworks display is held in the village playing field. The event attracts people from surrounding areas (including Great Yeldham, Hedingham and Halstead).

External links

• Main website for Stambourne, with a brief history of Stambourne and access to its history document

• Website showing live weather details taken from a weather centre in Stambourne

• Website for St Peter & St Thomas’ Church, Stambourne & the Upper Colne Parishes