URPoint Details
A small town in the Gipping Valley was once a hamlet of Barking. The name of Needham is thought to mean ‘a place of refuge’.
The market charter was granted by Henry III and the market flourished till the plague in 1665, and there has not been another since.
The Chain Bridge to the west and Chain House Farm to the east are reminders of the sacrifices people made to contain the plague. Chains were erected across the road at these points beyond which nobody crossed. Victims of the plague were buried in a mass grave just outside the village on a site which is now a housing estate.
The church of St John the Baptist is an interesting and historic building and famous for its hammerbeam roof, said to be one of the finest examples in the country.
- Type:
- Landmark