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Wendens Ambo is a civil parish of approximately 400 people in Essex, England. Its unusual name originates from the joining of two villages, Great Wenden and Little Wenden, to form Wendens Ambo, meaning "both Wendens". A Vision of Britain through Time gives the date of the merger to 1662. Wendens Ambo is approximately two miles southwest of the market town of Saffron Walden, fifteen miles south of Cambridge and forty miles north of London. The parish was part of the Saffron Walden Rural District from 1894 until 1974. Since 1974 it has been located in the Uttlesford District of Essex. [edit] History
The earliest signs of settlement are from the Roman period. Remains of a villa were found during an excavation in 1853, and finds of flint tools from 300–200 BC suggest an even earlier settlement. It is likely that the farming community of Wenden probably started around the 6th and 7th centuries, taking its name from the valley in which it lies: Wendene. The Domesday Book contains the first written account of Wenden Magna and Wenden Parva. Wenden Magna was owned by Robert Gernon, a Frenchman who also had land in Stansted and Takeley. Wenden Parva was also owned by a Frenchman, William de Warenne. The Wendens passed through the Middle Ages as very ordinary English villages, with their parish church of St Mary the Virgin located in Wenden Magna. A third Wenden, higher up the valley to the west is Wenden Lofts (probably the "Loutes Wenden" mentioned in a legal record of 1470, where the nearby villages of "Arkysden" & "Elmedon" are also mentioned.) During the 17th century work began to rebuild the village dwellings, some of which are still occupied today. Also at this time, on 23 March 1662, Wenden Magna and Wenden Parva were joined to create Wendens Ambo. The 18th and 19th centuries brought the Industrial Revolution and also the railway, providing opportunities for work elsewhere, leading to Wenden eventually becoming a commuter village. [edit] Research Tips
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