Town History

People have been here for 12,000 years. Mesolithic hunter/gatherers arrived as the last ice age retreated and 6000 years ago Neolithic peoples brought their new crops and domestic animals; both have left characteristic flints in this area and a Neolithic site at Twitty Fee produced pottery and grinding stones also.

Bronze Age tools, weapons and the gold diadem in Oaklands Park Museum plus a tumulus show continued settlement.

The Iron Age fort round the top of Danbury hill dates from 600-300 BCE. Part of the edging bank can still be seen. The fort gave views in all directions whether the “fort” was for defence, as a meeting place or a statement of ownership.

Romano-British pottery, signs of a hypocaust and re-used Roman bricks in St. John’s Church together with a tile kiln found in a current quarry show people living here after 43CE.

From the 5th century Saxons came, perhaps the Daeningas giving their name to the present village.Their characteristic pottery, a loom weight and bone comb have been found.

From the 11th century William the Conqueror gave Daeningaberia to Geoffrey de Mandeville, as he divided administration of his new conquest among trusted Normans. In the 12th century St. John’s Church was built in the centre of what was left of the Iron Age fort. The wooden knight effigies inside are probably of the de Clere family founders of the original church, now the North aisle.The fallow deer park was probably created by William de Clere where the Danbury Country Park is now. His manor was where St Clere’s Hall is now. The village sign has the emblems of the de Cleres, the Mandevilles and the later Mildmay families.

Danbury village developed from the 2 manors of St. Clere’s/Herons and Runsell each with their own houses. This scattered nature of settling, plus other groups at Horne Row and Eves Corner, was probably because of the poor soils and it continued to be the pattern until the 20th century, leading to Danbury’s current characteristic open green spaces.

Tile making from the 13th century was an organised industry until the 20th century, leading to the several ponds where clay was extracted, as well as some complaints e.g. from Little Baddow in 1698 about fumes making the air there unhealthy.

In the 17th and 18th century timber, wattle and daub houses were often given brick facades. The Napoleonic Wars 1780-1815 brought 14 regiments of troops stationed on Danbury Common and remains of redoubts are on Woodhill Road opposite the end of Well Lane. These troops augmented the population from 768 in 1801. By 1861 it was 1113 but fell because of the agricultural depression to 841 in 1901.

Water had been from wells and some are still in existence in private homes. In 1892 mains water arrived. The water tank was fed by Buell Spring which is still on Danbury Common and supplied millions of gallons each year.

Danbury was always an important stopping place on the road from London or Chelmsford to Maldon. Coal carriers and inns for coaches brought some prosperity to the village. The unsurfaced road was a cause of complaint even then. The 1797 Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation took much heavy traffic from Danbury. The railway in 1843 also avoided the extremely steep hill and with the National Bus Company’s steam buses in 1901 the area became a rural focus for trippers, commuters and retired people. By 1951 the population was 3237.

At the end of the 19th century many substantial houses were built mostly by William Baker who also began the Danbury Mission church which had various locations in the village. In the 20th century especially with the surfacing of the main road the various separate settlements were linked by more building and new areas developed such as the Belvedere area and the nearby development of the former plant nursery.

Danbury keeps its semi-rural character with greens, arable and sheep farms, and lots of  surrounding woodland.