Stansted was a Saxon settlement (the name means ‘stony place’ in Anglo-Saxon) and predates the Norman Invasion of England, although it was not until this invasion that it acquired the suffix Mountfitchet from the Norman baron who settled here.
A small remnant of the baron’s castle remains, around which a reconstruction of an early Norman castle has been built. Construction of the Norman castle began in 1066 but it is believed to have been fortified originally in the Iron Age, and subsequently by the Romans and Vikings.
By the end of the Second World War Stansted Mountfitchet was a self-contained community with a population of about 3,000.
With some 64 shops, a full range of services, sports and recreational organisations and bus and rail transport, this provided a centre to serve the surrounding agricultural area.
Development since then has seen the population grow and the most recent census in 2021 found Stansted’s population to be 8,600.
The area is now home to several housing developments but despite expansion, residents are proud of Stansted’s village status and its vibrant history has earned it 137 entries in Historic England National Heritage list.
