Elmstead & Elmstead Market

Elmstead and its hamlet of Elmstead Market, the modern village centre, straddle the A133 from Colchester (4 miles to the west) to Clacton (20 miles to the east).  The name of Elmstead Market, derives from a market being held in the village during one of the visitations of the plague in Colchester.

The Church of St. Anne and St. Lawrence to the north of the village has a rare carved oak recumbent effigy of a knight in armour.

Elmstead is also home to the Beth Chatto Gardens, Beth Chatto OBE was an award-winning plants woman, author and lecturer. Her work at the Gardens began in 1960.  From an overgrown wasteland of brambles, parched gravel and boggy ditches, it has been transformed using plants adapted by nature to thrive in different conditions.  What was once a car park is now a world-renowned Gravel Garden (which is never watered).

Open to the public, visitors are able to enjoy the gardens, visit the nursery, dine in the tea room and attend various events, course and workshops that take place.

For local information and accommodation details contact:
Visitor Information Centre (located within Clacton Town Hall, CO15 1SE) on 01255 686633.