Editing Halstead (section)

==History==
Halstead is an ancient community that developed initially on the hill to the north of the [[River_Colne,_Essex|River Colne]]. Archaeological evidence indicates that Halstead has been occupied since the early Bronze Age. The sites of Iron Age and Roman settlements, including a villa, were discovered in the vicinity of Greenstead Hall, where Saxon pottery was also found. A Romano-British villa also lies in a field to the south of the River Colne at Blue Bridge, indicating early settlement in the fertile river valley. The name Halstead derives from the [[Old English]] ''gehæld / hald'' (refuge, shelter, healthy) and ''stede'' (site, place or farm), meaning "healthy farm" or "place of refuge".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.halsteadhistory.org.uk/history.html |title= A brief history of the Essex town of Halstead |first=Adrian |last=Corder-Birch |access-date=29 November 2015}}</ref> After the [[Norman Conquest]], in the [[Middle English]] of the 11th century, hald was written and spoken as halt, holt, or holð.<ref>[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED20990 hōld n.(2) Definition 7]. Middle English Compendium. University of Michigan Library. Accessed 7 August 2023.</ref> Halstead is recorded in the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' of 1086 as ''Haltesteda'' and thrice as ''Halsteda'' in the [[Hundred (county subdivision)|Hundred]] of [[Hinckford_(hundred)|Hinckford]], where it was mainly held by many freemen as [[feu (land tenure)|feu]] in 1066, at the time of [[Edward the Confessor|King Edward]].<ref name=ODhalstead>[https://opendomesday.org/place/TL8130/halstead/ Open Domesday: Halstead, Essex]. Accessed 7 August 2023.</ref> In 1086, Halstead was one of the largest 20% of settlements recorded in Domesday, and had four owners.<ref name=ODhalstead /> Most of the manor of Halstead had been granted by [[William the Conqueror|King William]] to [[William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey|William de Warenne]] as [[tenant-in-chief]] and lord of most of its wealth, and about one-third of the manor of Halstead was possessed by [[Richard_fitz_Gilbert|Richard, son of count Gilbert]] as tenant-in-chief.<ref name=ODhalstead />

In the [[Rebellion of 1088]], William de Warenne took the winning side of [[William Rufus]] and was named [[Earl of Surrey]], while Richard supported [[Robert Curthose]] which led to retirement at a monastery and transfer of his portion of Halstead to his son [[Gilbert fitz Richard]].

There was evidence of a market in Halstead before 1251 when a royal charter was granted for a weekly market and an annual fair. Further grants were made in 1330 and 1467 for the market which was then held in Chipping Hill. St Andrew's Church was in existence by 1276 and the town developed around the Church and nearby market.

In about 1413 Holy Trinity Chapel was erected near the junction of the present Chapel Hill with Trinity Street and Mount Hill. This chapel disappeared by the 18th century and during 1843 it was replaced by [[Holy Trinity Church, Halstead|Holy Trinity Church]], a Gothic Revival building.