Elmdon


 * See also, Elmdon, West Midlands.

Elmdon is a village in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, near the boundary with Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. The undulating nature of the local topography differentiates it from countryside to the north which is predominantly fenland and flat.

The name means 'hill of elms' and this village homes the only three elm trees in Essex. Elmdon includes a public house and restaurant, a village hall, a church, and a recreation ground used for cricket and football. There are bus links to Bishop's Stortford.

Transport
Elmdon has an infrequent bus service and almost all residents rely on private vehicles to travel to and from the village. There are three roads out of Elmdon, two of which are minor roads leading to other villages with the third providing access indirectly to the nearest station (Audley End on the Cambridge to London Liverpool Street line).

Utilities
Elmdon is not served by mains gas, with houses relying on individually supplied heating oil systems. The village is connected to British Telecom's backbone network through the Chrishall exchange which is ADSL enabled. At January 2007 speeds of up to 2mb ADSL and 3mb ADSL-MAX were available through broadband over copper phone cable. No cable television providers service the village and given the remote location and small population it is unlikely that any will do so.

Communications
Television and radio reception is weak and varies within the village with houses in the higher (north and west) areas having stronger reception. In these areas Freeview and DAB reception is possible with passive aerials. Satellite is the only option available for non terrestrial television, a visual survey suggests that one in four households make use of this.

Pubs
The Elmdon Dial is a modern pub built partly in traditional style.It was named after a sundial incovered near the village.



The King's Head, Elmdon's previous pub, was bought in 1997 for conversion into rented property. This caused protest, the pub being the last community meeting space in regular use other than the church. It ended up in court. For many years following, a fundraising event, 'The King's Headless' was held twice a year for the reopening the pub and to draw the community together. This involved turning the bus shelter into a pub for the thirsty villagers. The villagers keep the spirit of the King's headless alive and continue this tradition every Christmas, when Father Christmas attends the proceedings.

Leisure
Elmdon has sporting teams participating in local leagues. The village is a starting point for cross country running with trails of between 3km and 30km, some avoiding major roads. Tracks are passable on foot and bicycle between March and November, becoming waterlogged outside this range (passable but not to run on)