Facts about Thaxted
History
Thaxted was a development of a Saxon settlement on a Roman road. Archaeological research of the area by Oxford Archaeology in 2007 produced finds showing Bronze Age, late Iron Age, Roman, late medieval and post-medieval occupation, including flint fragments, floor and roof tiles, pottery sherds, ditch enclosures, graves, and skeletal remains. Further archaeological excavation in the centre of the town by the Colchester Archeological Trust in 2015 found a large medieval ditch which may have been a part of the town’s defences, 15th- to 16th-century artefacts, and fragments of animal bone waste, mainly from cattle.
Culture & Community
The annual Thaxted Festival takes place over four weekends in June and July every year, presenting a programme of musical concerts. Thaxted Cricket Club represents the town and parish. The club’s teams play in the Herts and Essex League, play Sunday Friendlies, and in under-12 and under-15 competitions. Thaxted football club, the Thaxted Rangers, has a senior team and youth teams. Thaxted Morris Men is a morris side which was founded in 1911, under the instigation of Conrad Noel, Vicar of Thaxted, as a response to a renewed interest in morris dancing. The side performed locally as part of coronation celebrations for George V.
