Great Maplestead
| Great Maplestead | |
|---|---|
St. Giles' Church | |
Great Maplestead Location within Essex | |
| Population | 385 (Parish, 2021) |
| Civil parish |
|
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Halstead |
| Postcode district | CO9 |
| Dialling code | 01787 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
Great Maplestead is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 385.
In the sixteenth century the Deane family were Lords of the Manor of Great Maplestead. Later in the century the manor passed by marriage to Sir John Tyndal, Master of the Court of Chancery. It was here in 1618 that Tyndal's daughter Margaret Tyndal Winthrop married John Winthrop, a crucial figure in the founding of Massachusetts.
In the 1870s the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales said that Great Maplestead "took its name from maple trees, which anciently flourished on or around its site; and has the repute of being a very healthy place".