Just south of the town of Ware in Hertfordshire, on the county boundary of Essex, sits the village and civil parish of Stanstead Abbotts. An ancient historic parish with roots dating further back than the 1086 Domesday Book, nowadays the village of Stanstead Abbotts is known for being an affluent village which enjoys its scenic location on the tip of the Lea Valley. The housing stock varies in price and in typology, from detached suburban properties in excess of £700,000 to grand manor homes with significant acerage with offers in excess of £1 million.

Stanstead Abbotts is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as ‘Stanstede’, and over the centuries the manor was passed between various noblemen. The ‘abbotts’ in the name was added sometime later, indicating it was controlled by the abbot of the Waltham Royal Cross. In 1531, King Henry VIII purchased the manor of what is now known as Stanstead Abbotts, which he then bestowed onto his new wife Anne Boleyn in 1532. After her execution in 1536, the manor at Stanstead Abbotts stayed within the Tudor family, until Queen Elizabeth granted it to Edward Baeshe in 1559, and it stayed in the Baeshe family for several generations until 1653.

The Baeshe family were hugely influential in the Stanstead Abbotts area and much of the history of the area is attributed to them. Most notably Edward Baeshe, the third line for the Baeshe fortune, who died in 1653, dedicated a portion of his will to the maintenance of the local almshouse. This almshouse, built some time between 1620-1650, is one of only five Grade II* listed properties in the whole of Hertfordshire county! It is still operational today.

Due to its close proximity to the Lea Valley River and its relative small size, development around Stanstead Abbotts can be slow and stagnant. Although, for several years the East Hertfordshire council has been pushing housing and infrastructural development in the local area, building over 94 new homes in the surrounding Stanstead Abbotts area in 2020!