[1] On 24 March 1888 the parish was abolished to form Chignall, parts also went to Broomfield and Writtle.

Businesses providing employment in the area include Ashdown Engineering, Gardening Express[3] and local farms.

[4][5] Originally the village was a settlement for farmers and their labour force that worked the land, but as mechanisation took over the farming population left.

[citation needed] Notable village landmarks include an old brick-built farm barn with a dove-cote thought[by whom?]

to be the oldest and only example of its type in Essex, an old red brick school (now a dwelling), the former church, and the Old Rectory.