Two thousand years ago, it was the point at which a Roman style road, connecting Great Dunmow (Stane Street) to London, crossed the Cripsey Brook [citation needed].
Today the bridge that crosses the Cripsey is still a feature of Moreton, and although it's not two thousand years old, its construction nonetheless predates the advent of mass motorised transport.
There being no weight limits on the village lanes in this corner of Essex, this narrow bridge has become somewhat degraded over recent decades, by the passage of large trucks and of other vehicles driven with insufficient precision between its parapets.
Modern Moreton remains at the confluence of various minor roads, however, which link to Fyfield, to the east, Bobbingworth to the south, High Laver (burial place of John Locke) to the west and Matching to the north.
Apart from that, commercial activity has largely abandoned the village, and today many residents must commute to Harlow, Loughton, Chelmsford or London.