A wooden sign, showing the church, and what I assume is a tributary of the Colne River, which rises in the village. The source of the Colne itself is just a couple of miles east of the village, near Stambourne.

Today Ridgewell suffers with the usual malaise of village life but still has two public houses; the King’s Head (15th or 16th Century) and the White Horse Inn (18th Century) as well as a small general store.

Ridgewell played a major role in the Second World War initially being a base for British Stirlings and from 1943 was home to the American Air Force 381st Bomber Group (see also the entry for Ashen).

Ridgewell Village Community web site

Ridgewell Bomber Command

 

The Colne Valley above Colchester: Through Essex villages to the upper reaches of the River Colne

Ridgewell OS Grid Ref: TL 737 408