Local Towns & Villages
Great Dunmow – the closest town to Porters Hall – including the uniquely themed Talliston House & Gardens, often described as “Britain’s Most Extraordinary Home.” The town is also known for the historic Great Dunmow Maltings and the picturesque Doctor’s Pond, a landmark tied to the town’s early medical history. The town hosts the second largest soapbox race in the UK, as well as the ‘Flitch Trials’, a centuries‑old Essex tradition where married couples publicly prove their lasting harmony for the chance to win a ceremonial flitch of bacon.
Finchingfield – often called the most beautiful village in England, a “picture-postcard” village and one of the most photographed, with a duck pond and village green surrounded by Georgian and medieval cottages.
Thaxted – the ‘jewel in the crown’ of Essex with its prominent late medieval guildhall, John Webb’s Windmill, Dick Turpin Cottage, historic buildings and lovely countryside setting. Held each summer, the Thaxted festival fills the magnificent parish church with orchestral concerts, chamber music, choral performances, and recitals from acclaimed soloists.
Saffron Walden – a picturesque medieval town, with one of the oldest purpose-built museum buildings in the country, completed in 1835. It has everything from mammoth tusks to mummies, from an early Tudor bed to a natural history museum gallery. In the grounds of the museum are the ruins of the Castle Keep which dates back to the 1130s or 40s.