Earls Colne
Earls Colne is a large village in Essex, 3 miles from Halstead.
It stands on the Roman road usually known as the Via Devana, which ran from Leicester to Colchester, and beside the River Colne.
Earls Colne is the largest of a cluster of villages to include the word Colne, the others being Colne Engaine, Wakes Colne and White Colne.
The Earls in the village name were the powerful de Veres, Earls of Oxford.
St. Andrew`s Church dates from the 14th century, but there was a minster here around 1040. It has an impressive West tower.
Colne Priory is a private house built in the 18th century, on the site of a Benedictine priory founded by Aubrey de Vere about 1100, of which little remains. Thirteen Earls of Oxford were buried here. Their monuments were transferred to Bures in Suffolk in 1935.