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Great Saling facts for kids

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Great Saling
White Hart, Great Saling - geograph.org.uk - 577215.jpg
White Hart in Great Saling
Civil parish
  • The Salings
District
  • Braintree
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
EU Parliament East of England
List of places
UK
England
Essex

Great Saling is a small village in Essex, England. It is located in the Braintree area. In 2019, Great Saling joined with Bardfield Saling to create a new parish called The Salings. In 2011, about 282 people lived in the village. The small area of Blake End was also part of the parish.

Discovering Great Saling

The Giant Elm Tree

Great Saling was once famous for a very special tree. On its village green, there stood what many believed was the largest elm tree in England. This huge tree had a trunk that measured over 22 feet around! It also stood very tall, reaching about 40 meters high.

A plant expert named R. H. Richens identified it as a special type of elm tree. Sadly, in the 1970s, the tree became sick with a disease called Dutch Elm Disease. This disease caused the giant elm to die.

Andrews Field Aerodrome

Great Saling is also home to a historic aerodrome, which is like a small airport. This was the very first aerodrome built by Americans in England. Construction on Andrews Field aerodrome began in July 1942. It was finished in less than a year.

The aerodrome is named after a famous American air force general, Frank M. Andrews. The runways were built using hard materials. These materials came from the damaged buildings of the London Blitz. The London Blitz was a time during World War II when London was heavily bombed. You can learn more about the planes used there by looking up List of units using the B-26 Marauder during World War II. If you want to explore more about the aerodrome, you can visit its website: Andrews Field.

St James Church

The village has a beautiful parish church dedicated to St James. This church is part of the Diocese of Chelmsford. It is considered a very important building. It has a special Grade II* listing. This means it is a building of more than special interest.

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