Property Surveys and Party Wall Advice in Thaxted

We cover all aspects of residential surveying in the Thaxted area and surrounding villages including pre-purchase surveys and Defect Reports so please feel free to get in touch.

Taylor Mitchell’s dedicated party walls team are on hand to assist with your Thaxted building project. If you’re planning works that fall within the scope of the Act, you’re welcome to call us for some free advice and a fee quote. Equally, if you’ve received a notice and are deciding how to respond we’ll be happy to talk you through the pros and cons of the different options.

All of our surveyors, assistants and support staff are trained to the highest standards for the benefit of our Thaxted clients.

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If you require advice on any residential surveying matter please call us for some free advice or drop us an email.

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Or Call 01799 543532

Recent Activity in Thaxted

We recently completed a Level 3 Survey on a rural property to the east of Thaxted. The most interesting part of inspecting properties in the countryside is establishing the set up of the services. Mains gas will generally not be available and the property will not be connected to the mains drainage.

This particular property was connected to a septic tank in the rear garden consisting of two concrete rings with the discharge apparently going to soakaway fingers. As there was an adjacent watercourse the client had to be sure that none of the discharge ended up there, following the 2020 regulation change, a CCTV survey was recommended.

The fuel supply was more straightforward consisting of a steel oil tank to the rear of the property although it had started to corrode and was partially covered by vegetation (posing a safety risk). Oil tanks of this type have an expected working life of around 20 years and this one appeared to be beyond that term meaning replacement would be required in the near future.

About Thaxted

Thaxted is located in the north-west corner of Essex, close to the border with Cambridgeshire. Saffron Walden is approx. 7miles to the north-west and Stansted Mountfitchet slightly further to the south-west.

A building of note in the area is John Webb’s Windmill located to the south of the town on Bolford Street. The windmill, which was built in 1804, is the largest and most advanced of all the Thaxted mills and was in operation for over a hundred years. Unfortunately, it is not currently open to the public.

The famous highwayman, Dick Turpin, has connections with the area. He was born in the nearby village of Hempstead where his father was an innkeeper. The pub, the Blue Bell Inn, is still standing but that may not be the case for long as it has been closed for some time. It’s thought that Dick’s life of crime started when he became involved with the Essex gang of deer thieves in the early 1730s. He was executed by hanging in Tyburn in 1739

Thaxted has a long tradition of Morris dancing. The Thaxted Morris Men, founded in 1911, are apparently the oldest surviving group the country. One of their first public performances was part of a local celebration to mark the coronation of King George V.

The area also has more highbrow musical links being the home of Gustav Holst. The ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ composer took a cottage in the area in 1914 (don’t look for it, it’s no longer there) following a walking holiday the previous year and it was in this location that he composed the majority of the Planets Suite. The family moved to ‘The Steps’ at 19 Town Street in 1917 – the property now bears a blue plaque beside the front door. Holst’s fondness for Thaxted endured and became an inspiration for several works including the carol ‘Tomorrow shall be my dancing day’.

Thaxted does not have a train station so journeys to London or Cambridge by public transport will involve at least one bus ride.