Great Maplestead is a village and a civil parish in the Braintree District, in the English county of Essex. In the sixteenth century the Deane family were Lords of the Manor of Great Maplestead. Later in the century the manor passed by marriage to Sir John Tyndal, Master of the Court of Chancery. It was here in 1618 that Tyndal's daughter Margaret Tyndal Winthrop married John Winthrop, a crucial figure in the founding of Massachusetts. In the 1870s the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales said that Great Maplestead "took its name from maple trees, which anciently flourished on or around its site; and has the repute of being a very healthy place". Location This village is located in the north of Essex, which is in the South East of England, and is near the town of Halstead and the villages of Sible Hedingham and Little Maplestead. The closest city to Great Maplestead is Chelmsford, which is in central Essex, though the town of Colchester is closer. There is a distance of 46.501 miles between London and Great Maplestead. The village covers 1892 acres of land and is located one mile to the north-east of the Colne Valley railway, and also the River Colne. Population It had a population of 343 according to the 2011 census. The population over the last 50 years has remained stable, with Great Maplestead having a population of 331 in 1961. The population of Great Maplestead has not dramatically varied since the census taken in 1801, to the one taken in 2011. The population in 1801 was 331, the same as in 1961, and only a small difference in the population from 2011. However, there have been some fluctuations that have occurred through time. Between 1801 and 1851 there was a steady increase in the population until it reached its highest recorded population of 494 in 1851. Between this time and 1881 Great Maplestead experienced a significant decrease, with the population dropping to 394. From 1881 onwards the population remained at a relatively constant rate with no dramatic changes. Housing In 1831 there was a recorded 88 houses, this links to the changing population as the number of houses began to rise, with the highest number being 111 households in 1851, with 105 of these occupied and six vacant. 1851 was also the year with the highest recorded population. Over the next couple of decades