Nazeing is a village and parish in Essex, England. Within the parish are the separate settlements of Upper Nazeing, Middle Nazeing, and Lower Nazeing. The Prime Meridian passes to the west of Lower Nazeing. Location and topography Nazeing is approximately four miles north of Waltham Abbey, one mile south-west of Harlow, and is bounded on the west by the River Lea. Most of it is still rural, but during the past 40 years there has been a considerable development of market gardening, light industry, holiday fishing, and boating. The older village of Nazeing is separated by open farmland from the larger Lower Nazeing to the west. The land gradually rises from the river to a small hill and bowl-shaped plateau, about 270 ft. above sea level, in the east. Apart from the alluvium by the river, and a strip of gravel a little to the east of it, the soil is London Clay. Nazeingwood Common covers much of the eastern plateau and was originally part of Waltham Forest, but in the 13th century was deforested for pasture. It was also ploughed up during the Second World War. From the common a small brook runs west through the middle of the parish. History of Nazeing Early Potsherds of Iron Age A and fragments of Iron Age pots have been found in Nazeing which show that people have lived here for more than 2000 years. Roman remains include burials found in Nazeing Mead, near the river. The original Saxon settlement was probably in the east of the parish, near the church. The position of this village, now called Upper Park Town, may have given Nazeing its name, which means 'settlers on a spur of land'. The Old English word nœss, or naze, is related to the modern word nose and refers to a spur or headland, while the suffix -ing means "the dwellers at", so the name can be translated as "People of the Headland". The Saxons first established compact settlements called hams; more scattered communities with names ending in ing followed a generation or two later. Waltham, the place in the wood, was probably settled by 600 A.D, which would suggest a date some time in the seventh century for its neighbour Nazeing. Until recently the area around Nazeing Primary School was known as the Ham fields, and it is possible that their name recalls the site of the first settlement