The Lawn (Harlow)

Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upper Stort Valley, which has been made navigable through other towns and features a canal section near its watermill. Old Harlow is a historic village founded by the early medieval age and most of its high street buildings are early Victorian and residential, mostly protected by one of the Conservation Areas in the district. In Old Harlow is a field named Harlowbury, a de-settled monastic area which has the remains of a chapel, a scheduled ancient monument. The M11 motorway passes through to the east of the town. Harlow has its own commercial and leisure economy. It is also an outer part of the London commuter belt and employment centre of the M11 corridor which includes Cambridge and London Stansted Airport to the north. At the time of the 2011 Census, Harlow's population was recorded at 81,944 and its district had the third-highest proportion of social housing in England, 26.9%, a legacy of the 1947 commitment to re-house blitzed London families after World War II and provide a percentage of homes for other needy families who cannot afford market rents.

Mark Hall Academy, formerly Mark Hall Specialist Sport College, is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in Harlow, Essex, England.

Harlow Mill railway station is on the West Anglia Main Line serving the eastern part of Harlow in Essex, England. It is 24 miles 36 chains (39.3 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Harlow Town and Sawbridgeworth stations. Its three-letter station code is HWM. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Greater Anglia.

Old Harlow is the old town area of Harlow, in Essex, England. It was the historical town centre prior to Harlow being designated a new town in 1947 during the new towns in the United Kingdom movement. Old Harlow is situated in the north-east area of the town and is the oldest area of the town. Old Harlow pre-dates the first written record in the Domesday Book of 1086, so it is unknown when the town first came into existence. Originally Old Harlow was going to be the central area of Harlow New Town, but due to the amount of demolition works and the loss of agricultural land it was decided to build Harlow New Town to the west of Old Harlow. As the new town was being built, Old Harlow seemed to be forgotten and fell behind in its development. It was not until 1977 that Old Harlow was improved with the building of a health service and a senior citizens day centre. Old Harlow still remains village-like with two Grade I listed buildings and many Grade II listed buildings. Old Harlow ward has a total population of 5,845 and comprises 2,498 homes.

Contrapuntal Forms (BH 165) is a stone sculpture by Barbara Hepworth, one of her first public commissions, made in 1950–51 for the Festival of Britain and installed outside the Dome of Discovery on South Bank, London. It was one of two Hepworth commissions for the festival: the other was an abstract rotating sculpture, Turning Forms (BH 166).The work stands 120" (3.04m) high and is carved from blue limestone from County Galway, Ireland. It depicts two semi-abstracted standing figures. The sculpture was commissioned by the Arts Council of Great Britain who presented it to the new town of Harlow in Essex in 1953. It was the first artwork acquired (though not the first commissioned) by the Harlow Art Trust, and it is still sited at Glebelands in Harlow.The sculpture was listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England in April 1998.

Newhall is a new housing estate within Harlow, Essex, England. In 2009, it was being built on land originally forming part of Soper Farm. A landowner led development, its planners are Roger Evans Associates, an architectural practice based in Oxford. The design of the new neighbourhood is different from the rest of the first generation New Town, featuring striking contemporary architecture. The plan for Newhall precedes government set housing density levels, current sustainability standards and introduced design codes at a time when they were not common.Influenced by the design principles implemented by Harlow’s masterplanner, Sir Frederick Gibberd. Newhall will eventually be another neighbourhood within Harlow with community facilities – a primary school, doctor’s surgery and retail units at it heart, serving some 6,000 residents. Extensive cycle tracks and an easily negotiated street pattern should encourage residents out of their cars to access the neighbourhood amenities. All homes will be no further than 65 yards from a ‘green space’; some 40 per cent of the entire area has been set aside for parks and a wildlife reserve.To maintain the overall coherence of the scheme, the landowners and planners have retained the right to sign off the design of individual schemes as they come forward for planning approval. Although design codes exist, architects are still able to exert a lot of freedom of expression and it this that sets Newhall apart from many other new housing schemes.By 2009, the first phase of 500 homes had been largely completed. The second phase of 2,300 was due to get underway shortly afterwards.

Our Lady of Fatima's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Harlow, Essex, England. It was designed between 1953 and 1954 by Gerard Goalen and was one of the earliest churches in England where the design was influenced by the Liturgical Movement. Construction did not begin until 1958 and the church was consecrated in 1960. Notable for its highly decorated interior, the church contains examples of dalle de verre glasswork, which are considered the first major instance of the style in Britain. This work was undertaken by Dom Charles Norris of Buckfast Abbey. Goalen designed the church in a Modernist style, influenced by European examples. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Harlowbury, historically Herlaue Abbatis, was a medieval manor located in modern-day Harlow, Essex, England. The area's history dates back at least to the Iron Age, and a Roman villa is located not far from the site. The manor was adjacent to a now-deserted medieval village; both the villa and village are scheduled monuments. Harlowbury was first established as an estate under the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds in 1044. In 1539, the abbey dissolved and the lands were sold to private owners: first to the Addington family, in 1680 to the North family of the Earldom of Guilford, and finally in 1879 to John Perry-Watlington. The manorial estate and Harlowbury Chapel, a Norman-era church and the oldest building in Harlow, are now scheduled monuments. Both the manor house and chapel are Grade I listed by Historic England.

Burnt Mill Academy (formerly known de facto as Burnt Mill School) is a secondary school academy and specialist performing arts college situated on First Avenue in Harlow, Essex, England. The school originally opened in May 1962 as Burnt Mill Comprehensive School, de jure keeping this name until academisation in 2011. In 2003, it became a specialist performing arts college, specialising in dance, drama and music. It joined the Confucius institute programme in 2007, partnering with Suzhou Lida Middle School in Jiangsu, China. This granted the school an International School Award. It gained academy status in 2011 and formed the Burnt Mill Academy Trust (BMAT) in 2013. BMAT has since become a multi-academy trust, with 12 member schools as of 2021.At Burnt Mill's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2012, the school received outstanding grades in all categories. The school is the founding and leading school of the Burnt Mill Academy Trust, with the CEO being Helena Mills, the school's former headteacher. The trust was praised in 2016 by Prime Minister David Cameron as an example of the success of the academies programme, being used for the programme's defence when challenged by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn during Prime Minister's Questions. The band Swim Deep recorded the music video for their song Grand Affection at the school, which featured the school's GCSE drama students.

Church Langley is part of Harlow, Essex, England.Church Langley was built from 1992 and was originally named Brenthall Park, consisting of three developers in the Brenthall Park partnership who then sold on some parts to other developers. It was built over thirteen years by sixteen different home builders. The area prior to development was within the Epping district, an area cut off from Epping Forest District Council by the M11 and Harlow Common. The original marketing compared Church Langley to a village, and this is still referred to in news reports and in social media.Harlow Council granted permission for 3500 luxury homes to be built between the A414 and M11 north of Potter Street on the condition that the developers incorporate community facilities. Church Langley was named after two ancient footpaths. Church Langley was built on farmland owned by local farmers William and Jon Moen. They were unhappy with the result, having left the design to the relevant developers, calling it "retro-style architecture" with poor road planning. They resolved to exercise firmer control over the Newhall development, also built on their land using the money raised from the Church Langley development.A concrete water tower is situated to the east of Church Langley and can be clearly seen from the adjacent M11 motorway. This was built in 1993–1994.Community facilities in Church Langley include a Tesco store and petrol station (with shoe repair and hand car wash), pharmacy, doctor, dentist, children's development centre, community hall (Church Langley Community Centre), pub (the Potters Arms), ecumenical church (Church Langley Church - Church of England, Baptist, URC and Methodist), nursery (Kiddi Caru) and two primary schools (Church Langley Community Primary School and Henry Moore Primary School).

Rowneybury House is a house in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England. The property on which Rowneybury stands was part of Pishiobury before being divided in the 1880s. It was owned by Hertfordshire County Council and used as a home for children with learning disabilities. The original property had two upper floors, and a cellar under the majority of the main building. After laying empty for several years, it was purchased from the Council and renovated. In 1999, the property was purchased by the footballer David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham for £2.5 million. The property became dubbed "Beckingham Palace" by the press as a portmanteau of their surname and Buckingham Palace. They spent around £3 million on refurbishment, including a maze designed by James Gardner, in the grounds. In 2001, Victoria Beckham made a virtual tour of the mansion available online.The property was put up for sale by the Beckhams in 2013. The house, with 17 acres (6.9 ha) of grounds, was bought by the insurance tycoon Neil Utley, chairman of Hastings Direct, and Narmali Utley for £11.35 million in 2014.Rowneybury Cottage, near the entrance to the estate on Harlow Road, is a Grade II listed building. This timberframed house, dating from the late 16th-century to early 17th-century, was listed in 1981.

Harlow Marsh is a 13.8 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Harlow in Essex. It is owned and managed by Harlow District Council.The site is in three separate areas, Maymeads Marsh (or Honeymead Marsh), Marshgate Spring and Parndon Moat Marsh. Maymeads Marsh has a reed-filled pond with a bird hide, and wildflower meadows with many insects. Over 100 species of bird have been recorded, including the rare little ringed plover and ring ouzel. Parndon Moat Marsh has ponds, woodland, wildflower meadows, drainage ditches, sedge beds and a moat, which is a Scheduled Monument. Marshgate Spring has mature woodland with oak and hornbeam, and marshes with reed and sedge beds.Maymeads Marsh is between the River Stort and the railway line, east of Harlow Town railway station. There is access from a footpath along the southern side of the river. West of Maymeads Marsh, a footbridge over the railway line gives access to a path to Edinburgh Way, and the entrance to Marshgate Spring is on this path. The entrance to Parndon Moat Marsh is on the west side of Allende Avenue, between the river and the railway line.