Great Bentley

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Great Bentley
The village sign
Great Bentley Location within Essex
Population	2,253 (2011)
OS grid reference	TM110215
District	Tendring
Shire county	Essex
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Colchester
Postcode district	CO7
Dialling code	01206
Police	Essex
Fire	Essex
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Harwich and North Essex
Website	greatbentleyparishcouncil.co.uk
List of places UK England Essex 51°51′08″N 1°03′53″E / 51.8521°N 1.0648°E / 51.8521; 1.0648

Great Bentley is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Tendring district of north Essex, England, located seven miles east of Colchester. The parish includes the hamlets of Aingers Green and South Heath. It is home to the second largest village green in the country, at a size of 43 acres (170,000 m²), behind Duncan Down and has won 'Essex Village of the Year'^[1] and 'Daily Telegraph/Calor Gas Village of the Year'^[2] awards. Great Bentley railway station provides the village with frequent rail services along the Sunshine Coast Line to London Liverpool Street, Clacton-on-Sea, Colchester and Walton-on-the-Naze.

Great Bentley is scattered round an extensive level or common, of 43 acres (170,000 m²), on the eastern side of the vale of a rivulet, seven miles (11 km) east-south-east of Colchester. The parish contains 2500 inhabitants, and 3,188 acres (12.90 km²) of fertile land, including hills and valleys, and extending southward to the Flag Creek, a tidal creek which connects with the Colne, near Brightlingsea. The population of the civil parish reduced to 2,253 at the census 2011.^[3]

Great Bentley is the second largest village in the Tendring district, with a population of 2,381. The village has road, rail and bus links.