The stunning Essex village where hardly anyone lives once the set of a popular TV show

Because of the huge amount of tiny villages scattered throughout Essex, it is no shock that some fly under the radar. One Essex village that has a tiny population and not much going on got a hint of stardom not that long ago, when its landmark was featured in a hit BBC TV series.

Belchamp Walter is a lovely quaint little village located just 6 km south of Sudbury on the Suffolk/Essex border. According to the 2021 census, just 345 people live there.

Belchamp Walter is located near Belchamp St Paul and Belchamp Otten. The village is in the district of Braintree and in the parliamentary constituency of Braintree, but it is often overlooked as it is very much plonked in the middle of the countryside.

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The village is mostly a residential area, but has a church, and is most known for its big country manor, Belchamp Hall. Belchamp Hall is a country house in the village that stands near the church and was the filming location for the fictional "Felsham Hall" in the "Lovejoy" television series.

Lovejoy is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between January 10 1986 and December 4 1994, although there was a five-year gap between the first and second series.

Belchamp Hall has some delightful history that accompanies it, too. Belchamp Hall and its surrounding estate have been in the ownership of Raymond since 1611.

In 1710, the present Queen Anne mansion was built on the site of the previous Tudor house. It is a privately owned Grade II* listed building to this day, and is constructed of red brick in two storeys in a double-pile plan form with a gabled peg-tile roof with attics.

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