Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This village in Essex, East of England has a population of 1,746. Walking, cycling and public transport carry 15% of commuters.
Floods and other hazards weigh less here (A). Prices are high against local incomes: the median home sold for £399,950, 9 years of area income. It also trails on schools — primary results beat 5% of towns in England. Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for safety, B− for health, C+ for jobs & income and B for walkability.
Figures: flood risk, Environment Agency · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy and income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021. An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Great Bentley is graded subject by subject only.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Great Bentley is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Great Bentley does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 14 buildings inside Great Bentley’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1906.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Great Bentley.
6% live in social housing, lower than both Essex’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Private renters make up 10% of households. Behind the median of £399,950: 213 standard sales inside Great Bentley’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £465,000 | 138 |
| Semi-detached | £339,750 | 68 |
| Terraced | £310,000 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the 2 primary schools within 3 km: 48% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). There is one school here; it is shown below. The town’s primary school has 258 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Bentley Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 258 | B− |
44% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Police figures for Great Bentley’s built-up area: 95 crimes and 8 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence came to 26.2 per 1,000 residents a year, above Essex’s towns (22.8) and England’s towns (22) alike. Also worth knowing: among the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Great Bentley has more crime per resident than 78% of them.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
A household here earns £57K a year before tax, on average. The car took 84% of commuters, above both Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). In 2026, 3% of 16 to 64s were claiming unemployment benefits. Work in town: nearly a tenth of resident commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The top grade, Grade I, goes to 1 of them. Great Bentley’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. It has 80 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, above Essex’s towns (51) and England’s towns (39) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
At the census, nearly a fifth of people here had a disability, above both Essex’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Great Bentley is Colchester General Hospital, 8 miles away. One GP practice serves the town; 88% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Great Bentley | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Children under 15 make up 16%, below both Essex’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). People aged 15 to 24 make up 8.3% of the town. Half of Great Bentley is older than 48.4, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Great Bentley | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.8% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Great Bentley. Best known first.
GardenBeth Chatto Gardens4 km outside town, to the northwestTheme parkTheme parkWyvernwood3.2 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionThorrington Tide Mill3.2 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
3 notable people were born in Great Bentley.
Village in Essex, England
Great Bentley is a built-up area of 1,746 people, in the Tendring council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Bentley | 1,746 | — | — | D− | C+ | B− |
| Thorrington | 1,427 | 1.6 | — | D− | A+ | B− |
| Weeley | 1,285 | 2.2 | — | D− | C+ | C |
| Alresford | 2,462 | 2.8 | — | D− | B+ | B− |
| Brightlingsea | 8,678 | 3.3 | C− | D | B− | C+ |
| Elmstead Market | 1,767 | 3.5 | — | D− | C | B |
| Little Clacton | 2,458 | 3.7 | — | D− | B | C+ |
| St Osyth | 2,249 | 3.8 | — | D | C | D |
Thorrington, Weeley, Alresford, Elmstead Market, Little Clacton and St Osyth have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Essex council.
That is 3.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £399,950, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £310,000, semi-detached houses £339,750 and detached houses £465,000.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.