Great Tey’s story
13 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I
Historic England lists them inside Great Tey’s built-up area.
32% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
Great TeyEssex
The village has 608 residents and lies in Essex, East of England.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
608
Census 2021 · Colchester council
Median home
£375K
26 sales in 3 years
Median age
51.7
26% are 65+ · Essex 20%
Degree level
35%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
12%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Great Tey a good place to live?
Grades need 1,000 residents, so Great Tey has none; the figures on this page are still real. 13 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I. On the way to work, 12% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. 54% of households own their home outright.
What makes Great Tey stand out
The 3 things Great Tey does most differently from other towns.
Listed buildings per 10,000 residents
History
1 Grade I, including Church of St Barnabas; 8.8 times the typical UK town for its size
Historic England’s list, October 2026.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
12% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Own outright
Housing
54% own outright
of households own their home with no mortgage (England’s towns 32%)
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Great Tey.
Work & commute
Under 5 km to work: 25% in Great Tey, fewer than in Essex’s towns and across England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 37% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Jobs per working resident: 0.8. The car took 84% of commuters, above both Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). Also worth knowing: the average household earns £69K a year before tax. 4% of commuters who live in Great Tey also work there.
12%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving84%
On foot8%
Bicycle2%
Train1%
Underground, tram1%
25%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
37%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£69K
mean household income, before tax
2.5%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Schools
The schools around Great Tey
The one school in town appears below. At the 3 primary schools within 3 km, nearly three in five pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its one primary school teaches 86 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 86 | C+ |
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsThe Schools page →
Housing
Great Tey is a town of owners: 87% of households own their home, above Essex’s towns and England’s towns
The median sale price was £375K, between Essex’s towns (£400K) and England’s towns (£308K). Council and housing-body homes hold 7% of households. Private tenants account for 6% of households.
£375Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Great Tey£375K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £455,000 | 15 |
| Semi-detached | £296,250 | 10 |
87%
of households own their home · England 61%
6%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,197
average private rent a month, Colchester council area
£2,300
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Burglary and damage are rarer in Great Tey than in Essex’s towns or across England’s towns: 4.4 per 1,000 residents a year
Police recorded 16 crimes inside Great Tey’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violence came to 10.4 per 1,000 residents a year, below both Essex’s towns (23) and England’s towns (22).
10.4violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual6
Damage & arson3
Public order3
Other theft2
Burglary1
Vehicle crime1
Shoplifting0
Drugs0
Anti-social0
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.
10.4
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
4.4
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
0.6
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
16
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
Health
82% of people in Great Tey rate their health good or very good
The nearest A&E to Great Tey is Colchester General Hospital, 6.5 miles away. Seeing a GP means leaving Great Tey: the nearest practice is 2.8 miles away.
82%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 82%Fair 13%Bad or very bad 5%
| Census 2021 | Great Tey | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
81.7
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
84.5
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
History
Great Tey keeps more of its old housing than Essex’s towns or England’s towns: 32% built before 1919
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Great Tey’s listed buildings include the Church of St Barnabas, Grade I. Scaled to its population, that is 214 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in the town. The top grade, Grade I, goes to 1 of them.
13listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I1
Grade II*0
Grade II12
Among them · Grade I
- Church of St Barnabas Grade I
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
32%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
214
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Children make up only 15% of Great Tey, fewer than in Essex’s towns and across England’s towns
35% of adults hold a degree, about level with England’s towns (34%) and above Essex’s towns (27%). Those 65 and older account for 26% of residents. Typical age in Great Tey: 51.7, the median. People aged 15 to 24 are nearly a tenth of the population.
51.7median age
Great TeyEssexEngland
Ages · share of residents
26%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications17%
Apprenticeship4%
A levels or similar18%
Degree level35%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Great Tey | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 33% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →East Anglian Railway Museum and 6 more in and around Great Tey
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Great Tey. Best known first.
MuseumMuseumEast Anglian Railway Museum2.3 km outside town, to the north
GardenSergeants Orchard4.5 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumRestoration Shed2.4 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumEarls Colne Heritage Museum4.2 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumCoggeshall Museum4.9 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumHeritage Centre & Platforms 5 + 62.3 km outside town, to the north
GardenSergeants Orchard4.5 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumRestoration Shed2.4 km outside town, to the northMuseumMuseumEarls Colne Heritage Museum4.2 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumCoggeshall Museum4.9 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumHeritage Centre & Platforms 5 + 62.3 km outside town, to the northPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (1)
- Sergeants Orchard: Dudley Miles, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Great Tey
13pages on Great Tey
The big questions
Safety10.4 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingMedian home £375K · rent £1,197 a monthHousing10 sold in 12 months · busiest street Chappel RoadSchools1 state schoolHealthLife expectancy 81.7 (men), 84.5 (women)Work & commute52% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazards0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Great Tey’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
Marks TeyCopfordEight Ash GreenEarls ColneCoggeshallWest BergholtKelvedon and FeeringGreat Tey
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Tey | 608 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Marks Tey | 1,817 | 1.8 | — | B+ | B+ | A− |
| Copford | 1,794 | 2.7 | — | C+ | B | A− |
| Eight Ash Green | 1,769 | 2.8 | — | B− | C+ | A |
| Earls Colne | 3,360 | 2.9 | C+ | B | C+ | B− |
| Coggeshall | 3,767 | 3.2 | B | C+ | B− | B+ |
| West Bergholt | 3,175 | 4.5 | A+ | B− | B+ | A |
| Kelvedon and Feering | 4,771 | 4.7 | A− | C | C+ | B |
Marks Tey, Copford and Eight Ash Green have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Great Tey
How many listed buildings are there in Great Tey?
That is 8.8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Barnabas.
Is Great Tey expensive to live in?
By type: semi-detached houses £296,250 and detached houses £455,000. Private rents in the Colchester council area averaged £1,197 a month in August 2026.
How much is council tax in Great Tey?
Band D council tax in Great Tey is £2,300 for 2026–27, less than in 75% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
About Great Tey
Village in Essex, England
Great Tey is a built-up area of 608 people, in the Colchester 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
- Population
- 608 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Colchester
- County
- Essex
- Region
- East of England
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²)
- ONS code
- E63004095
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.