Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
574 people call this village in Essex, East of England home.
Grades need 1,000 residents, so Ridgewell has none; the figures on this page are still real. On the way to work, 7% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. 27 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I. The median sale price is £406,250.
The 3 things Ridgewell does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Ridgewell’s built-up area, along with 2 scheduled monuments.
35% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ridgewell.
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: 0.3. The car took nearly nine in ten commuters, above both Essex’s towns (74%) and England’s towns (70%). Unemployment benefit claims reached 3% of 16 to 64s in 2026.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the 2 primary schools within 3 km: 72% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town has one school, shown below. Its one primary school teaches 55 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgewell Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 55 | C− |
Home ownership stands at 77% of households. Private rents average £1,213 a month across the Braintree council area. Social housing holds 15% of households, about level with Essex’s towns (15%) and below England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £512,500 | 10 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Burglary and damage came to 4.7 per 1,000 residents a year, below Essex’s towns (10.6) and England’s towns (9.4) alike. Over the year to August 2026, 6 offences were reported in Ridgewell. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 50% of recorded crime.
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.
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.5% of the town. At the census, 87% of people in Ridgewell called their health good or very good, higher than both Essex’s towns (83%) and England’s towns (82%). The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 3.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Ridgewell | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 87% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.5% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · No age adjustment applies to these census answers, which flatter younger towns; the Health Grade’s measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them, do allow for age.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Ridgewell’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Lawrence, Grade I. Before 1919: that is when 35% of homes were built. Conservation areas cover a third of the town’s land, above Essex’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 3 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, above Essex’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Ridgewell has a median age of 48.2. Degrees are held by 27% of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Ridgewell | Essex | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 34% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 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 Ridgewell. Best known first.
CastleClare Castle4.9 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumThe Ancient House Museum5 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumRidgewell Airfield Museum1.4 km outside town, to the southeastArt galleryArt galleryTelephone Kiosk4.9 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgewell | 574 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Great Yeldham | 1,824 | 2.2 | — | B− | B− | A− |
| Clare | 2,278 | 3.5 | — | C− | B+ | A− |
| Steeple Bumpstead | 1,376 | 3.5 | — | C | A− | A |
| Kedington | 1,778 | 3.9 | — | C | A | B+ |
| Castle Hedingham | 1,045 | 4.5 | — | B− | A− | B+ |
| Sible Hedingham | 4,261 | 5 | B− | B | B− | B+ |
| Haverhill | 26,704 | 5.1 | C− | B− | C− | C+ |
Great Yeldham, Clare, Steeple Bumpstead, Kedington and Castle Hedingham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 19.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Lawrence. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Band D council tax in Ridgewell is £2,322 for 2026–27, less than in 71% 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.
Village in Essex, England
Ridgewell is a built-up area of 574 people, in the Braintree 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
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.