Bicknacre is a village in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre, in the county of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. It is approximately north of

South Woodham Ferrers South Woodham Ferrers is a town and civil parish in the borough of Chelmsford, in the English county of Essex. It is approximately from London and southeast of the city of Chelmsford, and had a population of 16,453 at the 2011 Census, a decr ...

and southeast of the city of

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

. The village is in the borough of

and in the parliamentary constituency of Maldon & East Chelmsford. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 2263.

Priory arch

There was a hermitage on this site until around the end of 1154, when it was converted into a priory for the

Augustinian Canons Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by ...

, also known as the Black Canons. It was known as Wodeham (Woodham) Priory until 1235 when the name Bicknacre first occurs. The arch is all that remains of the priory. It comprises the west arch of the crossing of the church (estimated to date from about 1250) with attached fragments of the nave and north transept. The arch and the surrounding fields, known as Priory Fields, are looked after by a voluntary group, called Friends of Priory Fields.

Landmarks

The St Giles Home for British Lepers no longer exists, but St. Giles Churchyard, which is marked as an Essex Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve is in Moor Hall Lane. It is rumoured that the church is haunted by a man buried in the graveyard. His name remains unknown.

Notable people

Notable people from the village include;

Richard Robarts Richard Robarts (born 22 September 1944 in Bicknacre, Essex) is a British former racing driver from England. He participated in 4 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 January 1974. He scored no championship points. Robarts ...

, a former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver, and the artist Daniel West. The artist

Grayson Perry Grayson Perry (born 1960) is an English contemporary artist, writer and broadcaster. He is known for his ceramic vases, tapestries, and cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, and for dissecting British "pre ...

lived in the village for part of his childhood. Joe Pettit, writer of the multi-award winning short film Yout also lived in Bicknacre.

Images

Image:Bicknacre village sign 1.jpg, Bicknacre Village Sign Image:White swan bicknacre.jpg, The White Swan Public House Image:Shops bicknacre.jpg, Shops at Bicknacre

References

External links

Friends of Priory Fields
Villages in Essex {{Essex-geo-stub