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Chelmsford () is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in the City of Chelmsford district 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 the county town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
and Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
. It is located north-east of London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
at Charing Cross
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...
and south-west of Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
. The population of the urban area was 111,511 in the 2011 Census, while the wider district has 168,310.
The demonym
A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...
for a Chelmsford resident is "Chelmsfordian".
The main conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
of Chelmsford incorporates all or part of the former parishes of Broomfield, Newland Spring, Great Leighs, The Walthams, Great Baddow
Great Baddow is an urban village and civil parish in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the city of Chelmsford, and, with a population of over 13,000,Galleywood, Howe Green, Margaretting, Pleshey, Stock, Roxwell, Danbury,
Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke
, ed. Edward Maunde Thompson (Oxford, 1889).King Robert the Bruce By A. F. Murison
.Scottish Kings 1005–1625, by Sir Archibald H Dunbar, Bt., Edinburgh, 1899
p. 127
, where Robert the Bruce's birthplace is given "at Writtle, near Chelmsford in Essex, on the 11th July 1274". Baker, cited above, is mentioned with other authorities, but the story is disputed and possibly conflated with his father,
Chelmsford is at the geographic and political centre of Essex and has been the
Contact us
. Retrieved 24 December 2007. and the headquarters of Chelmsford City Council at the Civic Centre, Duke Street.Chelmsford City Council â€
Contact Us
. Retrieved 24 December 2007. The civic centre was designed by Cordingley & McIntyre as a public library and completed in April 1935. The headquarters of
Chelmsford hundred
historic map
). Retrieved 24 December 2007. It was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1888,Vision of Britain â€
Chelmsford MB
historic map
). Retrieved 24 December 2007. under the provisions of the
Originally an agricultural and market town, Chelmsford has been an important centre for industry since the 19th century. Following the opening of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation in 1797, cheaper transportation and raw materials made milling and malting the main industries until the 1850s, when increasing prosperity created a local market for agricultural machinery.
Foundries and engineering works followed including Fell Christy at his Factory (In later years known as Christy Norris Ltd) on the corner of Kings Road and Broomfield Road opened 1858, closed 1985, Coleman and Moreton, Thomas Clarkson (''Steam'' Omnibus manufacturer and Founder of the Eastern National Bus Company) and Eddington and Stevenson (makers of traction engines). The Company Christy Norris still survives, trading as Christy Turner Ltd based in
In 1899,
Newsletter Issue 1: Winter 2006
Retrieved 24 December 2007, but this fell through when site owners Ashwell Property Group entered administration in December 2009. The factory remained empty, derelict and vandalised for several years, to the dismay of Marconi Veterans and Chelmsfordians. The site was sold for redevelopment to
. Retrieved 19 October 2010 Its initial name was the Phoenix Dynamo Co Ltd, though it immediately changed its name to English Electric Valve Company Ltd. In 1959 Bob Coulson established Traveling-wave tube and
The Britvic soft drink company began life as the British Vitamin Company in 1948. The origins of the company can be traced back to a chemist's shop in Tindal Street where flavoured waters were on sale as early as the mid-19th century.
The company was acquired by Showerings of Shepton Mallet, and subsequently a division of Allied Breweries from 1968, The British Vitamin Company changed its name to Britvic in 1971.
In 1986 it merged with ''Canada Dry Rawlings'' and acquired the R. White's Lemonade brand. It acquired Tango (drink), Tango from Beecham (pharmaceutical company), Beechams in 1987 and since that year it has owned the UK franchise for Pepsi-Cola, Pepsi and 7 Up. In 1995 it bought Robinsons (drink), Robinson's from Reckitt Benckiser, Reckitt & Colman.
In December 2005 the Company underwent an initial public offering (IPO) allowing its main shareholders (InterContinental Hotels Group, Whitbread, Pernod Ricard) to realise their investments.
In May 2007 the company went on to buy the soft drinks and distribution businesses of Ireland's C&C Group, Cantrell & Cochrane (C&C) for £169.5m.
On 14 November 2012 the Company agreed to merge with Scotland's A.G. Barr, producer of Scottish soft drinks Irn-Bru, Tizer and Dandelion and Burdock, D'n'B, to create one of Europe's largest soft drinks companies. However the merger was put into serious doubt after the Office of Fair Trading referred the merger to the Competition Commission.
The Britvic UK headquarters at Britvic House in Broomfield Road closed in March 2012. It relocated to Hemel Hempstead to facilitate better transport links for its staff.
On 14 March 2014 the Britvic Westway factory closed for good thus ending the company's 150-year association with the city.
Proposals for a bypass of Chelmsford connecting the A12 interchange at
Hylands House and Park, just to the west of the city, are a country house and parkland which were saved from dereliction after being purchased by the local council in 1966, after the death of the last private owner, and is now open to the public. Dating from 1730, the house was much damaged by fire and vandalism by the time of the sale, but has since been completely restored by Chelmsford City Council and is now available for weddings and other private hires including conferences. The park was landscaped by Humphry Repton has hosted a wide range of community events, including the annual music festival V Festival. The 21st World Scout Jamboree 2007 was held at Hylands Park from 27 July to 8 August 2007. Within the grounds which comprise woodland, rolling grassland and lakes is a large children's play area with adjoining car parking.
Chelmsford Museum in Oaklands Park, off Moulsham Street, is a local history and industrial heritage museum which incorporates the Essex Regiment Museum. A major £5 million extension and redevelopment scheme opened in January 2010 and the museum now includes exhibits and interactive displays focusing on Crompton, Marconi, and Hoffmann, as well as illustrating the development of the town and city from prehistory up to modern times. Further development in 2019 upgraded the museum to include new visitor facilities as well as new exhibits from the Saxon burial site at Broomfield. A second site at Sandford Mill – Chelmsford's former waterworks – displays further exhibits from Chelmsford's telecommunications, electrical engineering and rolling bearings industries.
The Shire Hall, Chelmsford, Shire Hall is situated at the top of the High Street. Opened in July 1791 and built by local architect and Essex county surveyor John Johnson (architect, born 1732), John Johnson, it features a Portland Stone façade. One of the oldest and most prominent buildings in Chelmsford, it was built as a courthouse and there has been a court on the site since at least 1199. However this finally came to an end on 2 April 2012 with the opening of a new magistrates' court a short distance away in New Street.
Chelmsford Cathedral, which is located directly behind the Shire Hall, is one of the oldest buildings in the city. Originally called "St Mary's Church", it became a cathedral when the Diocese of Chelmsford for the Bishop of Chelmsford was created in 1914. It is officially the second smallest in England behind Derby Cathedral.
Chelmsford (HM Prison), Chelmsford Prison is a male prison and Young Offenders Institution, constructed in 1830. The 1979 film special of the TV series ''Porridge (TV series), Porridge'' with Ronnie Barker was filmed largely on location at Chelmsford Prison, while it was closed for repairs after a fire.
The 1842 constructed, 18-arch Victorian railway viaduct (that spans the River Can in Central Park) is one of three railway viaducts in the city that carry the
Bicknacre
Bicknacre is a village in the civil parish of Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre, in the county of Essex, England. It is approximately north of South Woodham Ferrers and southeast of the city of Chelmsford. The village is in the borough of Chelmsfor ...
, Writtle
The village and civil parish of Writtle lies west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishi ...
, Moulsham Moulsham is a suburb of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is located to the south of the city centre and has two distinct areas: Old Moulsham and Moulsham Lodge.
History
Moulsham is located on the south side of the River Chelmer. Moulsham Street foll ...
, Rettendon, The Hanningfields, The Chignals, Widford and Springfield
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
, including Springfield Barnes, now known as Chelmer Village
Chelmer Village is a housing, retail and industrial development in the east of Chelmsford, Essex. The development was started by Countryside Residential PLC in 1978, using a holistic approach to create a self-contained community on previously gr ...
.
The communities of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Chelmsford, Ontario and Chelmsford, New Brunswick
Chelmsford is a community in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It is situated in Nelson, a parish of Northumberland County.
History
Notable people
See also
*List of communities in New Brunswick
This is a list of communities in New ...
are named after the city.
Chelmsford's population consists of a large number of City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and Docklands commuters, attracted by the 30–35-minute railway journey into Central London via the Great Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...
.
History
Early history
Before 1199, there were settlements nearby from ancient times. The remains of aNeolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
and a late Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
settlement have been found in the Springfield suburb, and the town was occupied by the Romans. A Roman fort was built in AD 60, and a civilian town grew up around it. The town was given the name of Caesaromagus (''Caesar's field'' or ''Caesar's marketplace''), although the reason for it being given the great honour of bearing the Imperial prefix is now unclear – possibly as a failed 'planned town' provincial capital to replace Londinium
Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...
or Camulodunum. The remains of a ''mansio
In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...
'', a combination post office, civic centre and hotel, lie beneath the streets of modern Moulsham Moulsham is a suburb of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is located to the south of the city centre and has two distinct areas: Old Moulsham and Moulsham Lodge.
History
Moulsham is located on the south side of the River Chelmer. Moulsham Street foll ...
, and the ruins of an octagonal temple are located beneath the Odeon roundabout. The town disappeared for a while after the Romans left Britain.
An Anglo-Saxon burial was discovered at Broomfield to the north of Chelmsford in the late 19th century and the finds are now in the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. The road 'Saxon Way' now marks the site.
The city's name is derived from ''Ceolmaer's ford'' which was close to the site of the present High Street stone bridge. In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086, the town was called ''Celmeresfort'' and by 1189 it had changed to ''Chelmsford''. Its position on the Londinium – Camulodonum Roman road
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
(the modern A12) ensured the early prosperity of Chelmsford.
Royal charter
On 7 September 1199, following the commissioning of a bridge over the River Can by Maurice, Bishop of London, King John granted toWilliam of Sainte-Mère-Eglise
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
a royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
for Chelmsford to hold a market, marking the origin of the modern town. An under-cover market, operating Tuesday to Saturday, is still an important part of the city centre over 800 years later.
The town became the seat of the local assize during the early 13th century (though assizes were also held at Brentwood) and by 1218 it was recognised as the county town of Essex, a position it has retained to the present day.
Royal connections
KingRobert I of Scotland
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...
, better known as Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
(1274–1309), had close ties with the nearby village of Writtle
The village and civil parish of Writtle lies west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishi ...
and there is some evidence to suggest he was born at Montpeliers Farm in the village,Robert's absolution for Comyn's murder, in 1310, gives Robert as a layman of Carrick, indicating Carrick / Turnberry was either his primary residence, or place of birth. Lochmaben
Lochmaben ( Gaelic: ''Loch Mhabain'') is a small town and civil parish in Scotland, and site of a castle. It lies west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway. By the 12th century the Bruce family had become the local landowners and, in the 14th ...
has a claim, as a possession of the Bruce family, but is not supported by a medieval source. The contemporary claims of Essex / the Bruce estate at Writtle
The village and civil parish of Writtle lies west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishi ...
Essex, during the coronation of Edward, have been discounted by G. W. S. Barrow
Geoffrey Wallis Steuart Barrow (28 November 1924 – 14 December 2013) was a Scottish historian and academic.
The son of Charles Embleton Barrow and Marjorie née Stuart, Geoffrey Barrow was born on 28 November 1924, at Headingley near Leeds. ...
. Geoffrey le Baker'sChronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke
, ed. Edward Maunde Thompson (Oxford, 1889).King Robert the Bruce By A. F. Murison
.Scottish Kings 1005–1625, by Sir Archibald H Dunbar, Bt., Edinburgh, 1899
p. 127
, where Robert the Bruce's birthplace is given "at Writtle, near Chelmsford in Essex, on the 11th July 1274". Baker, cited above, is mentioned with other authorities, but the story is disputed and possibly conflated with his father,
Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale
Robert de Brus (11 July 1243 – 15 March 1304Richardson, Douglas, Everingham, Kimball G. "Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families", Genealogical Publishing Com, 2005: p732-3, ,link/ref>), 6th Lord of Annandale, ''jure ...
.
Chelmsford was significantly involved in the Peasants' Revolt
The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...
of 1381, and King Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...
moved on to the town after quelling the rebellion in London. 'The Sleepers and The Shadows', written by Hilda Grieve in 1988 using original sources, states: "For nearly a week, from Monday 1st July to Saturday 6th July 381
__NOTOC__
Year 381 ( CCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Syagrius and Eucherius (or, less frequently, year 1134 ...
Chelmsford became the seat of government ... The king probably lodged at his nearby manor house at Writtle. He was attended by his council, headed by the temporary Chancellor ... the new chief justice ... the royal chancery ... Their formidable task in Chelmsford was to draft, engross, date, seal and despatch by messengers riding to the farthest corners of the realm, the daily batches of commissions, mandates, letters, orders and proclamations issued by the government not only to speed the process of pacification of the kingdom, but to conduct much ordinary day-to-day business of the Crown and Government." Richard II famously revoked the charters which he had made in concession to the peasants on 2 July 1381, while in Chelmsford. It could be said that given this movement of government power, Chelmsford for a few days at least became the capital of England. Many of the ringleaders of the revolt were executed on the gallows at what is now Primrose Hill.
King Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
purchased the Boleyn estate in 1516, and built Beaulieu Palace
350px, Beaulieu Palace circa 1580
The Palace of Beaulieu ( ) is a former Royal Palace in Boreham, Essex, England, north-east of Chelmsford. The surviving part is a Grade I listed building. The property is currently occupied by New Hall School.
...
on the current site of New Hall School
New Hall School is a Catholic co-educational independent boarding and day school in the village of Boreham in the City of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It was founded in 1642 in the Low Countries, now Belgium, by sisters of the Catholic order Cano ...
. This later became the residence of his then mistress, and later wife Anne. Soon after it became the residence of Henry's daughter, by his first marriage, Mary I.
Witchfinder General
In the 17th century many of the victims of Matthew Hopkins (the self-styled "Witchfinder General") spent their last days imprisoned in Chelmsford, before being tried at the Assizes and hanged forwitchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
.
Charles Dickens
In 1835, when visiting Essex and Suffolk to cover local elections,Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
visited Chelmsford. He was apparently so upset that he could not find a newspaper on a Sunday that he wrote in a letter to a friend that Chelmsford was "the dullest and most stupid place on earth".
Birthplace of radio
* In 1899Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...
opened the first "wireless" or radio factory in the world at Hall Street in the Moulsham Moulsham is a suburb of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is located to the south of the city centre and has two distinct areas: Old Moulsham and Moulsham Lodge.
History
Moulsham is located on the south side of the River Chelmer. Moulsham Street foll ...
area of Chelmsford.
* In 1920 Marconi made the first official publicised sound broadcast in the United Kingdom, featuring Dame Nellie Melba at the New Street Works
The New Street Works was a manufacturing plant built for the Marconi Company in Chelmsford, England in 1912. It is credited as being the first purpose-built radio factory in the world.
History
Guglielmo Marconi had established his company office ...
, the first purpose built radio factory in the world.
* In 1922, Marconi made the world's first regular wireless broadcasts for entertainment (call sign "2MT
2MT was the first British radio station to make regular entertainment broadcasts, and the "world's first regular wireless broadcast" for entertainment. Transmissions began on 14 February 1922 from an ex-Army hut next to the Marconi laboratories ...
") began from the nearby village of Writtle
The village and civil parish of Writtle lies west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishi ...
.
Station 2MT
2MT was the first British radio station to make regular entertainment broadcasts, and the "world's first regular wireless broadcast" for entertainment. Transmissions began on 14 February 1922 from an ex-Army hut next to the Marconi laboratories ...
led to the creation of its sister station in London "2LO
2LO was the second radio station to regularly broadcast in the United Kingdom (the first was 2MT). It began broadcasting on 11 May 1922, for one hour a day from the seventh floor of Marconi House in London's Strand, opposite Somerset House.
H ...
", which subsequently led to the creation of the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
.
Bishopric
In 1914 Chelmsford's church became a cathedral (see below) and the town got its own bishop.World War II
During World War II Chelmsford, an important centre of light engineering war production, was attacked from the air on several occasions, both by aircraft of theLuftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
and by missile. The worst single loss of life took place on Tuesday 19 December 1944, when the 367th Vergeltungswaffe 2 or V2 rocket to hit England fell on Henry Road, a residential street near the Hoffmans ball bearing factory and the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company factory in New Street. Both factories were key to the war effort. Thirty-nine people were killed and 138 injured, 47 seriously. Several dwellings in Henry Road were completely destroyed, and many badly damaged in nearby streets. A monument to the dead is located in the city cemetery on Writtle Road.
On 14 May 1943 Luftwaffe bombing raids hit Chelmsford leaving more than 50 people dead and leaving nearly 1,000 homeless. The bombs hit mainly the town centre, Springfield
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
, and Moulsham Moulsham is a suburb of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is located to the south of the city centre and has two distinct areas: Old Moulsham and Moulsham Lodge.
History
Moulsham is located on the south side of the River Chelmer. Moulsham Street foll ...
.
The GHQ Line part of the British hardened field defences of World War II runs directly through Chelmsford with many pillboxes still in existence to the north and south of the city.
Hylands Park, the site of the former annual V Festival, hosted a prisoner of war camp, and from 1944 until it was disbanded in 1945, was the headquarters of the Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
(SAS).
Recent history
Since the 1980s defence-related industries in the city have declined, most notably theMarconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 ...
with all of its factories either being closed or sold. The site on West Hanningfield Road was sold to BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
; the Waterhouse Lane site sold to E2V and the New Street site is undergoing major redevelopment for residential/mixed use.
The one-time largest employer in Chelmsford, RHP (the former Hoffman ball bearing manufacturer), closed its New Street/Rectory Lane site in 1989. Some of the factory was converted into luxury apartments and a health club although most of the site was demolished to make way for the Rivermead Campus of the Anglia Ruskin University.
The city's location close to London and at the centre of Essex has helped it grow in importance as a financial, administrative and distribution centre.
The Channels Development, Beaulieu Park, The Village and Chancellor Park are some of the most recent large-scale housing developments built in the city. The local plan targets an additional 18,000 new homes by 2036, in developments largely to the north of the city.
In 2007, the Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
programme '' Location, Location, Location'' voted Chelmsford the 8th-best place to live in the UK.
UK city status
Theletters patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
officially granting city status to the City of Chelmsford were received on 6 June 2012. to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...
.
The announcement to make Chelmsford a city had been made on 14 March 2012 by the Lord President of the Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
and Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
, Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicepr ...
.
Local government and politics
Chelmsford is at the geographic and political centre of Essex and has been the county town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
since 1215. The headquarters of Essex County Council is at County Hall, Duke StreetEssex County Council â€Contact us
. Retrieved 24 December 2007. and the headquarters of Chelmsford City Council at the Civic Centre, Duke Street.Chelmsford City Council â€
Contact Us
. Retrieved 24 December 2007. The civic centre was designed by Cordingley & McIntyre as a public library and completed in April 1935. The headquarters of
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of .
The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harri ...
is located in the Springfield
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
area of the city at Kingston Crescent.
Chelmsford formed part of the ancient Chelmsford hundred of Essex.Vision of Britain â€Chelmsford hundred
historic map
). Retrieved 24 December 2007. It was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1888,Vision of Britain â€
Chelmsford MB
historic map
). Retrieved 24 December 2007. under the provisions of the
Municipal Corporations Act 1882
The Municipal Corporations Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c.50) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaced existing legislation governing municipal boroughs in England and Wales, and gave the corporations powers to make byelaws and ...
. In 1934 the borough was enlarged by gaining from Chelmsford Rural District, including parts of the parishes of Broomfield, Springfield, Widford and Writtle. The municipal borough and 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 ...
. was abolished on 1 April 1974 and its former area was combined with most of the remainder of the rural district to form the larger Borough of Chelmsford
The City of Chelmsford () is a local government district in Essex, England. It is named after its main settlement, Chelmsford, which is also the county town of Essex. On 1 June 2012 Chelmsford was granted city status to mark the Diamond Jubil ...
which was granted city status by Royal Charter in 2012.
For the 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 ...
constituency in the House of Commons, the member of Parliament is Vicky Ford. In the 2019 general election, Ford gained 31,934 votes (55.9%), winning the seat with a majority over Marie Goldman, the Liberal Democrat candidate, who gained 14,313 votes (25.1%).
Demographics
The following statistics were measured in the 2001 Census: * The population for Chelmsford consisted of male: 49.2%, female: 50.8%, under 18: 22.5%, over 60: 19%, born outside UK: 5.9%, white: 96%, black: 0.7%, Asian: 1.4%, mixed: 1.1%, other: 0.7%, Christian: 73.3%, Muslim: 0.9%. * Education census statistics for Chelmsford consisted of full-time students between 16- 74: 20.2%, no qualifications for ages between 16 and 74: 22.2%. * Housing census statistics for Chelmsford consisted of owner occupied housing: 76.5%, social housing: 14.9% (council: 11.3%, housing association 3.6%), privately rented: 6.3%, homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 5.8%.Economy
Business and commerce
Originally an agricultural and market town, Chelmsford has been an important centre for industry since the 19th century. Following the opening of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation in 1797, cheaper transportation and raw materials made milling and malting the main industries until the 1850s, when increasing prosperity created a local market for agricultural machinery.
Foundries and engineering works followed including Fell Christy at his Factory (In later years known as Christy Norris Ltd) on the corner of Kings Road and Broomfield Road opened 1858, closed 1985, Coleman and Moreton, Thomas Clarkson (''Steam'' Omnibus manufacturer and Founder of the Eastern National Bus Company) and Eddington and Stevenson (makers of traction engines). The Company Christy Norris still survives, trading as Christy Turner Ltd based in Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
. A residential street close to the old Factory was named "Fell Christy" in his honour.
As well as the headquarters of Essex Police, Essex County and Chelmsford City Councils, the modern city is home to a range of national and international companies including M&G Group, Teledyne e2v and ebm-papst
The ebm-papst Group is a manufacturer of electric motors and fans
Fan commonly refers to:
* Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling
** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling
* Fan (p ...
. The continuing importance of Chelmsford as an employment centre is demonstrated by the fact that the number of "in" commuters (mostly from other parts of Essex) almost exactly balances the number of workers commuting into London.
Chelmsford is largely a commercial city which employs around 80,000 people. There are three medium-sized shopping centres, Bond Street, High Chelmer and The Meadows. Chelmsford has six retail parks, Riverside, Chelmer Village
Chelmer Village is a housing, retail and industrial development in the east of Chelmsford, Essex. The development was started by Countryside Residential PLC in 1978, using a holistic approach to create a self-contained community on previously gr ...
, Clocktower Retail Park, The Army & Navy, Moulsham Lodge Retail Park and the smaller Homelands Retail Park housing a Flagship B&Q Store, Wyvale Garden Centre (part of the Garden centre Group) and Pets Corner. The High Street is full of independent and chain stores. As well as the leading High Street names, there is a wide variety of specialist retailers, particularly in Baddow Road and Moulsham Street at the end of the pedestrianised High Street. On 29 September 2016 a new retail development opened anchored by John Lewis. On 6 January 2005, Chelmsford was granted Fairtrade Town status.
Sizeable businesses are now based in the Chelmsford Business Park at Boreham
Boreham is a village and civil parish, in Essex, England. The parish is in the City of Chelmsford and Chelmsford Parliament constituency. The village is approximately northeast from the county town of Chelmsford.
History
Boreham is listed i ...
housing companies such as the Anderson Group and Global Marine Systems
Global Marine Group is a British-headquartered specialist provider of installation, maintenance and repairs of submarine communications cable for the telecommunications, oil & gas and deep sea research industries. To this end, they operate their ...
. Chelmsford is a centre for national electricity suppliers operating within the industrial and commercial sectors, with both EnDCo and F&S Energy headquartered within the city. The city has a low unemployment rate (1.6% in 2002) and a well-educated workforce, with 9% holding a degree or above (in 2002; British average: 7.1%).
Chelmsford has a vibrant nightlife scene with many pubs
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, late night bars and restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
establishments in the city centre area. Its central Essex location and good public transport links make the city ideal for revellers, commuters and tourists to visit from surrounding areas.
Marconi
In 1899, Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...
opened the world's first "wireless" factory under the name 'The Marconi Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company' in Hall Street, employing around 50 people. The company was later called the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company Ltd. For this reason Chelmsford is credited as the "birthplace of radio", and this phrase can be seen on administrative signs on major roads entering the city, although this statement is disputed.
Outgrowing its Hall Street premises, Marconi moved to the purpose-built New Street Works
The New Street Works was a manufacturing plant built for the Marconi Company in Chelmsford, England in 1912. It is credited as being the first purpose-built radio factory in the world.
History
Guglielmo Marconi had established his company office ...
in June 1912. On 15 June 1920 the factory hosted the first official publicised sound broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
in the United Kingdom, featuring Dame Nellie Melba and using two radio broadcasting masts.
In 1922, the world's first regular wireless broadcasts for entertainment began from the Marconi laboratories at Writtle
The village and civil parish of Writtle lies west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishi ...
near Chelmsford – Call sign '2MT
2MT was the first British radio station to make regular entertainment broadcasts, and the "world's first regular wireless broadcast" for entertainment. Transmissions began on 14 February 1922 from an ex-Army hut next to the Marconi laboratories ...
' in what was little more than a wooden hut.
In 1999, Marconi's defence division, including the Chelmsford facilities, was purchased by British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...
to form BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
. Two sites remain under BAE control; the Great Baddow site which is now BAE's Advanced Technology Centre and its Integrated Systems Technologies business at Glebe Road.
The military and secure communications division of Marconi was merged into Selex Communications based at the New Street factory. They vacated the site in April 2008 with the remaining operations moved to nearby Basildon, bringing to an end more than 100 years of the Marconi name in Chelmsford.
The New Street factory was scheduled to be redeveloped starting in 2010,Project Wireless Consultation â€Newsletter Issue 1: Winter 2006
Retrieved 24 December 2007, but this fell through when site owners Ashwell Property Group entered administration in December 2009. The factory remained empty, derelict and vandalised for several years, to the dismay of Marconi Veterans and Chelmsfordians. The site was sold for redevelopment to
Bellway Homes
Bellway plc is a residential property developer and housebuilder based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The company was founded in 1946 by Jo ...
in the summer of 2012 with demolition of the majority of the site including the iconic Marconi House and Building 720 in April/May 2013. Only the Grade II
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
listed water tower, The 1912 front building façade, the New Street cottages, and the power house will remain.
Cromptons Electrical Engineering
Chelmsford became home to the United Kingdom's first electrical engineering works established byRookes Evelyn Bell Crompton
Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton, CB, FRS (31 May 1845 – 15 February 1940) was a British electrical engineer, industrialist and inventor. He was a pioneer of electric lighting and public electricity supply systems. The company he formed, Crom ...
. Crompton was a leading authority on electrical engineering, and pioneered electric street lighting and electric traction motors within the United Kingdom. He installed electric street lights in the town centre to celebrate the incorporation of the Borough of Chelmsford in 1888. Although this made Chelmsford one of the earliest towns to receive electric street lighting, the Council later removed it because gas from the Council owned gasworks was cheaper. Crompton supplied the traction motors for the first electric trains on Southend Pier. The company manufactured electrical switchgear, alternators and generators for many power stations in the UK and worldwide.
Crompton set up his original factory known as the 'Arc Works' in Queen Street in 1878. After a fire there in 1895, he built a huge new electrical engineering factory also called the 'Arc Works' in Writtle Road. Crompton and Co. became Crompton Parkinson in 1927 when Colonel Crompton partnered with fellow electrical engineer Frank Parkinson
Frank Parkinson (7 February 1887 – 28 January 1946)J. A. Chartres, 'Parkinson, Frank (1887–1946)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, October 200accessed 23 January 2010/ref> was a British electrica ...
. During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the factory was frequently targeted by the Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
. In 1969 a takeover by Hawker Siddeley
Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...
saw Crompton Parkinson Ltd downsized and operations moved elsewhere. The Marconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 ...
took over the site which became the base for the newly formed Marconi Radar Systems.
After years of decline, the Marconi factory closed in 1992 and the site was demolished a few years later apart from the frontage on Writtle Road. 'The Village' housing development now occupies the site with road names such as ''Rookes'' Crescent, ''Evelyn'' Place, ''Crompton'' Street and ''Parkinson'' Drive as tributes to the former occupant.
Hoffmann Ball Bearings
Hoffmann Ball bearings was a major employer in Chelmsford in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They produced ball bearings which were used for early transatlantic flight. The firm became Ransome Hoffmann and Pollard (R.H.P.) after Hoffman's amalgamation withRansome & Marles
Ransome & Marles Bearing Company Limited was the owner of a business making ball and roller bearings founded during the First World War to make bearings for aircraft and other engines. Before the war most bearings had been imported and most of th ...
and Pollard Ball and Roller Bearing Company
Pollard Ball and Roller Bearing Company with its headquarters at Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eas ...
in 1969.
The R.H.P. brand, intellectual property rights and company assets were absorbed into the Japanese NSK Ltd.
, also known in some markets as NSK Automation, is a large manufacturer of bearings globally and the largest in Japan. The company produces industrial machinery bearings, precision machinery and parts, and automotive bearings and components.
...
bearing company in early 1990 trading as NSK-RHP Ltd. at its UK base in Newark on Trent with the historic R.H.P. name finally disappearing in 2001.
Most of the former Hoffman New Street factory was demolished during the summer of 1990 and the site is now occupied by the sprawling Rivermead Campus of the Anglia Ruskin University.
The only connection to the company name in Chelmsford today is the RHP Bowls club located on part of the old Hoffmans Social Club site at Canterbury Way and Hoffmans Way at the corner of the old factory site at New Street and Rectory Lane.
English Electric Valve Company
The Waterhouse Lane–based company began in the early 1940s as a part of the Marconi group, manufacturing magnetrons for defence radar systems. The company was first registered as a separate company in Chelmsford,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 ...
in 1947 under Serge Aisenstein.Fire Direct company profile. Retrieved 19 October 2010 Its initial name was the Phoenix Dynamo Co Ltd, though it immediately changed its name to English Electric Valve Company Ltd. In 1959 Bob Coulson established Traveling-wave tube and
Microwave tube
Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ran ...
sections and they were producing ceramic hydrogen thyratrons as well. By this time EEV was the largest hi-tech manufacturing company in the UK. A year later they won an EMMY award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for outstanding contribution to Electronics Technology in developing the 4½" orthicon tube.
In 1961 they acquired Associated Electrical Industries
Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH) and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to c ...
Valve business based in Lincoln. Sir Charles Oatley
Sir Charles William Oatley OBE, FRS FREng (14 February 1904 – 11 March 1996) was Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Cambridge, 1960–1971, and developer of one of the first commercial scanning electron microscopes. He was ...
was a director of the company from 1966 to 1985. In 1962, EEV opened its first office in America in Buffalo, NY. In the 1970s EEV collaborated with QinetiQ in the development of the pyroelectric vidicon, the first thermal imaging detector. The company has received 13 Queen's Awards for Enterprise, Queen's Awards for Technology in its history, most recently in 2006 for low light imaging devices and in 2004 for thyratrons for cancer radiotherapy treatment. In 1972, they opened an office in Paris, France and in 1977 they opened another in New York; this time in Elmsford, New York, Elmsford.
Keith Attwood, e2v's CEO joined in 1999, as MD of EEV, after a short period as Marconi Applied technologies, the company was renamed to e2v technologies in 2002 as part of a management buy out supported by 3i following the collapse of the Marconi group. Following further growth under 3i, in 2004 the company floated on the London Stock Exchange.
In 2017, e2v was acquired by US company Teledyne Technologies and changed its name to Teledyne e2v, 70 years after its registration as a Chelmsford-based company. As of 2022, Teledyne e2v continues its operations at the Waterhouse Lane site.
Britvic
The Britvic soft drink company began life as the British Vitamin Company in 1948. The origins of the company can be traced back to a chemist's shop in Tindal Street where flavoured waters were on sale as early as the mid-19th century.
The company was acquired by Showerings of Shepton Mallet, and subsequently a division of Allied Breweries from 1968, The British Vitamin Company changed its name to Britvic in 1971.
In 1986 it merged with ''Canada Dry Rawlings'' and acquired the R. White's Lemonade brand. It acquired Tango (drink), Tango from Beecham (pharmaceutical company), Beechams in 1987 and since that year it has owned the UK franchise for Pepsi-Cola, Pepsi and 7 Up. In 1995 it bought Robinsons (drink), Robinson's from Reckitt Benckiser, Reckitt & Colman.
In December 2005 the Company underwent an initial public offering (IPO) allowing its main shareholders (InterContinental Hotels Group, Whitbread, Pernod Ricard) to realise their investments.
In May 2007 the company went on to buy the soft drinks and distribution businesses of Ireland's C&C Group, Cantrell & Cochrane (C&C) for £169.5m.
On 14 November 2012 the Company agreed to merge with Scotland's A.G. Barr, producer of Scottish soft drinks Irn-Bru, Tizer and Dandelion and Burdock, D'n'B, to create one of Europe's largest soft drinks companies. However the merger was put into serious doubt after the Office of Fair Trading referred the merger to the Competition Commission.
The Britvic UK headquarters at Britvic House in Broomfield Road closed in March 2012. It relocated to Hemel Hempstead to facilitate better transport links for its staff.
On 14 March 2014 the Britvic Westway factory closed for good thus ending the company's 150-year association with the city.
Transport
Rail
The Eastern Counties Railway arrived in Chelmsford in 1842. Owing to the geography of the city, three viaducts were constructed, the longest of which is the 18-arch Central Park, Chelmsford, Central Park viaduct. The station is at the end of the second viaduct. The third viaduct is at the River Chelmer, Springfield. The current Chelmsford railway station dates from around 1885. Around 14,000 commuters per day travel to Liverpool Street station, London Liverpool Street on Abellio Greater Anglia, Greater Anglia services, making Chelmsford one of the busiest non-terminus stations outside London until 2010, when three early morning services were added from Chelmsford to London and three late evening services terminating at Chelmsford from London. Southbound services operate to London Liverpool Street and northbound services run to Colchester railway station, Colchester, Ipswich railway station, Ipswich, Clacton-on-Sea railway station, Clacton-on-Sea, Harwich International railway station, Harwich, Braintree railway station (England), Braintree and Norwich railway station, Norwich via theGreat Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...
. Despite having elevated platforms, the station has full disabled access via a lift on each platform, as well as its stair access.
Since 2011, a Beaulieu Park rail station, second station has been proposed to serve the new Beaulieu housing developments to the north-east of Chelmsford.
Bus
The current bus terminal in Duke Street replaced the ageing 1930s bus station in March 2007 with shops, apartments and a covered roof for passengers. * First Essex has many routes around the city and beyond including the Essex Airlink, X10 & X30 Essex Airlink. * Other bus companies serving the area include Stephensons of Essex, Hedingham & Chambers and Arriva Colchester. There are a variety of school buses serving the city and surrounding areas. Outside of peak times many of these services are run under contract to Essex County Council. * Arriva operates a single service, the 59 route, to Harlow from Chelmsford, via Roxwell, The Rodings, Hatfield Heath and Old Harlow. The route is on the Hertfordshire Intalink network, allowing single-operator access to destinations within Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire, as well as select Greater London destinations such as Stanmore and Chipping Barnet, Barnet. The route was previously operated by Tellings-Golden Miller. Essex County Council Highways & Transportation Department have considered constructing a 'Bus Rapid Transit System' to be built serving the Beaulieu Park/Springfield Area because of the increasing demand for Rapid Transit Plans in Ipswich, Colchester and Southend. Chelmsford has a park & ride service at nearby Sandon, Essex, Sandon, just off Junction 18 of the A12. It runs from 7 am to 7 pm, Monday to Saturday, with five bus stops around the city (one near High Chelmer for shopping), and charges £2.50 per adult and is free for old-age pensioners or people under the age of 16. An adult weekly ticket is £12.50 and Adult monthly £47.00. It has a capacity of 1,200 cars. Opened in March 2006, it has proved highly successful and is widely used. A second service known as the Chelmer Valley Park and Ride was opened on the A130/A131 to the north of the city near Little Waltham in April 2011.Road
The A12 trunk road, which connects London and Lowestoft, was originally built by the Romans to connect London andColchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
. It used to pass through the city until the £34.8m nine-mile (14 km) bypass around the east opened in November 1986. It links London and the M25 motorway, M25 motorway with the docks at Harwich and Felixstowe, and the East Coast. Despite being notorious for frequent congestion, poor road surfaces, potholes and accidents, many people move to Chelmsford for it being so well connected by road and rail. The A414 trunk road between Hemel Hempstead and Maldon is a main road into the city (just off the A12) and links the city to junction 7 of the [M11] motorway in the west, near Harlow. The A130 road (England), A130 provides a link to the A127 and A13 road (England), A13, while the A131 road (England), A131 passes through smaller towns and villages. The nearest motorway is the M25 ''London Orbital'' at J11 of the A12, 14 miles away, near Brentwood.
Chelmsford is 25 to 30 minutes' drive from Stansted Airport (via A130/A120), and Heathrow Airport, London Heathrow, Gatwick Airport, London Gatwick, London City Airport, London City, Luton Airport, Luton and Southend Airport, Southend airports are all within reach.
In the south-west of the city centre, the A138 meets the A414 at the Army and Navy roundabout which is notorious for its traffic congestion.
* Traffic lights were tried to improve matters in the early 2000s, but that scheme was abandoned after a short while; however, some of the lights were recommissioned for early morning and evening part-time use in 2009.
* The recently-built bus lane on the A1114 Great Baddow bypass, and priority to traffic using it, has meant traffic queues approaching the roundabout can now be over long during peak periods.
* The roundabout is known as the ''Army and Navy'' even though the public house and music venue from which the junction got its name has long been demolished.
* Until 2019, the junction had an unusual bi-directional flyover (in a similar manner to the Hogarth Roundabout in Chiswick); it was open for city-bound traffic westerly until 2.30 pm each day and then easterly out of the city after 2.30 pm. The Army and Navy roundabout flyover was condemned as unsafe and was permanently closed in September 2019 by Essex County Council with demolition works taking place in February/March 2020.
* Construction of the £32 million replacement A138 ''Chelmer Viaduct'' road, which connects Chelmer Village Way roundabout to the Army and Navy roundabout, began in February 2015. The new bridge replaced the previous structure, built in 1932, which was demolished in 2016.
Since 2 September 2013, to save money and reduce carbon emissions, many streets lights in the Chelmsford district switched over to Essex County Council's part-night street lighting scheme. This involves most street lights being switched off between 1:00 am and 5:00 am (Tuesday to Sunday) with exceptions such as the city centre area, key road junctions, some pedestrian crossings and known accident sites; on Monday mornings, the switch off is from midnight to 5:00 am.
Future transport plans
Proposals for a bypass of Chelmsford connecting the A12 interchange at Boreham
Boreham is a village and civil parish, in Essex, England. The parish is in the City of Chelmsford and Chelmsford Parliament constituency. The village is approximately northeast from the county town of Chelmsford.
History
Boreham is listed i ...
(Junction 19) and the A131 road (Great Britain), A131 were put forward for public consultation by Essex County Council in 2006, the preferred route was announced in March 2007. It comprises the creation of of two-lane dual carriageway and junctions connecting to the A12 and A131, it will sever 10 footpaths/bridleways and involve almost entirely greenfield construction. The scheme was estimated to cost £138 million in March 2007 but was increased to an estimated range of £229 – £262 million in February 2008. The scheme still requires funding and planning permission with applications timetabled for 2009–2011, a public inquiry timetabled for 2012 and with an estimated construction start date of 2014–2016. The Chelmsford North Action Group (NAG) objects to this scheme, stating that Chelmsford was to "be engulfed by huge motorways connecting the Channel Ports, via a new Lower Thames Crossing, A130 road, A130, on to Stansted, M11 and A14".
A second new Park and Ride scheme on the A130 road, A130 near Little Waltham in addition to that at Sandon, Essex, Sandon began construction in March 2010 at a price of £7.9 million. There has been criticism of the park and ride as some worry it would be unable to provide a service to the nearby Broomfield Hospital from the new site. The Little Waltham Park and Ride opened in April 2011.
A new second railway station called Chelmsford Beaulieu for the city was announced in September 2009 to be built near the A12 Boreham Interchange, however as of 2021 the much delayed project has still not begun construction.
Redevelopment
A major new development on the Duke Street site of the old 1930s bus station was completed in 2007, which contains a new smaller bus station, shops and luxury apartments. The lower level apartments of this development and the bus station area is known as ''Marconi Plaza'', while the upper level apartments are known as the ''Kings Tower''. The new bus station and shops were opened in January 2007, while the rest of the development was ready in September 2007. A new housing development site near Beaulieu Park, towards the north of the city, is currently under construction; it will be an urban village containing around 3,500 homes. The public house ''The Army and Navy'', from which the roundabout gets its name, was demolished in March 2007. It was replaced by a Travelodge hotel, a ''Frankie & Benny's'' restaurant, a bed store and private apartments. Building work started at the site in October 2007 and the project was completed in December 2008. One of Chelmsford's two joint-tallest buildings, Melbourne Court (now renamed Parkside Court) in Melbourne Avenue, has received an £8,000,000 investment for extensive refurbishment and to create a new neighbourhood centre; this was completed early in 2009. Recently, plans were revealed for ''Waterside'', a large development of shops, bars and restaurants on the banks of the River Chelmer on derelict land near the Essex Records Office, at the end of Wharf Road. If this development goes ahead, High Bridge Road, which connects Parkway and Springfield Road, would be demolished along with the adjacent gasometers and a new central link road would be built. The former Anglia Ruskin University central campus, off Park Road, was demolished in January/February 2010; it has been redeveloped by social housing provider ''Genesis'' as a mixed use development of housing for social rent, alongside other new housing for private sale and several retail units, new squares, streets and plazas. The new development has been given the name ''City Park West''. High Chelmer shopping centre underwent a refit during 2008/2009 with new flooring, lighting with a new front entrance and a rebounded logo. Further work is being carried out in the shopping centre; an old portion was demolished in spring 2011 and the work was completed in early 2012. In January 2011, John Lewis announced, together with development partner Aquila House Holdings, that it was to anchor a brand new department store as part of a retail development at Bond Street. The site opened in September 2016.Places of interest
Hylands House and Park, just to the west of the city, are a country house and parkland which were saved from dereliction after being purchased by the local council in 1966, after the death of the last private owner, and is now open to the public. Dating from 1730, the house was much damaged by fire and vandalism by the time of the sale, but has since been completely restored by Chelmsford City Council and is now available for weddings and other private hires including conferences. The park was landscaped by Humphry Repton has hosted a wide range of community events, including the annual music festival V Festival. The 21st World Scout Jamboree 2007 was held at Hylands Park from 27 July to 8 August 2007. Within the grounds which comprise woodland, rolling grassland and lakes is a large children's play area with adjoining car parking.
Chelmsford Museum in Oaklands Park, off Moulsham Street, is a local history and industrial heritage museum which incorporates the Essex Regiment Museum. A major £5 million extension and redevelopment scheme opened in January 2010 and the museum now includes exhibits and interactive displays focusing on Crompton, Marconi, and Hoffmann, as well as illustrating the development of the town and city from prehistory up to modern times. Further development in 2019 upgraded the museum to include new visitor facilities as well as new exhibits from the Saxon burial site at Broomfield. A second site at Sandford Mill – Chelmsford's former waterworks – displays further exhibits from Chelmsford's telecommunications, electrical engineering and rolling bearings industries.
The Shire Hall, Chelmsford, Shire Hall is situated at the top of the High Street. Opened in July 1791 and built by local architect and Essex county surveyor John Johnson (architect, born 1732), John Johnson, it features a Portland Stone façade. One of the oldest and most prominent buildings in Chelmsford, it was built as a courthouse and there has been a court on the site since at least 1199. However this finally came to an end on 2 April 2012 with the opening of a new magistrates' court a short distance away in New Street.
Chelmsford Cathedral, which is located directly behind the Shire Hall, is one of the oldest buildings in the city. Originally called "St Mary's Church", it became a cathedral when the Diocese of Chelmsford for the Bishop of Chelmsford was created in 1914. It is officially the second smallest in England behind Derby Cathedral.
Chelmsford (HM Prison), Chelmsford Prison is a male prison and Young Offenders Institution, constructed in 1830. The 1979 film special of the TV series ''Porridge (TV series), Porridge'' with Ronnie Barker was filmed largely on location at Chelmsford Prison, while it was closed for repairs after a fire.
The 1842 constructed, 18-arch Victorian railway viaduct (that spans the River Can in Central Park) is one of three railway viaducts in the city that carry the Great Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...
. The viaduct was constructed by the Eastern Counties Railway and opened for passenger traffic on 29 March 1843.
Chelmsford's two tallest buildings are:
* Parkside Court, built in 1962 as Melbourne Court in Melbourne Avenue, sometimes locally known as "Melbourne flats", and
* the 13-floor "Kings Tower" in Duke Street, completed in 2007.
They share the same height of .
The tallest structure by far in the borough is the former Chain Home radar tower in Great Baddow
Great Baddow is an urban village and civil parish in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the city of Chelmsford, and, with a population of over 13,000,Great Baddow
Great Baddow is an urban village and civil parish in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the city of Chelmsford, and, with a population of over 13,000, It is the only Chain Home tower still in its original unmodified form in the United Kingdom and is a highly visible landmark throughout the surrounding area. The tower was finally given Listed building, Grade II listed building status in October 2019 by Historic England.
Chelmsford For You
Chelmsford City Council
{{Authority control Chelmsford, County towns in England Market towns in Essex Archaeological sites in Essex City of Chelmsford Towns in Essex Former national capitals Unparished areas in Essex Former civil parishes in Essex
Geography and climate
Geology
From over 600,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene ice age, until the Anglian Stage around 478,000 to 424,000 years ago, the early River Thames flowed through the area where Chelmsford now stands, from Harlow toColchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
, before crossing what is now the North Sea to become a tributary of the Rhine. Consequently, gravel deposits are frequently found in the area and current and former gravel pits in the district are common.
Chelmsford has two rivers, the River Can and the River Chelmer. Although often confused to be the same river in the city centre, they are quite separate until they join towards the east of the city to form the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation which heads out towards Maldon, Essex, Maldon before flowing into tide, tidal waters at the Blackwater Estuary. In the other direction, the Chelmer comes from the north from its source near Thaxted while the Can comes from the West from Writtle
The village and civil parish of Writtle lies west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishi ...
where it separates from the River Wid.
Until the 1960s, these rivers were extremely prone to flooding the city centre area including two disastrous floods in August 1888 (known locally as 'The Great Flood') and in September 1958 (which also badly affected nearby Wickford) causing widespread damage. Flood prevention schemes in the 1960s on both rivers have largely prevented any further incidents here although the natural floodplains to the north and east such as The 'Baddow Meads' and The 'Chelmer Valley' continue to see flooding after prolonged heavy rainfall.
Climate
As with most of the UK, Chelmsford has a oceanic climate, temperate oceanic climate (''Cfb'' in the Köppen climate classification, however due to its proximity to continental Europe, Chelmsford enjoys warm summers and cool but not cold winters, with a relatively narrow annual temperature range and few extremes of temperature. Being in the southeast of England, the city enjoys a warmer climate than most of the United Kingdom and is one of the driest areas in the country. The nearest met office weather station is inWrittle
The village and civil parish of Writtle lies west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishi ...
, west of the city centre.
The record highest temperature recorded in Chelmsford was on 19 July 2022 beating the previous record of which was set on 25 July 2019.
The coldest temperature recorded in Chelmsford was on 29 January 1947. A low of was recorded during December 1981, and more recently the temperature fell to on 20 December 2010. Frost is common, occurring on an average of 53 nights of the year.
Rainfall averages 591.8 mm a year, with daily totals of over 1 mm falling on 108.1 days of the year. Thunderstorms are rare and mostly occur during July and August. All averages refer to the 30-year observation period 1981–2010.
Chelmsford was struck by a F1/F2 tornado on 23 November 1981 as part of the record-breaking nationwide 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak, United Kingdom tornado outbreak on that day causing some damage in the city centre.
Education
Chelmsford has a wide range of educational institutions. Higher education in the city is provided at one campus of Anglia Ruskin University (formerly called Anglia Polytechnic) and Writtle University College. Chelmsford College is the main provider of further education in the city. Sixth form colleges are attached to many of the secondary schools listed below. Secondary school educational establishments in Chelmsford include: *The Boswells School *The Beaulieu Park School *Chelmer Valley High School *Columbus School and College *Chelmsford County High School for Girls *Great Baddow High School *Hylands School *King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford, King Edward VI Grammar School *Moulsham High School *New Hall School
New Hall School is a Catholic co-educational independent boarding and day school in the village of Boreham in the City of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It was founded in 1642 in the Low Countries, now Belgium, by sisters of the Catholic order Cano ...
*The Sandon School
*St John Payne Catholic School
*St Peter's College, Chelmsford, St Peter's College (closed in August 2011 and formerly known as Rainsford High School).
*Thriftwood School and College
Chelmsford includes many primary schools, including The Bishop's C of E & R C Primary School, one of the few joint Anglican and Roman Catholic primary schools in the country
Society and culture
Media
Chelmsford is referred to as the Birthplace of Radio. * Chelmsford Community Radio (CCR) broadcasts to the city on 104.4FM. It started out in 2013 as an internet only station and was granted an FM Licence in 2015. The FM frequency launched in 2017. The station offers a wide range of shows catering for many different tastes as well as offering a platform for many local bands, charities, community groups and businesses. www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com * Chelmsford was home to local radio station Chelmsford Radio. The station moved to studios inSouthend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
having vacated its Heybridge, Maldon, Heybridge premises on 12 January 2009. The station was originally situated in Chelmsford city centre in Cater House until November 2006. This station was previously known as Dream 107.7 until February, and before that, 107.7 Chelmer FM up to 2002. The station began broadcasting on 18 October 1998. It is the local station for mid-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 ...
. Adventure Radio have owned this station since 2008, where it was purchased from Tindle Radio Ltd. As of 19 February 2015, Chelmsford and Southend Radio re-branded and merged to form Radio Essex, www.radioessex.com
* Chelmsford has a local opt-out of Heart (radio network), Heart. Heart Essex (regional), Heart Essex (previously Essex FM up to June 2009) has been on air since 12 September 1981 and has been owned by Global Radio since 2007. It moved to studios in Glebe Road in late 2004, having previously been based in Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
. In May 2009, the station was rebranded to The Heart of Essex, Essex FM. In June 2009, the popular Essex FM née Essex Radio name brand was dropped after 28 years. On 3 June 2019 Heart Essex was closed as part of wider changes to the Heart network. It was replaced by Heart East with programs coming from studios in London and Milton Keynes. The Chelmsford studio was closed.
* BBC Essex has been on air since 5 November 1986 and its studios are based in New London Road.
* There is a local Award-winning, Hospital Radio Station based out of Broomfield Hospital, known as Hospital Radio Chelmsford, the station has been running since 1964 and is supported by volunteers. The station broadcasts 24 hours for patients at the hospital but can also be listened to online and via the app.
Until their closure in the mid-2000s Anglia Television/ITV Anglia had offices located in Chelmsford city centre. Chelmsford is served by London and East Anglia regional variations of the BBC and ITV1.
Chelmsford has its own Film Festival which was initially set up in 2017 by a few filmmakers and business owners who live in the Chelmsford area. This takes place predominantly at the Everyman Cinema in Chelmsford.
Publications based in Chelmsford include:
* the ''Essex Chronicle'', which was founded as the ''Chelmsford Chronicle'' in 1764. The weekly ''Essex Chronicle'' newspaper is the longest in continuous publication in the country. Until the closure of the printing plant in 2002, the paper was printed in the town. It is now printed on presses by the Reach plc Group which now owns the paper.
* ''Chelmsford Weekly News'' was a free local paper which ceased production in June 2017.
* a popular publication is the free "Edge" magazine, a primarily volunteer effort aimed at older Chelmsfordians.
* ''The Face of Chelmsford'' is a monthly magazine delivered to 12,500 homes in Chelmsford that has now become a digital publication updated daily.
* ''City Life'' is a newspaper produced by Chelmsford City Council that is distributed throughout the area.
Visual Art
In May 2022, Chelmsford hosted its first street art festival, ''Concrete Canvas''. The festival saw around 30 murals created in the cities Business improvement district, Business Improvement District (BID). The artworks were created by a mix of local and internationally renowned street artists. They range from large pieces, installed on the walls of local businesses to smaller pieces on bollards and Openreach cabinets. The festival was supported by Chelmsford Council anChelmsford For You
Religion
Chelmsford Cathedral is the second smallest cathedral in England after Derby Cathedral. It was built in the 15th and early 16th centuries, when it was the parish church of the prosperous medieval town. The Diocese of Chelmsford was established in 1914 from part of the Diocese of St Albans. It covers all of Essex and much of East London. Chelmsford is situated in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood and the two dioceses are now uniquely (at least within England) conterminous. With the coming of the Protestant Reformation, Reformation the Catholic community of Chelmsford was subjected to the anti-Catholic laws and Chelmsford was the site of the death of a Catholic martyr, Saint John Payne (martyr), John Payne. In the 19th century, native Catholics resurfaced and immigrants helped to build up the Catholic community. There are now three Catholic churches within Chelmsford along with a Norbertine canonry situated on New London Road; St. Philip's Priory and one of the largest Catholic private boarding schools in the country,New Hall School
New Hall School is a Catholic co-educational independent boarding and day school in the village of Boreham in the City of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It was founded in 1642 in the Low Countries, now Belgium, by sisters of the Catholic order Cano ...
.
Other denominations are represented, the Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventist Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales, Presbyterians, the Britain Yearly Meeting, Quakers, and the United Reformed Church all have places of worship within the city. The Jehovah's Witnesses' ''Bethel'', or UK supervisory office, is based in Chelmsford.
For the local Muslim community, the majority of whom are Bengali and Pakistani, the Main Jamia Masjid mosque is located on Moulsham Street at the junction with Parkway.
Sport
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first-class cricket, first-class county clubs that make up the County cricket, English domestic cricket structure, representing the county of Essex. The club is based at the County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford, County Ground in New Writtle Street close to the city centre. Chelmsford City F.C., Chelmsford City Football Club plays in the National League South. The club's home ground is at the Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre, Melbourne Park, which it shares with Chelmsford Athletic Club. Chelmsford is one of the largest settlements in England without a Football League team. The city is home to the Chelmsford Sunday League, of which there are five divisions consisting of teams from around the area. The former ground of the club the New Writtle Street Stadium hosted Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing which was one of two venues to do so. The other was at Springfield on local farmland on Pump Lane corner which took place during April 1949. The racing at both was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club) and they were known as flapping tracks, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. The Chelmsford R.F.C., Chelmsford Rugby Football Club was established in 1920 and for the last 40 years has been playing rugby at Coronation Park in Timpsons Lane. As of 2016 the club has over 300 members and fields up to five senior teams each week. The club as of 2016 plays in the London 1 North league, the sixth tier of English rugby. In addition to the senior teams, there are 150 youth members providing teams from under 6's to under 17's. Chelmsford Hockey Club is a men's and ladies' field hockey club based in the city. It fields eight men's teams and five ladies' teams every weekend. The Ladies' 1st XI compete in the Women's England Hockey League, English Hockey League Conference East as of July 2016. Chelmsford Swimming Club has been running for over 100 years and is located in the Riverside Ice and Leisure building in Chelmsford. Based in the same building are the Chelmsford Chieftains, an ice hockey team that plays in the English National Ice Hockey League. The club promotes the use of junior players and local players from the Chelmsford and Essex area. Team Essex Volleyball Club is Chelmsford's national league volleyball club. It has four teams, which play in Volleyball England's national volleyball league. Its men's 1st team currently competes in the top division in the country, the Super 8s, while the women's 1st team competes one tier below the men. The club has a strong junior program and trains in The Boswells School in Chelmsford. Horse racing has been run at two separate venues using the name Chelmsford, neither actually in the city centre itself. The sport originally took place at Chelmsford Racecourse, at Galleywood, from the 18th century until its closure in 1935. A new racecourse was established at Great Leighs in 2008 and subsequently changed its name to Chelmsford City Racecourse. Since 2014 the city has held a marathon. Starting and ending in the city centre, the marathon takes in the city itself and the surrounding environs. The 2014 edition had over 1000 participants. The Chelmsford campus of Anglia Ruskin University has many sports teams and facilities.Notable people born in Chelmsford
Musicians
* Ceephax Acid Crew, Andrew Jenkinson (born 1975), electronic music artist. * Bon Harris (born 1965) of electronic music group Nitzer Ebb. * Felix (musician) (born Francis Wright), producer and DJ. * Guthrie Govan (born 1971), guitarist. * Harry Judd (born 1985), drummer, McFly. * Hazell Dean (born 1952), singer. * Jonas Blue (born 1989), DJ. * Najma Akhtar (born 1962), jazz singer. * Reg Webb (born 1947), musician. * Sarah Cracknell (born 1967), singer, Saint Etienne (band), Saint Etienne. * Squarepusher, Tom Jenkinson (born 1975), electronic music artist. * Tom McRae (born 1969), English singer-songwriter.Sportspeople
*Oliver Bearman (born 2005), racing driver. *Tom Bury (born 1958), first-class cricketer. *Liam Chilvers (born 1981), professional footballer. *Noah Chilvers (born 2001), professional footballer. *Peter Collins (footballer), Peter Collins (born 1948), professional footballer. *Sam Cook (Essex cricketer), Sam Cook (born 1997), cricketer. *Alex Dowsett (born 1988), professional cyclist. *Darren Eales (born 1972), Chief Executive Officer of Premier League club Newcastle United. *Nathan French (born 1990), Olympic volleyball player. *James Gibson (swimmer), James Gibson (born 1980), swimmer. *Greg Halford (born 1984), professional footballer. * James Harper (footballer), James Harper (born 1980), professional footballer. *Cameron James (born 1998), professional footballer. *Gus Kenworthy (born 1991), freestyle skier. *Malcolm O'Kelly (born 1974) Irish rugby union player. * Nick Prowting (born 1985), cricketer. * Nigel Spink (born 1958), professional footballer. *Richard Westbrook (born 1975), racing driverActors
*Tom Payne (actor), Tom Payne (born 1982), actor. * Mike Edmonds (born 1944), actor. * Joe Thomas (actor), Joe Thomas (born 1983), actor. * Carole Lesley (1935 - 1974), actress. Natalia Wells, (2002), aspiring actressArtists
*Grayson Perry (born 1960) contemporary artist, broadcaster and cross-dresser. * Richard Spare (born 1951), artist.Other
*Chris Gannon (born 1980) Renewable energy Pioneer *Florence Attridge (1901–1975), involved in making secret radio sets used by the resistance during the war. *George Clift King (1848–1935), former mayor of Calgary, Canada. *Anne Knight (1786–1862), anti-slavery and feminist activist. *Sarah Perry (born 1979) Writer. *Joseph Strutt (engraver and antiquary), Joseph Strutt (1749–1802), engraver and antiquary. * Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal (1776–1846), lawyer and judge. *Jon Morter (born 1974), campaigner. *Ronald Skirth (1897–1977), World War I veteran. * Sir Walter Mildmay (1523–1589), Chancellor of the Exchequer of England under Elizabeth I. *J. A. Baker (1926–1987), writer and naturalist. *Steve Blame (born 1959), VJ on MTV. *Ed Woodward (born 1971), Chief executive officer of Manchester United football club. *Richard Dannatt, The Lord Dannatt (born 1950), British Army officer, politician. * Philemon Holland (1552–1637), translator.Nearest places
Twin towns
Chelmsford's official Town twinning, twin towns are: * Annonay, Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France * Backnang, Baden-Württemberg, Germany The city has a sister city: * Wuxi, ChinaFurther reading
* Foreman, Stephen: ''Hylands – the story of an Essex country house and its owners'' (Ian Henry Publications, 1999) * Lee, Janet Olivia: ''Chelmsford – Birthplace of Radio'' (Chelmsford Borough Council, 2001) * Lowen, Ceri: ''Hylands House – a brief history and guide'' (Chelmsford Borough Council, 2005) * Wander, Tim: ''2MT Writtle – The birth of British Broadcasting'' (Capella Publications, 1988) * Weller-Lewis, Hugh: ''Chelmsford Borough Guide'' (Macmillan, 1995) * Wickenden, Nick: ''A Celebration of Chelmsford'' (Chelmsford Borough Council, 1999) * ''A town, its people and its past'' (Chelmsford Record Office, 1988) * Grieve, Hilda: ''The Sleepers and the Shadows Volume 2 Chelmsford: a town, its people and its past'' (Chelmsford Record Office, 1994) * Begent, Andrew: ''Chelmsford At War'' (Ian Henry Publications Ltd, 1999) * Torry, Gilbert: ''Chelmsford through the ages'' (East Anglian Magazine Ltd, 1977) * John Alec Baker:'' The Peregrine'','' The Hill of Summer'' and ''Diaries'' (Collins, 2011)Notes
References
External links
Chelmsford City Council
{{Authority control Chelmsford, County towns in England Market towns in Essex Archaeological sites in Essex City of Chelmsford Towns in Essex Former national capitals Unparished areas in Essex Former civil parishes in Essex