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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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; ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

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,

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 a

Neolithic 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 to

William 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

King

Robert 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's
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,

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 for

witchcraft 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 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 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 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 ...

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 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 ...

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

The

letters 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

War Memorial, Chelmsford (geograph 5488574)

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 �
Contact us
. Retrieved 24 December 2007. and the headquarters of Chelmsford City Council at the Civic Centre, Duke Street.Chelmsford City Council �
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 �
Chelmsford hundred

historic map
). Retrieved 24 December 2007. It was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1888,Vision of Britain �
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 �
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 by

Rookes 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 with

Ransome & 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 Video camera tubes were devices based on the cathode ray tube that were used in television cameras to capture television images, prior to the introduction of charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensors in the 1980s. Several different types of tubes ...

, the first

thermal imaging Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared i ...

detector. The company has received 13 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 Elmsford is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. Roughly one mile square, the village is fully contained within the borders of the town of Greenburgh. As of the 2010 census, the ...

. 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 London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

. 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 Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based t ...

, 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 R. White's is a British brand of a carbonated lemonade, which is produced and sold in the United Kingdom by Britvic. Robert and Mary White produced the first R. White's lemonade in Camberwell, south London, in 1845. The White Family took over H. D ...

Lemonade brand. It acquired Tango from

Beechams The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Beecham, after having merged with American pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beckman to become SmithKline Beecham, merged with Glaxo We ...

in 1987 and since that year it has owned the UK franchise for

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

and 7 Up. In 1995 it bought Robinson's from

Reckitt & Colman Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the merge ...

. In December 2005 the Company underwent an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

(IPO) allowing its main shareholders (

InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the F ...

, Whitbread,

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or ''Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

) to realise their investments. In May 2007 the company went on to buy the soft drinks and distribution businesses of Ireland's Cantrell & Cochrane (C&C) for £169.5m. On 14 November 2012 the Company agreed to merge with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

's

A.G. Barr A.G. Barr plc, commonly known as Barr's, is a soft drink manufacturer based in Cumbernauld, Scotland. It is widely known for manufacturing the drink Irn-Bru. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Ind ...

, producer of Scottish soft drinks Irn-Bru,

Tizer Tizer is a red-coloured, citrus-flavoured soft drink bottled in Cumbernauld and sold in the United Kingdom. The name originally comes from the phrase "Tizer the Appetizer". It was launched in 1924 by Fred and Tom Pickup of Pudsey when it was k ...

and 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 Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

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 The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English Rail transport, railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Great Yarmouth, Yarmouth. Construction began in 1837 on t ...

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 Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

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 Chelmsford railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the city of Chelmsford, Essex. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between to the west and to the east. Its three-letter ...

dates from around 1885. Around 14,000 commuters per day travel to

London Liverpool Street Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

on 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 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 ...

,

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 ...

, Clacton-on-Sea,

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

, Braintree and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

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 ...

. 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 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 X10 & X30 Essex Airlink. * Other bus companies serving the area include

Stephensons of Essex Stephensons of Essex is a privately owned bus company based in Rochford, Essex. It operates local bus services throughout Essex and West Suffolk, from headquarters at Rochford, near Southend-on-Sea, and depots at Maldon, Boreham, Braintree and ...

, Hedingham & Chambers and Arriva Colchester. There are a variety of

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

es 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 Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

from Chelmsford, via Roxwell,

The Rodings The Rodings are a group of eight villages in the upper part of the River Roding and the west of Essex, England, the largest group in the country to bear a common name. (Registration required.) The Rodings do not lie within a single district in th ...

,

Hatfield Heath Hatfield Heath is a village, civil parish, and an electoral ward in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, and at its west is close to the border with Hertfordshire. In close proximity are the towns of Bishop's Stortford and Sawbridgewo ...

and Old Harlow. The route is on the

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

Intalink Intalink is the organisation responsible for organising the management of public transport services, such as buses and trains, in Hertfordshire on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council. They design, create and promote cross-operator multi-journ ...

network, allowing single-operator access to destinations within Hertfordshire,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, Buckinghamshire and

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, as well as select Greater London destinations such as

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, which ...

and

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

. The route was previously operated by

Tellings-Golden Miller Tellings-Golden Miller is a charter coach operator in England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva twice previously, but once again has returned to family ownership. The company is now a subsidiary of Falcon Coaches based in Byfleet, Surrey. History ...

. 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, 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 Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

, was originally built by the Romans to connect London 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 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 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 11motorway in the west, near Harlow. The A130 provides a link to the

A127 The A127, also known as the Southend Arterial Road, is a major road in Essex, England. It was constructed as a new arterial road project in the 1920s, linking Romford with Southend-on-Sea, replacing the older A13. Formerly classified as a tr ...

and A13, while the 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

London Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

, London Gatwick, London City,

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

and 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 The Hogarth Roundabout sees the merger of two of the nine direct feeders to the main radial roads to or from London. Namely the A316 Great Chertsey Road and the A4 Great West Road in Chiswick. In addition Dorchester Grove, becoming Chiswick Lan ...

in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

); 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 crossing A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...

s 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 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 The Lower Thames Crossing is a proposed road crossing of the Thames estuary downstream of the Dartford Crossing that links the counties of Kent and Essex, and its proposed approaches. If built it would pass through the districts of Thurrock an ...

, A130, on to Stansted, M11 and A14". A second new Park and Ride scheme on the A130 near Little Waltham in addition to that at 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 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 Grea ...

, 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 A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is natural gas storage, stored near atmospheric pressure at room temperature, ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows th ...

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 Hylands House is a Grade II* neo-classical villa situated within Hylands Park a 232-hectare (574 acre) park southwest of Chelmsford in Essex in South East England. It is owned and operated by Chelmsford City Council. History The last private o ...

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 Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

has hosted a wide range of community events, including the annual music festival V Festival. The 21st

World Scout Jamboree 2007 The 21st World Scout Jamboree was held in July and August 2007, and formed a part of the Scouting 2007 Centenary celebrations of the world Scout Movement. The event was hosted by the United Kingdom, as 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of the found ...

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 The Chelmsford Museum is based in Oaklands House, an historic property off Moulsham Street in Chelmsford, Essex. It is a Grade II Listed building. Oaklands House The house was designed by Charles Pertwee for Frederick Wells, a director of the ...

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 is situated at the top of the High Street. Opened in July 1791 and built by local architect and Essex

county surveyor A county surveyor is a public official in the United Kingdom and the United States. United Kingdom Webb & Webb describe the increasing chaos that began to prevail within this same period in field of county surveying in England and Wales, with c ...

John Johnson, it features a

Portland Stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

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 Chelmsford Cathedral in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop o ...

, 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 The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers Essex and the five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest (most of which wer ...

for the

Bishop of Chelmsford The Bishop of Chelmsford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford in the Province of Canterbury.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). The current bishop is Guli Francis ...

was created in 1914. It is officially the second smallest in England behind

Derby Cathedral The Cathedral Church of All Saints Derby, better known as Derby Cathedral, is a cathedral church in the city of Derby, England. In 1927, it was promoted from parish church status, to a cathedral, creating a seat for the Bishop of Derby, w ...

. Chelmsford Prison is a male prison and Young Offenders Institution, constructed in 1830. The 1979 film special of the TV series ''

Porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

'' 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 A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

(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 The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English Rail transport, railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Great Yarmouth, Yarmouth. Construction began in 1837 on t ...

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 Chain Home, or CH for short, was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during the Second World War to detect and track aircraft. Initially known as RDF, and given the off ...

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,Canewdon's former RAF base (1936–1970). However, in 1956 it was relocated to

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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and is a highly visible landmark throughout the surrounding area. The tower was finally given

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 building status in October 2019 by Historic England.

Geography and climate

Geology

From over 600,000 years ago, during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

, until the

Anglian Stage The Anglian Stage is the name used in the British Isles for a middle Pleistocene glaciation. It precedes the Hoxnian Stage and follows the Cromerian Stage in the British Isles. The Anglian Stage is correlated to Marine Isotope Stage 12 (MIS 12), ...

around 478,000 to 424,000 years ago, the early

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

flowed through the area where Chelmsford now stands, from

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

to

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 ...

, before crossing what is now the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

to become a tributary of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. 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 Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...

before flowing into

tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * ...

waters at the

Blackwater Estuary The Blackwater Estuary is the estuary of the River Blackwater between Maldon and West Mersea in Essex. It is a 5,538 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). An area of 4,395 hectares is also designated a Ramsar Wetland o ...

. In the other direction, the Chelmer comes from the north from its source near

Thaxted Thaxted is a town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of north-west Essex, England. The town is in the valley of the River Chelmer, not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden, and is 97 metres (318 feet) above sea level (whe ...

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

temperate oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(''Cfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, 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 The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

weather station is in

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 ...

, 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 Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

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 A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

on 23 November 1981 as part of the record-breaking nationwide 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 Writtle University College is a university college located in Writtle near Chelmsford, Essex. It was founded in 1893. Writtle obtained University College status in May 2016. Its countryside estate features a wide range of facilities, includin ...

.

Chelmsford College Chelmsford College is a further education college based in Chelmsford, Essex 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, al ...

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 Boswells School is an age 11–18, secondary school and college, The Boswells College, with academy status situated in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, England, offers secondary age education with qualifications up to General Certificates of ...

*

The Beaulieu Park School ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

*

Chelmer Valley High School Chelmer Valley High School (CVHS) is an academy based on a large site on the outskirts of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has specialisms in engineering, and is assessed as one of the best performing comprehensive schools in Essex; it was given ...

* Columbus School and College *

Chelmsford County High School for Girls Chelmsford County High School for Girls or "CCHS", is a selective grammar school for girls aged 11–18 located in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Entrance to the school is by an academic selection test. CCHS is traditionally rated among the most co ...

*

Great Baddow High School Great Baddow High School is a comprehensive secondary school in Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is a sports college with academy status and with science as a second specialism. It draws its students from primary schools in the Chelmsford area. H ...

*

Hylands School Hylands School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Chelmsford, in the English county of Essex. See also *List of schools in Essex This is a list of schools in Essex, England. Essex is the second largest Local E ...

* King Edward VI Grammar School *

Moulsham High School Moulsham High School is an academy school in Chelmsford, Essex. The Headteacher is Miss J. Mead. About Moulsham High School Moulsham is a comprehensive school located in Chelmsford, Essex. The school is unique in teaching 6 lesson per fortnig ...

*

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 The Sandon School is an 11-18 mixed comprehensive academy school of approximately 1250 students. It serves a rural area on the outskirts of Chelmsford, Essex, England, and previously specialised in Maths and Computing. History The Sandon Scho ...

*

St John Payne Catholic School Saint John Payne Catholic School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided school in Chelmsford, Essex. Established in 1959, the school serves the mid Essex deanery in the Diocese of Brentwood. The school holds strong ties with the Catholic Church, wh ...

* 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 Chelmsford Radio 107.7 was a local radio station for Chelmsford and mid Essex, broadcasting from studios in Southend, and owned by the Adventure Radio Group. It merged with Southend Radio in 2015 to create Radio Essex. History Chelmsford Ra ...

. The station moved to studios 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 ...

having vacated its 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 Adventure Radio is a UK-based media company based in Southend-on-Sea which operates radio stations in Essex. *Radio Essex In February 2019, Connect Radio 106.8, Connect Radio 97.2 & 107.4 and Heart Hertfordshire were sold to Communicorp with th ...

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 Radio Essex is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Essex, England via DAB and Mid and South Essex via FM, from studios in The Icon Building on Southend seafront, owned by the Adventure Radio Group. As of September 2022, the sta ...

, www.radioessex.com * Chelmsford has a local opt-out of

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

. Heart Essex (previously Essex FM up to June 2009) has been on air since 12 September 1981 and has been owned by

Global Radio Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysa ...

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 Heart East is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes. The station launched on 3 June 2019, following a merger of four Heart statio ...

with programs coming from studios in London and Milton Keynes. The Chelmsford studio was closed. *

BBC Essex BBC Essex is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Essex. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on New London Road in Chelmsford. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 160,000 ...

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 The ''Essex Chronicle'' is a general news, weekly paper founded in 1764, as the ''Chelmsford Chronicle'', and now owned by Reach Regionals Ltd. The paper began in 1764 and made news in 2002 when operations moved from the original press locati ...

'', 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 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 at ...

'' 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 Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...

festival, ''Concrete Canvas''. The festival saw around 30 murals created in the cities 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 an
Chelmsford For You

Religion

Chelmsford Cathedral Chelmsford Cathedral in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop o ...

is the second smallest cathedral in England after

Derby Cathedral The Cathedral Church of All Saints Derby, better known as Derby Cathedral, is a cathedral church in the city of Derby, England. In 1927, it was promoted from parish church status, to a cathedral, creating a seat for the Bishop of Derby, w ...

. 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 The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers Essex and the five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest (most of which wer ...

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 The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in England. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Westminster. Overview The diocese covers the traditional county of Essex, an area of ...

and the two dioceses are now uniquely (at least within England) conterminous. With the coming of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

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. 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 The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

canonry situated on New London Road;

St. Philip's Priory St. Philip's Priory situated on New London Road in Chelmsford, Essex, UK was a Premonstratensian priory of canons regular. It was dedicated to Our Lady Queen of Sorrows and St. Philip Benizi. In the summer of 2022, the canonry relocated to London, ...

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 Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

,

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

,

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

,

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

,

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

, 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 Essex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Essex. Founded in 1876, the club had minor county status until 1894 when ...

is one of the 18 first-class county clubs that make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the county of Essex. The club is based at the County Ground in New Writtle Street close to the city centre. Chelmsford City Football Club plays in the

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

. 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 The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

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 New Writtle Street Stadium was a football and short lived greyhound racing stadium located in Chelmsford, Essex, adjacent to the Essex County Cricket Club ground. Origins The stadium was constructed on spare land on the north side of New Writ ...

hosted

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

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 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 London 1 North is an English level 6, rugby union league for clubs in 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-e ...

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 Chelmsford Hockey Club is a field hockey club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. The club's home ground is at Chelmer Park, with a capacity of 100 seats and numerous standing. Club The club has over 450 members and runs seven men's teams and s ...

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 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 The Chelmsford Chieftains are an Ice Hockey team based 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, Hertfordshir ...

, an ice hockey team that plays in the

English National Ice Hockey League The National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) is a set of professional ice hockey leagues administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is currently the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League. Formerly called the ...

. The club promotes the use of junior players and local players from the Chelmsford and Essex area.

Team Essex Volleyball Club Team Essex VC is a volleyball team based in Chelmsford, Great Britain since 2013. The club consists of a men's teams and a women's team that play in Volleyball England's English National Volleyball League. The Men's 1st team play in Volleyball Eng ...

is Chelmsford's national league volleyball club. It has four teams, which play in

Volleyball England Volleyball England is the national governing body for indoor volleyball, sitting volleyball and beach volleyball in England. It selects the national teams and coordinates several national competitions, including the National Volleyball League, N ...

'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 The Boswells School is an age 11–18, secondary school and college, The Boswells College, with academy status situated in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, England, offers secondary age education with qualifications up to General Certificates of ...

in Chelmsford.

Horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

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 Chelmsford Racecourse was a horse racing venue located at Galleywood, near Chelmsford, Essex. The course was active from at least 1759 until its final closure in April 1935. The course initially staged Flat racing before switching to National Hu ...

, at Galleywood, from the 18th century until its closure in 1935. A new racecourse was established at

Great Leighs Great Leighs is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Great and Little Leighs, in the Chelmsford district of Essex, England, halfway between Chelmsford itself and Braintree. In 1931 the parish had a population of 728. History ...

in 2008 and subsequently changed its name to

Chelmsford City Racecourse Chelmsford City racecourse, originally known as Great Leighs Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Great Leighs near Chelmsford, Essex, England. When it opened in April 2008, it was the first entirely new racecourse in the ...

. Since 2014 the city has held a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. 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

* Andrew Jenkinson (born 1975), electronic music artist. * Bon Harris (born 1965) of electronic music group

Nitzer Ebb Nitzer Ebb () are a British EBM group formed in 1982 by Essex school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris (programming, synthesizers, drums, vocals), Douglas McCarthy (vocals), and David Gooday (drums). History Initial releases (1983–1987) The g ...

. * Felix (musician) (born Francis Wright), producer and DJ. *

Guthrie Govan Guthrie Govan (; born 27 December 1971) is an English guitarist and guitar teacher, known for his work with the bands the Aristocrats, Asia, GPS, the Young Punx and the Fellowship, as well as his solo project Erotic Cakes. More recently, he ha ...

(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 Reginald William "Reg" Webb (17 May 1947 – 28 January 2018) was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved success not only with his own band Fusion (which later became The Reg Webb Band and featured a young Nik Kershaw, Kenn Elson ...

(born 1947), musician. *

Sarah Cracknell Sarah Cracknell (born 12 April 1967) is an English singer-songwriter and lead singer of the electronic music band Saint Etienne. Career Cracknell's career started with the Windsor-based indie band The Worried Parachutes in 1982. Following the d ...

(born 1967), singer, Saint Etienne. * Tom Jenkinson (born 1975), electronic music artist. * Tom McRae (born 1969), English singer-songwriter.

Sportspeople

*

Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman (born 8 May 2005) is a British racing driver. He was the 2021 Italian and ADAC Formula 4 champion and is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. He most recently competed for Prema Racing in the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship, en ...

(born 2005), racing driver. * Tom Bury (born 1958), first-class cricketer. *

Liam Chilvers Liam Christopher Chilvers (born 6 November 1981) is an English former footballer who played as a centre back. A graduate of the Arsenal Academy, he won the FA Youth Cup with the club in 2000. After turning professional he spent four weeks of t ...

(born 1981), professional footballer. * Noah Chilvers (born 2001), professional footballer. * Peter Collins (born 1948), professional footballer. * Sam Cook (born 1997), cricketer. *

Alex Dowsett Alex Edward Albert Dowsett (born 3 October 1988) is a former British professional road racing cyclist, who rode for UCI WorldTeam . He was a time trial specialist, and in 2015, he broke track cycling's world hour record by , with a distance of ...

(born 1988), professional cyclist. *

Darren Eales Darren Eales (born 6 August 1972) is an English sports executive who currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Premier League club Newcastle United. He was previously a footballer who played both collegiately and professionally in the U ...

(born 1972), Chief Executive Officer of Premier League club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. *

Nathan French Nathan French (born 20 April 1990) is a British volleyball player. French was born in Chelmsford, Essex and he competed for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics. French was the youngest member (at age 22) of the men’s team and started pla ...

(born 1990), Olympic volleyball player. * James Gibson (born 1980), swimmer. *

Greg Halford Gregory Halford (born 8 December 1984) is an English semi-professional and former professional footballer who plays for Isthmian League North Division club Hashtag United. He is naturally a right-back or centre-back but can play in numerous pos ...

(born 1984), professional footballer. * James Harper (born 1980), professional footballer. *

Cameron James Cameron Lewis James (born 11 February 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for Chelmsford City. James joined Colchester United's Academy at the age of nine, progressing through the age groups to ma ...

(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 Richard Westbrook (born 10 July 1975) is a British professional racing driver noted for his success in racing Porsche and International sports cars. As a junior, he attended St Joseph's College, Ipswich. He has won both the Porsche Supercup i ...

(born 1975), racing driver

Actors

* Tom Payne (born 1982), actor. *

Mike Edmonds Mike Edmonds (born 13 January 1944) is an English actor with dwarfism, known for his role as Little Ron in the children's television show ''Maid Marian and Her Merry Men''. Edmonds has appeared in several films, including ''Flash Gordon'' (198 ...

(born 1944), actor. * Joe Thomas (born 1983), actor. *

Carole Lesley Carole Lesley (27 May 1935 – 28 February 1974), was a British actress who had a short but significant career as a "blonde bombshell". She was born Maureen Rippingale in Chelmsford, Essex, but ran away from home at the age of 16, "aiming to ...

(1935 - 1974), actress. Natalia Wells, (2002), aspiring actress

Artists

*

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 ...

(born 1960) contemporary artist, broadcaster and cross-dresser. *

Richard Spare Richard John Spare (born 1951) is a British artist known primarily for his drypoints, etchings and oil paintings. He is based in London. Background Spare attended Maidstone College of Art (1971–74) (now the University for the Creative Arts) w ...

(born 1951), artist.

Other

* Chris Gannon (born 1980) Renewable energy Pioneer *

Florence Attridge Florence Emily Attridge BEM (1901 – 1975) worked at the Marconi wireless factory in Chelmsford, Essex, and received a British Empire Medal (civil division) for her contributions to the war effort during the Second World War. Joining the f ...

(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 Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

(1786–1862), anti-slavery and feminist activist. *

Sarah Perry Sarah Grace Perry (born 28 November 1979) is an English author. She has had three novels published, all by Serpent's Tail: ''After Me Comes the Flood'' (2014), ''The Essex Serpent'' (2016) and ''Melmoth'' (2018). Her work has been translated ...

(born 1979) Writer. * Joseph Strutt (1749–1802), engraver and antiquary. * Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal (1776–1846), lawyer and judge. *

Jon Morter Jonathan Morter (born 4 October 1974) is an English radio DJ, social media pioneer and campaigner. He helped launch various internet campaigns. He launched the Condescending Corporate Brand Page, a page that harshly ridicules corporate social ...

(born 1974), campaigner. *

Ronald Skirth John Ronald Skirth (11 December 1897 – 1977) was a British soldier who served in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War. His experiences during the Battle of Messines and the Battle of Passchendaele, both in 1917, led him ...

(1897–1977), World War I veteran. * Sir

Walter Mildmay Sir Walter Mildmay (bef. 1523 – 31 May 1589) was a statesman who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer to Queen Elizabeth I, and founded Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Origins He was born at Moulsham in Essex, the fourth and youngest son of Th ...

(1523–1589), Chancellor of the Exchequer of England under Elizabeth I. *

J. A. Baker John Alec Baker (6 August 1926 – 26 December 1987) was an English author, best known for ''The Peregrine,'' which won the Duff Cooper Prize in 1967. ''The Peregrine'' Robert Macfarlane deemed ''The Peregrine'' to be "a masterpiece of twentie ...

(1926–1987), writer and naturalist. *

Steve Blame Steve Blame is a British television presenter and screenwriter. He was the news editor and presenter between 1987 and 1994 for the television channel MTV. Education Blame received a Combined Honours Degree: Mathematics and Physics from Exeter U ...

(born 1959), VJ on MTV. *

Ed Woodward Edward Gareth Woodward (born 9 November 1971) is an English accountant and investment banker who was the executive vice-chairman and effectively the chief executive of Manchester United from 2012 to 2022. Richard Arnold succeeded him in his ...

(born 1971),

Chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

football club. * The Lord Dannatt (born 1950), British Army officer, politician. * Philemon Holland (1552–1637), translator.

Nearest places

Twin towns

Chelmsford's official twin towns are: *

Annonay Annonay (; oc, Anonai) is a commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the capital ...

, Ardèche,

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

, France *

Backnang Backnang (; swg, Bagene) is a town in Germany in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, roughly northeast of Stuttgart. Its population has increased greatly over the past century, from 7,650 in 1900 to 35,761 in 2005. Backnang was ceded to W� ...

, Baden-Württemberg, Germany The city has a sister city: *

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...

, China

Notes

References

External links

Chelmsford City Council
{{Authority control 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

History

Early history

Royal charter

Royal connections

Witchfinder General

Charles Dickens

Birthplace of radio

Bishopric

World War II

Recent history

UK city status

Local government and politics

Demographics

Economy

Business and commerce

Marconi

Cromptons Electrical Engineering

Hoffmann Ball Bearings

English Electric Valve Company

Britvic

Transport

Rail

Bus

Road

Future transport plans

Redevelopment

Places of interest

Geography and climate

Geology

Climate

Education

Society and culture

Media

Visual Art

Religion

Sport

Notable people born in Chelmsford

Musicians

Sportspeople

Actors

Artists

Other

Nearest places

Twin towns

Further reading

Notes

References

External links