Crescent Drive Hospital & Housing Development

Shenfield is a commuter suburb of Brentwood, in the

borough of Brentwood The Borough of Brentwood is a local government district and borough in Essex in the East of England. History and geography The borough is named after its main town of Brentwood. There are still large areas of woodland including Shenfield C ...

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

, England. In 2020, the suburb was estimated to have a population of 5,396.

History

The old village (now town), by the church and Green Dragon

pub 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 ...

, lies along the original

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 ...

(now the A1023) which linked

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 ...

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 ...

Nathaniel Ward Nathaniel Ward (1578 – October 1652) was a Puritan clergyman and pamphleteer in England and Massachusetts. Biography A son of John Ward, a noted Puritan minister, he was born in Haverhill, Suffolk, England. He studied law and graduated fr ...

, a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

clergyman and author, was made minister of the Shenfield church in 1648 and held that office until his death in 1652. In 1870–72,

John Marius Wilson John Marius Wilson (c. 1805–1885) was a British writer and an editor, most notable for his gazetteers. The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (published 1870–72), was a substantial topographical dictionary in six volumes. It was a c ...

's ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' described Shenfield like this: On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged with Brentwood, part also went to

Mountnessing Mountnessing is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Brentwood in south Essex, England. It is situated to the north-east of Brentwood, south-west of Ingatestone. A large proportion of the houses are situated on the Roman Road (formerly ...

Geography

Shenfield, with Hutton, is part of the

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

of Brentwood. The original town centre is located north-east of the centre of Brentwood. Apart from some small industrial areas and a modest but busy shopping area, Shenfield serves predominantly as a dormitory town for commuters to

and surrounding towns such as

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

and

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

. This is facilitated by easy access to the A12 and the M25 and rail services. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and St Mary's primary school is located nearby. The town of Hutton, to the east of Shenfield, is now largely part of the built-up area. Chelmsford Road, Shenfield

Sport and leisure

The town is host to the Shenfield Cricket Club, founded in 1921 and situated on the Courage Playing Fields. The land was granted by the

Courage Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...

brewing family for use by the cricket club. The club's badge is a

cockerel The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domestication, domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey junglefowl, grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster ...

, which echoes both the trade mark of the Courage brand and the weathervane on St Mary's church. The Courage Playing Fields also contain a children's playing area.There are additional playing fields on Alexander Lane, next to

Shenfield High School A Secondary School Based In England Shenfield High School is a coeducational 11-18 secondary school located in Shenfield, Essex, England. It has over 1200 students on roll, including 300 in the sixth form. It opened in 1962, celebrating its 50th ...

Transport

Railway

Unit 345007 at Shenfield 7th July 2017 03

Shenfield railway station Shenfield railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Shenfield, Essex. As well as being a key interchange for medium- and long-distance services on the main line, it is also the western terminus ...

is situated on the following lines: *

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 ...

- providing direct services 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 ...

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 ...

, Braintree,

, Clacton and

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 ...

. Services are operated by

Abellio Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Abellio East Anglia Limited) is a train operating company in Great Britain owned as a joint venture by Abellio (transport company), Abellio, the international arm of the state-owned Dutch national rail operator Neder ...

. * Shenfield to Southend Line - services operate between Liverpool Street,

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is ...

Wickford Wickford is a town and civil parish in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of 33,486. Located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of London, it is within the Borough of Basildon along with the original town of Basil ...

Southend Airport Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

and

Southend Victoria Southend Victoria railway station is the eastern terminus of the Shenfield to Southend Line in the East of England, a branch off the Great Eastern Main Line, and is one of the primary stations serving the resort city of Southend-on-Sea, Essex ...

. The Crouch Valley Line to

Southminster Southminster is a town and electoral ward on the Dengie Peninsula in the Maldon district of Essex in the East of England. It lies about north of Burnham-on-Crouch and south-east of Maldon; it is approximately east-north-east of London. To the ...

can be accessed easily by changing at Wickford. Services are also operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. *

Elizabeth Line The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid Urban rail, urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of London Paddington statio ...

- Shenfield is the eastern terminus for the stopping service to Liverpool Street, via Brentwood,

and Stratford. Trains run with off-peak frequencies of 6 trains per hour. When the line is opened fully, trains will travel directly to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, via

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tub ...

. Services are operated by TfL. Currently, fast train services reach Liverpool Street in 20 to 25 minutes. The slower Elizabeth line stopping services take 40 minutes to reach Liverpool Street. The excellent railway service contributes to Shenfield's significance in the

London commuter belt The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London's infrastructure, and ...

. The station is located on the A129, at the eastern end of the high street.

Buses

Bus routes in Shenfield are operated primarily by

First Essex First Essex is a bus company operating services in the county of Essex. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History First Essex arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses. First Essex was originally part of the Eas ...

. Routes include: * 9 Brentwood -

* 81 Warley - Hutton * 251 Warley -

* 339

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

- Shenfield * 351 Warley -

Schools

There are two state secondary schools and two state primary schools. These are Shenfield High School and St Martins School, Shenfield St Mary's, Church of England school, and Long Ridings just on the edge of town between Shenfield and Hutton.

Retail and shopping

The shopping area in Shenfield consists primarily of independent stores and bars. Bars include Vault, the Lot Bar and Restaurant, as well as Hollands Wine Bar. There is a Tesco Express, a refurbished and en-larged Co-Op, a Costa Coffee, Subway, a Barnardos Charity shop and a plethora of other stores including takeaways, small restaurants, cafes, banks and hair salons. McDonalds on Chelmsford Road closed in 2018 and has since become a Marks and Spencer Simply Food, one of two within Shenfield. There are just two remaining pubs in Shenfield, the Green Dragon and The Rose. The Eagle & Child shut down in 2020 and is being redeveloped into flats.

Community spaces

Shenfield has a library, which was at risk of closure. However this was averted and a new library is being built in its place with retail and residential facilities. Brentwood Community Hospital serves both Shenfield and the wider borough, and is on Crescent Drive. It was rebuilt in 2008 and is very modern. There is also the private Nuffield Health hospital on Shenfield Road, less than a minute away from the NHS hospital.

Development

Shenfield is set to house the borough's second largest residential development as part of its Local Development Plan (LDP), Officers Meadow with 825 homes. These will be built on land around Chelmsford Road near the A12 and the railway line. A new primary school, day nursery, and care home is planned, and there are hopes that retail and a health centre will also be provided. Opposite, new grounds for Hutton FC are being built. Several smaller residential developments have sprung up, on Crescent Drive, Shenfield Road and Chelmsford Road. 75 homes are also earmarked for land at the end of Bishop Walk, just off Priests Lane, not far from the town of Brentwood itself.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Essex Former civil parishes in Essex Brentwood (Essex town)