Springfield, Essex
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Springfield has been a
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of the Borough of Chelmsford in
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, since 1907. The parish takes in the portion of the town north of river Chelmer and west of the A12 bypass and originally comprised the manors of Springfield Hall, Springfield Barnes (now
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 ...
), Cuton Hall, and in part New Hall (now Beaulieu Park).


History

Until the 1950s the parish was a semi-rural village lying one mile north east of
Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
, on the old Roman Road, with little to attract the visitor outside of the annual Essex show, a half dozen pubs and the town's
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
and
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 ...
br>headquarters
both of which still lie to the east of the Roman road. The Essex show-ground was once located on fields north of The Green, and south of Pump Lane. Since this time the former show site along with a thousand or so acres of surrounding arable land have been developed to create the most populous suburb of
Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
. The historic heart of the parish is centred on the Anglica
All Saints Church
Springfield Place and Green. This historic heart is one of the few areas not to have been visibly transformed in the last 50 years. Some of the listed buildings in Springfield includ
Springfield Hall
The Old Rectory, Springfield Place (purchased by Thomas Brograve in 1781) and Dukes Cottages.


Influence on the City of Springfield, Massachusetts

A former resident of the village of Springfield,
William Pynchon William Pynchon (October 11, 1590 – October 29, 1662) was an English colonist and fur trader in North America best known as the founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was also a colonial treasurer, original patentee of the Massachu ...
, went on to become one of the leaders of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
– a group of
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
settlers whose capital city was
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. In 1636, Pynchon and a group of pioneers founded
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
, beside New England's greatest river, the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...
, amidst New England's most fertile soil. Originally named Agawam (now a suburb of the city itself, featuring the famous
Six Flags New England Six Flags New England, formerly known as Gallup's Grove (1870–1886), Riverside Grove (1887–1911), Riverside Park (1912–1995) and Riverside: The Great Escape (1996–2000), is an amusement park located in Agawam, Massachusetts, a western s ...
amusement park), the settlement was renamed "Springfield" in Pynchon's honour, after Pynchon had suffered indignities from Connecticut's Captain John Mason – the notorious " Indian Killer" of
British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...
's
Pequot War The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place between 1636 and 1638 in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Narragans ...
– who expressed disdain at Pynchon's "delicate treatment" of the region's Native People. After this, Springfield forever aligned with
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, although 89 miles separate the two, instead of aligning with
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, now the state capital of
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
– only 23 miles south of
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 ...
. This city was the first of many across the English-speaking world to take the name of the Essex village. Among places named after
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 ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, is
Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...
, the capital of that state.


Education

The parish hosts a number of schools: * Secondary: **
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 ...
(RC) **
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 ...
* Primary: *
Barnes Farm School
(In
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 ...
) *
Bishops Primary School
(CoE) *
Chancellor Park
(In
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 ...
) **
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 ...
(RC) *
Perryfields School
*

(Formerly: Nabbotts School) *
The Tyrrells School
*
Trinity Road Community School


References


External links


Springfield Community WebsiteSpringfield Parish CouncilSpringfield Green Conservation areaA Vision of Britain through Time – Springfield
{{Chelmsford Civil parishes in Essex Chelmsford