Birch is a village 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 authorit ...

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 Grea ...

, England. It is located approximately south-west of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

and north-east of the county town of

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, 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 ...

. The village is in the borough of

and in the parliamentary constituency of North Essex. There is a Parish Council. The parish incorporates the hamlet of

Heckfordbridge Heckfordbridge or Heckford is a hamlet in the civil parish of Birch, in the county of Essex, England. The settlement is on the B1022 road,A-Z Essex, 2010 edition. p. 172 between Colchester and Tiptree. near to Colchester Zoo Colchester Zoo i ...

. It is only from

Abberton Reservoir Abberton Reservoir is a pumped storage freshwater reservoir in eastern England near the Essex coast, with an area of . Most of its water is pumped from the River Stour. It is the largest body of freshwater in Essex. Constructed between 1935 ...

. The parish church of St Peter and St Paul is a Grade II listed building, but has been derelict since it closed in the late 20th century. According to the 2001 census, Birch had a population of 817, increasing to 873 at the 2011 Census.

Governance

Birch forms part of the electoral ward called Birch and Winstree. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 5,651.

References

External links

Birch Parish Council Web Site

Birch C of E Aided Primary School, Home Page

Mainly about the villages of Birch, Layer Breton and Layer Marney near Colchester, Essex

Birch History and pictures from Mersea Museum
Villages in Essex {{Essex-geo-stub