Warley is a suburb of Brentwood 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 Grea ...

, situated to the south of the town. It was notable for being home to the British headquarters of

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

prior to their office closure. It is also home to a development of houses situated around and near the former site of Warley Hospital (a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...

), called Clements Park. The development includes a range of house styles modelled around local themes, such as the former water tower that supplied the local area. In 2015 the former site of all the buildings and their architectural features of Warley Hospital was sensitively restored creating high specification homes which secured the heritage asset which was once on the heritage at risk register, known as The Galleries. There was also another prominent psychiatric hospital in Warley for over 150 years, known as Mascalls Park Mental Hospital, although its operations were moved to

Goodmayes Hospital Goodmayes Hospital is a mental health facility in Goodmayes in the London Borough of Redbridge. It is managed by the North East London NHS Foundation Trust. History The site selected had previously been occupied by Blue House Farm. The hospital ...

in early 2011. There is a

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 ...

council ward by the name Warley, which takes in

Great Warley Great Warley is a village in the Warley ward of Brentwood borough in Essex, England. It is situated to the far south west of the county and near to the Greater London boundary and the M25 motorway. Consecrated in 1904, the Grade I listed parish ...

Little Warley Little Warley is a village and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Brentwood, in the Brentwood district, in the county of Essex, England. It is situated south of Thorndon Country Park. In 1931 the parish had a population of 395. ...

, Childerditch and the Woodman Road/Hartswood area of Brentwood. Traditionally it has been a Liberal Democrat-Conservative marginal, which in 2007 elected the youngest councillor in Britain, at eighteen years of age. It has in recent years elected three Liberal Democrat and one Conservative councillor.

Military history

The military has associations with Warley going back over 200 years. It also had strategic importance during the time of the Spanish Armada – it was used as a meeting place for contingents from eight eastern and midland counties (900 horsemen assembled here) to then travel on to Tilbury. The local common was used as a military camp in 1742, and became a permanent feature as Warley Barracks in 1804. The Essex Regiment Chapel is located in Eagle Way.() The chapel was built in 1857 and is a

Grade II listed building 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 Ir ...

. It was originally built for the East India Company, but with the establishment of the Essex Regiment Depot at Warley, the chapel became the regiment's "home" church. The chapel's interior contains displays of regimental history, memorials, heraldry and

regimental colours In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours (or colors), standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some ...

. The chapel is open by appointment, and on regimental heritage days. The chapel is near the Warley (Brentwood)

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

drill hall, which is the headquarters of 124 Petroleum Squadron, part of 151 (London) Transport Regiment of the

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

. The site of the old regimental depot and barracks was redeveloped in the 1960s for the headquarters of the Ford Motor Company (architect T.P. Bennett). This closed in 2019 and is being redeveloped. Most of the barracks have been demolished and only the chapel, the officers' mess (now Marillac Nursing Home) and one of the regimental gyms (Keys Hall) remain.

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Essex Brentwood (Essex town)