Billericay ( ) is a town 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 ...

in the

Borough of Basildon The Borough of Basildon is a local government district in south Essex in the East of England, centred on the town of Basildon. It was formed as the Basildon District on 1 April 1974 from the former area of Basildon Urban District and the part ...

, Essex, England. It lies within the

London Basin The London Basin is an elongated, roughly triangular sedimentary basin approximately long which underlies London and a large area of south east England, south eastern East Anglia and the adjacent North Sea. The basin formed as a result of compre ...

and constitutes a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is thought to have been occupied since the

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 ...

Toponym

The origin of the name Billericay is unclear. It was first recorded as "Byllyrica" in 1291. The urban settlement, which was within the manor and parish of

Great Burstead Great Burstead is an urban settlement in Essex, England - it is contiguous with the town of Billericay. History By tradition, the origins of the church, St Mary Magdalene, at Great Burstead are linked to Saint Cedd (d.664). Cedd, a missionary m ...

, was one of many founded in the late 13th century in an already densely populated rural landscape. Several suggestions for the origin of the place name include: * ''Villa Erica'' (Heather Villa), suggesting a Romano-British origin. * ''bellerīca'', a medieval

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning 'dyehouse or tanhouse'. * ''billers'', a traditional name for

watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. It is one of the oldest known leaf v ...

, for which Bilbrook in Somerset and Staffordshire are named. Watercress was farmed in Billericay springs during the 20th century. Although the precise etymology of the name is not known, England has other places named Billerica: * Billerica, Kent. A deserted town adjacent to the settlement of Court-up-Street by Port Lympne. Significantly this is adjacent to a Roman " Saxon Shore" fort as well as being on spring lines suitable for growing watercress. * Billerica Farm, near

Upton Noble Upton Noble is a village and civil parish on the River Frome. It is roughly north-east of Bruton, and from Frome town centre, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. There was a 17th-century village pub called ''The Lamb Inn (''now clo ...

, Somerset. Although this farm might be named after the other Billericas, the site is also close to springs suitable for farming watercress. The Tudor antiquarian John Leland believed the already-abandoned Billerica in Kent was a variant of ''Bellocastrum'', ‘fair castle’ in Latin. In Billericay there is a Roman fort at Blunt's Wall Farm; likewise ‘

Burh A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constr ...

’ gives its name to Great Burstead. This suggests that a Romano-British place name was reused by the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

following the end of Roman rule in Britain.

History

Some of the earliest records of human occupation of Billericay are the

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s in

Norsey Wood Norsey Wood is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Billericay, Essex. It is also a Local Nature Reserve and a Scheduled Monument. The site is ancient oak woodland on acid soil which has been converted to mixed sweet chestnut ...

, showing evidence of occupation in the Bronze and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

s. Evidence of Roman occupation has been found at a number of locations in the town and there may have been a small cavalry fort at Blunts Wall. The

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

did not settle in the centre of Billericay. They established themselves south, at

. In the late 10th century, it was known as "Burhstede". Billericay was not mentioned 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, as it lay within Great Burstead. At this time, the parish church for Billericay was at Great Burstead.

Middle Ages

In the 13th and 14th centuries, some pilgrims to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

journeyed via Billericay. Some of them may have spent the night in Billericay before crossing the

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 ...

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

. This may account for the large number of inns in the town. Billericay's most notable historical episode was the

Battle of Billericay The Battle of Billericay took place on 28 June 1381 when the boy King Richard II's soldiers defeated the Essex rebels adjacent to a wood north-east of Billericay, part of the Peasants' Revolt. This is likely to have been Norsey Wood, which maps ...

during 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 Blac ...

of 1381. The Wycliffe preachers influenced the town. Four local people (Thomas Watts, Joan Hornes, Elizabeth Thackwell and Margaret Ellis) were

burnt at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment ...

. Two other residents (Joan Potter and James Harris) were tortured for their Protestant faith during the reign of Queen Mary.

Pilgrim Fathers

A meeting of the

Pilgrim Fathers The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who came to North America on the ''Mayflower'' and established the Plymouth Colony in what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts, named after the final departure port of Plymo ...

, prior to their sailing in the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

'', is said to have taken place in Billericay high street; many local names and much historical imagery reflect this, such as Mayflower House, Mayflower Morris Men, Mayflower Taxis, Mayflower School and Mayflower Hall. Sunnymede School's

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

were called Mayflower, Pilgrim,

Chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area i ...

. Christopher Martin, who was born in Great Burstead and later became a Billericay goods merchant and property owner, travelled on the ''Mayflower'' in 1620 as the official Ship's Governor and purchasing agent, procuring ships supplies for the voyage. The ''Mayflower'' ship set sail once the Pilgrim Fathers had all boarded and set to meet the ''Speedwell'' in the English Channel; the ''Speedwell'' was sailing from the Netherlands. Unfortunately the ''Speedwell'' developed leaks and so the ships headed for the Devon coast to repair her, but this proved impossible; the ''Mayflower'' eventually sailed from Plymouth without her. Four people from Billericay were on board, including Christopher Martin, his wife Mary Prowe, along with Solomon Prowe - her son from her first marriage - and John Langemore - the Martins' servant. All four pilgrims perished after their arrival at

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

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 ...

. Christopher Martin died of fever on the 8th of January 1621. His wife perished in Plymouth in 1621. Both Christopher and Mary are buried in the Cole Hill Burial ground in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. The unfortunate fate of the would-be pioneers did not deter other inhabitants of Billericay from setting sail for the New World. The town of Billerica, Massachusetts was established in 1655 by colonists from Billericay and named after their hometown in England.

Georgian and Victorian eras

In the

Georgian period The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of Will ...

many excellent examples of the period's houses were built in Billericay. One of those remaining today is Burghstead Lodge in High Street, which used to house the library. A number were demolished in the 1980s to make way for new developments, notable examples being on Western Road. In the town, the Union Workhouse was built in 1840 to continue to implement the Poor Law. Parts of this building were later incorporated into what was St. Andrew's Hospital. The railway arrived in Billericay in 1889; the station is situated on a branch line from the Great Eastern Main Line between

Shenfield Shenfield is a commuter suburb of Brentwood, in the borough of Brentwood, Essex, 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, lies along the ...

and

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 ...

20th century

In 1916, during the First World War, a German Zeppelin airship was shot down during an aerial battle over Billericay. During its fiery demise, it narrowly missed the High Street, crashing into a field off Greens Farm Lane. A plaque was erected at the site in 2016, to commemorate 100 years since the incident. Parts of the aluminium frame can be seen at the Cater Museum in Billericay High Street. Recent research has indicated that this may be identified with the 'ghost Zeppelin' of Tonbridge which was allegedly seen floating over that town earlier in the day. St Andrew's Hospital, which was formerly the site of the town's Victorian

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

, continued to function as an important communal building. From 1973, it housed the internationally renowned Regional Plastic Surgery and Burns unit until this was relocated to Broomfield Hospital,

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 ...

in April 1998. After the relocation, most of the hospital was redeveloped into housing. The listed buildings remain intact but are now residential.

Geography

Mill_Meadows_-_Butchers_Field_-_Cowslip_-_20160411

Billericay is within the

and lies on a mixture of

London clay The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...

Claygate Beds The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...

and

Bagshot Beds In geology, the Bagshot Beds are a series of sands and clays of shallow-water origin, some being fresh-water, some marine. They belong to the upper Eocene formation of the London and Hampshire basins, in England and derive their name from Bags ...

. Near the High Street, there is a change in soil type from sandy to clay, which gives rise to local underground springs. Open spaces include

, Mill Meadows Nature Reserve, Queen's Park Country Park, Sun Corner, and Lake Meadows. Hanningfield Reservoir and South Green are nearby. Billericay contains

Billericay School The Billericay School is an Academy (English school), academy secondary school and sixth form college located in Billericay, England. The school is led by headmaster Patrick Berry and has an enrollment of 1713. As part of the Billericay Educatio ...

Mayflower High School Mayflower High School, founded in 1965, and named after the ''Mayflower'' ship, is a coeducational, secondary school located in Billericay, Essex in the East of England in the United Kingdom. The school has a mixed intake of pupils aged 11–18 ...

and St John's School. Mill Meadows is a local nature reserve near the centre of Billericay, one of the finest ancient meadow systems in Essex. Centuries of grazing have created the ideal conditions for a wonderful diversity of wild flowers, fungi, insects and invertebrates, many of which are very rare. It also contains an area of 16.63 acres (6.73 ha) that has been declared as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) for its unimproved neutral grassland.

Governance

Between 1 July 1837 and 1 July 1939, Billericay was a registration district. Since 1974, the town has been part of the Basildon district. The registry office is located in Basildon, in the council offices. There is also the facility to register deaths in Basildon Hospital.

Parliamentary

Since major boundary changes in Essex for the 2010 general election, Billericay has been part of the parliamentary constituency of Basildon and Billericay, whose MP is John Baron of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. The town was previously represented by

Teresa Gorman Teresa Ellen Gorman (''née'' Moore; 30 September 1931 – 28 August 2015) was a British politician. She was Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Billericay (UK Parliament c ...

from 1987 to 2001, a Conservative rebel who had the

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

withdrawn for opposing the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...

. Her predecessor, the Conservative MP

Harvey Proctor Keith Harvey Proctor (born 16 January 1947) is a British former Conservative Member of Parliament. A member of the Monday Club, he represented Basildon from 1979 to 1983 and Billericay from 1983 to 1987. Proctor became embroiled in a scandal i ...

, was prominent in the news in 1987, when he was charged with indecency.

Local government

Billericay is part of the

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 ...

district. Basildon District Council is Conservative-controlled. Billericay is served by a town council of 20 members elected in 3 wards. There is also a youth town council, elected in schools around the town. The town council has powers related to local planning and finance, while the youth council has an annual budget of £500 to spend or invest in local services or entertainment. Billericay parish was not formed until 1937; before then, the area had been part of the ancient

parish. In 1894,

Billericay Rural District Billericay Rural District was a local government district in Essex, England from 1894 to 1934. It consisted of the following parishes: *Basildon * Brentwood (1894–1899; used to create Brentwood Urban District) *Bowers Gifford *Childerditch ...

was created, which covered a wide area stretching as far as Brentwood and

Pitsea Pitsea is a small town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Basildon, in south Essex, England. It comprises five sub-districts: Eversley, Northlands Park Neighbourhood (previously known as Felmores), Chalvedon, Pitsea Mount and B ...

. In 1934, the core of this district around Basildon and Billericay became

Billericay Urban District 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 i ...

and, in 1937, a Billericay civil parish was created covering the same area. The urban district, but not the parish, was renamed

in 1955. In 1974, the district was abolished and became the present-day Basildon district.

Transport

Billericay is a part of 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 ...

. It is served by

Billericay railway station Billericay railway station is on the Shenfield to Southend Line in the east of England, serving the town of Billericay in the Basildon district of the county of Essex. The vast majority of services on the Shenfield to Southend Line connect to ...

on the

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 ...

route Route or routes may refer to: * Route (gridiron football), a path run by a wide receiver * route (command), a program used to configure the routing table * Route, County Antrim, an area in Northern Ireland * ''The Route'', a 2013 Ugandan film * Ro ...

between

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 ...

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 station connects to local bus routes, including

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 ...

's route 100 which operates between

Lakeside Shopping Centre Lakeside Shopping Centre, is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London. It was constructed on the site of a former chalk quarry. The first tenants moved into the compl ...

and

. Billericay is close to two primary routes: the A12 to the north and 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 ...

in the south. The A176 provides a road link to Basildon to the south of Billericay, as well as to the A127. The only secondary road in the town, the B1007, passes from just south of the town centre as Laindon Road, then meets the A129 at Sun Corner, continues northwards as Billericay's High Street and then Stock Road. It continues north to

. Along its route is the village of Stock and an interchange to the A12. The town is a destination on the A129, linking it to the neighbouring towns of Brentwood and

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 ...

Sport

* Billericay Town Football Club *

Billericay Rugby Football Club Billericay Rugby Football Club is a rugby football club based in Billericay. The club runs 3 teams on a Saturday with the first XV competing in Essex 1. To support the club's long term ambitions and sustainability the club is building a youth ...

Essex Spartans The Essex Spartans are an American Football team based in Grays, Essex, England. The team has played under the Spartans name since 1998 following a merger between two local teams and currently play in the BAFA National Leagues, Southern Footba ...

*Mayflower Archers *Billericay Striders Running Club

Culture and trivia

Billericay is served by a community radio station,

Phoenix FM Phoenix FM is a community radio station serving the areas of Brentwood and Billericay, England on 98.0FM and online, covering an area of over 140,000 people. History The station was formed in 1996 and has been broadcasting full-time on FM since ...

, which is based in Brentwood. The town was mentioned in the

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads an ...

song "

Billericay Dickie "Billericay Dickie" is a song by Ian Dury, from his debut album ''New Boots and Panties!!''. It is narrated by a bragging bricklayer from Billericay, and is filled with name-checks for places in Essex. The song is based around naughty rhymes such a ...

". Billericay is the setting of the

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 exam. ...

...