Chelmsford
- For other uses, see Chelmsford (disambiguation).
Statistics Population: Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: Maps for TL705065 Administration District: Chelmsford County: Essex Region: East of England Nation: England Other Ceremonial county: Essex Traditional county: Essex Post office and telephone Post town: CHELMSFORD Postcode: - style="vertical-align: top;" Dialling code: 01245 Politics UK Parliament: West Chelmsford European Parliament: East of England
Chelmsford is home to the Diocese of Chelmsford, and has the smallest Cathedral in England, built in the 15th and early centuries when it was the parish church of the prosperous medieval town. The Diocese (established in 1914) covers all of Essex and much of East London. John Dee, responsible for the English translation of Euclid, was educated at the Cathedral school in the sixteenth century. Chelmsford is also home to part of the Anglia Ruskin University and to King Edward VI Grammar School founded in 1551 by charter of King Edward VI on the site on an earlier educational foundation.
Population
The population of the area covered by the Borough Council is 157,748 (ONS 2004 estimate), approximately one third of that number living within the area of the town itself.Transport
About 10,000 commuters travel to London daily, making Chelmsford the busiest through railway station in England (the busiest overall being Clapham Junction).The A12 road from London, originally built by the Romans to connect London and Colchester, used to pass through the town, but is now diverted around the east.
Industry
Chelmsford has been an important centre for industry since the 19th century. It became home to the UK's first Electrical engineering works (in 1878), and its first Ball bearing Factory (in 1898).In 1898, Guglielmo Marconi, the "father of Radio" opened the World's first "wireless" factory in Hall Street, employing around 50 people. For this reason, Chelmsford is credited as the "birthplace of radio", and this phrase can be seen on administrative signs on major roads entering the town. In 1920 the factory was also the location of the first officially publicised sound broadcasts in the UK, one of them featuring Dame Nellie Melba. In 1922 the World's first regular wireless broadcasts for entertainment commenced from the Marconi Research Centre at Writtle near Chelmsford; station '2LO'.
Chelmsford is the home of Britvic Soft drinks.
Places of Interest
Places of interest within the Borough include Writtle, where Robert the Bruce married his second wife Elizabeth de Burgh in 1302, and Pleshey, where stand the ruins of a once important castle mentioned in William Shakespeare's play Richard II.Hylands House and Park just to the west of the town is a former country house and parkland saved from dereliction and purchased by the local council in 1966 after the death of the last private owner. Much damaged by fire and vandalism by the time of the sale, the house has now been completely restored by Chelmsford Borough Council. The house dates originally from 1730, and the park (currently 574 acres or 232 ha) was landscaped by Humphry Repton. It is open to the public and used for a wide range of community events. It is also available for weddings and other private hires including conferences etc. The park has in recent years been the site of popular annual music festivals, such as the V Festival and the Chelmsford Spectacular. It has been chosen as the site for the 21st International Scout Jamboree in 2007 and has already hosted Eurojam in the summer of 2005. Hylands House also doubled as the US White House in the 2004 film Chasing Liberty.
Henry VIII's former Palace of Beaulieu is also nearby, occupied by the New Hall School.
Other places to visit include the RHS Garden Hyde Hall at Rettendon, and there are numerous open spaces both in the town and elsewhere in the Borough.
More information is available at www.chelmsfordbc.gov.uk
History
In 1199 the Bishop of London was granted a Royal Charter for the town to hold a market, marking the origin of the modern town. However there have been settlements nearby since ancient times. A Neolithic and a late Bronze Age settlement have both been found in the Springfield Suburb, and the town was occupied by the Romans. A Roman Fort was built in AD60, and a civilian town grew up around it. The town was given the name of Caesaromgus (the market place of Caesar), although the reason for it being given the great honour of bearing the imperial prefix are now unclear. The remains of a mansio, a combination post office, civic centre and hotel, lie beneath the streets of modern Moulsham, and the ruins of an octagonal Temple are located beneath the Odeon roundabout.An important Anglo-Saxon burial was discovered at Broomfield, north of Chelmsford, and the finds are now in the British Museum.
The town became the seat of the local assize during the early 13th century, and by 1218 was recognised as the county town of Essex, a position it has retained to the present day.
Chelmsford was significantly involved in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, and Richard II moved on to the town after quelling the rebellion in London. Many of the ringleaders were executed on the gallows at what is now Primrose Hill.
In the 17th century, many of the victims of Matthew Hopkins (the self-styled "Witchfinder General") spent their last days imprisioned in Chelmsford, before being tried at the Assize and hanged for Witchcraft.
During World War II Chelmsford, as an important centre of light engineering war production, was attacked from the air on several occasions, both by aircraft of the Luftwaffe and by missile. The worst single loss of life took place on Tuesday December 19, 1944, when the 367th V2 to hit England fell on a residential area near the Hoffmans' ball bearing factory and not far from the Marconi electronics factory which may also have been the target. Thirty-nine people were killed and 138 injured, 47 of them seriously, while several dwellings were destroyed and hundreds more damaged.
On January 6, 2005, Chelmsford was granted Fairtrade Town status.
Geology
From over 600,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene Ice age, until the Anglian glaciation around 475,000 years ago, the early River Thames flowed through the area where Chelmsford now stands, from Harlow to Colchester, before crossing what is now the North Sea to become a tributary of the Rhine. Consequently gravel deposits are frequently found in the area, and current and former gravel pits are relatively common.Twin towns
Chelmsford is twinned with the following towns:People born in Chelmsford
- Najma Akhtar, jazz singer, 1962
- Philemon Holland, 1552
- George Clift King, 1848
- Anne Knight, 1786
- Christopher Mullin, politician
- Malcolm O'Kelly, Irish international rugby player, 1974
- Grayson Perry, artist, 1960
- Tom Jenkinson, aka "Squarepusher"
- Harry Judd, drummer, McFly, 23rd December 1985