Place:Chelmsford, Essex, England

NameChelmsford
Alt namesCaesaromagussource: Times Atlas of World History (1993) p 339
Celmeresfortsource: Domesday Book (1985 ed.) p 101
Galleywoodsource: suburb of Chelmsford within original parish
Moulshamsource: suburb of Chelmsford within original parish
TypeParish, Borough (municipal)
Coordinates51.733°N 0.467°E
Located inEssex, England
See alsoChelmsford Hundred, Essex, Englandancient hundred in which it was located
Chelmsford (district), Essex, Englanddistrict municipality of which it became a part in 1974
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog
the text in this article is based on one in Wikipedia

Chelmsford is the principal settlement of the City of Chelmsford district, and is the county town of Essex, England. It is located within the London commuter belt, approximately 30 miles (48 km) northeast of the notional centre of London at Charing Cross and approximately 22 miles (35 km) from Colchester. The urban area of the city has a population of approximately 112,500, whilst the district has a population of 168,310. (2011 UK census figures)

The main conurbation of Chelmsford incorporates all or part of the former parishes of Broomfield, Great Baddow, Galleywood, Writtle, Moulsham, Widford, and Springfield, including Springfield Barnes, now known as Chelmer Village.

The communities of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Chelmsford, Ontario, and Chelmsford, New Brunswick, are named after the city.

Chelmsford's population consists of a large number of City of London and Docklands commuters, attracted by the 30–35 minute journey into Central London via the Great Eastern Main Line railway. The same journey takes approximately 60 minutes by road via the A12 major road.

On 14 March 2012, Lord President of the Privy Council and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that Chelmsford along with Perth, Scotland and St Asaph, Wales was to be granted city status to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The Letters Patent officially granting city status to Chelmsford were received on 6 June 2012.

Contents

History

Early history

Before 1199, there were settlements nearby from ancient times. A Neolithic and a late Bronze Age settlement have been found in the Springfield suburb, and the town was occupied by the Romans. A Roman fort was built in AD 60, and a civilian town grew up around it. The town was given the name of Caesaromagus (the market place of Caesar), although the reason for it being given the great honour of bearing the Imperial prefix is now unclear – possibly as a failed 'planned town' provincial capital to replace Londinium or Camulodunum. 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. The town disappeared for a while after the Romans left Britain.

In 1199, following the commissioning of a bridge over the River Can by Maurice, Bishop of London, William of Sainte-Mère-Eglise was granted a Royal Charter for Chelmsford to hold a market, marking the origin of the modern town. An under-cover market, operating Tuesday to Saturday, is still an important part of the city centre over 800 years later. The city's name is derived from Ceolmaer's ford which was close to the site of the present High Street stone bridge. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the town was called Celmeresfort, but by 1189 it had changed to Chelmsford. Its position on the Londinium – Camulodonum Roman road (the modern A12 major road) ensured the early prosperity of Chelmsford.

The town became the seat of the local assize during the early 13th century (though assizes were also held at Brentwood) and by 1218 it 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.

Henry VIII purchased the Boleyn estate in 1516, and built Beaulieu Palace on the current site of New Hall School. This later became the residence of his then mistress, and later wife Anne. Soon after it became the residence of Henry's daughter, by his first marriage, Mary I.

King Robert I of Scotland, better known as Robert the Bruce, had close ties with the nearby village of Writtle and there is some evidence to suggest he was born at Montpeliers Farm in the village, but the story is disputed and possibly confused with the birthplace of his father, Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale.

World War II

During World War II Chelmsford, 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 19 December 1944, when the 367th Vergeltungswaffe 2 or V2 rocket to hit England fell on a residential street near the Hoffmans ball bearing factory and not far from the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company factory in New Street which may also have been the target. (Hoffmans ball bearing factory was key to the war effort, supplying bearings for countless applications. This obviously made it a key target.) Thirty-nine people were killed and 138 injured, 47 seriously. Several dwellings in Henry Road were completely destroyed, and many in nearby streets were badly damaged. A recently restored monument to the dead is in the city cemetery in Writtle Road.

Earlier, on 13 May 1943 Luftwaffe bombing raids hit Chelmsford leaving more than 50 people dead and making nearly 1,000 residents homeless. The bombs on this night were dropped mainly in the town centre, Springfield and Moulsham.

The GHQ Line part of the British hardened field defences of World War II runs directly through Chelmsford with many pillboxes still in existence to the north and south of the city.

From 1944 was the headquarters of the Special Air Service (SAS).

Recent history

Since the 1980s Chelmsford has suffered from a decline in its defence-related industries, most notably the Marconi Company with all of its factories either being closed or sold. However, the city's location close to London and at the centre of Essex has helped it grow in importance as an administrative and distribution centre. The one-time largest employer in Chelmsford, RHP, the former Hoffman ball bearing manufacturing company, closed its New Street/Rectory Lane site in 1989. Most of the site was demolished to make way for the Rivermead Campus of the Anglia Ruskin University.

Research tips

  • Essex Record Office handles Essex archives within the county. The address is Wharf Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 6YT.
  • The Essex Society for Family History covers topics of genealogical interest throughout the present County of Essex (i.e. excluding the western area now in Greater London). Subscription necessary.
  • GENUKI provides a list of towns and parishes leading to pages for individual parishes with useful local information for genealogists and family historians.
  • Wikimedia Commons has a set of maps of the old hundreds of Essex. These do not show the individual parishes within the hundreds.
  • For very detailed investigation Wikimedia Commons also has a series of 176 part maps of the Ordnance Survey 1st series 1:10560, Map of Essex
  • FamilySearch lists its collections of church records and vital records along with those provided by other organizations, both commercial and voluntary.
  • The commercial website FindMyPast also has a collection of wills and newspaper transcriptions, as well as the "1939 Register" (an equivalent to the census gathered at the beginning of World War 2).
  • A Vision of Britain through Time is a website produced by the Department of Geography of the University of Portsmouth. It outlines all parishes as they were in the 19th century.
  • British History Online has transcribed eight volumes of the Victoria County History project for Essex. Seven of these cover the history of parts of the county in great detail, although the project is incomplete for Essex as a whole. Ownership of land through the centuries can often be traced here. The volumes of note are as follows:
Volume 4, Ongar Hundred, including Chipping and High Ongar, Chigwell, Stondon Massey and Theydon Bois (26 parishes in all).
Volume 5, Becontree Hundred outside Greater London. A thematic account of the growth of metropolitan Essex since 1850. Also contains topographical accounts of Barking, Ilford, Dagenham and other areas of Essex now within Greater London.
Volume 6, parishes of Becontree Hundred now within the London boroughs of Newham, Waltham Forest and Redbridge. These include West and East Ham, Walthamstow and Wanstead.
Volume 7, Covers the ancient parishes, formerly within the Liberty of Havering-atte-Bower and now within the London borough of Havering, and those in Chafford hundred in western Essex now bordering London. It includes accounts of Hornchurch, Romford, Havering.
Volume 8, accounts of the parishes of Chafford and Harlow Hundreds, including Brentwood, Harlow and Thurrock.
Volume 9, the Borough of Colchester, describes the life of the oldest and for long the largest town in Essex from the Iron Age to 1990.
Volume 10, Lexden Hundred (part), includes Dedham, Earls Colne and Wivenhoe and other parishes to the north and west of Colchester.
  • As of June 2019 Ancestry (Worldwide subscription required) includes Essex, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, these early records are from parish registers of baptisms and burials during the years 1538–1812, and marriages during the years 1538-1754. These are in addition to their previous holdings:
  • Essex, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1918: 3,937,941 records
  • Essex, England, Church of England Marriages, 1754-1935: 1,968,439 records
  • Essex, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1994: 730,118 records
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