Chelmsford, ENG - Postcode - CM2 6NU

Description of Chelmsford

City of Chelmsford, County of Essex, England. Southend-on-Sea and Colchester are the other two major cities in Essex County, with Chelmsford serving as the county seat. Distances from London's Charing Cross are 30 miles (50 km) to the north-east, and from Colchester, to the south-west, are 22 miles (35 km). According to the 2011 Census, the city proper is home to 111,511 people, while the broader district is home to 168,310. 

Chelmsford's main metropolitan area includes the neighborhoods of Chelmer Village (formerly known as Springfield Barnes), Broomfield, Newland Spring, Great Leighs, The Walthams, Great Baddow, Little Baddow, Galleywood, Howe Green, Margaretting, Pleshey, Stock, Roxwell, Danbury, Bicknacre, Writtle, Moulsham, Rettendon, The Hanningfields, The Chignals, Widford, and Danbury

History of Chelmsford

The city's defense sector has been in decline since the 1980s, with the Marconi Company's factories closing or being sold off. BAE Systems bought the land on West Hanningfield Road, E2V bought the land on Waterhouse Lane, and the land on New Street is being extensively redeveloped for residential and mixed-use purposes.

RHP (the former Hoffman ball bearing company) closed its New Street/Rectory Lane location in 1989, removing the city's largest employer at the time. The majority of the factory was dismantled to make room for the Rivermead Campus of Anglia Ruskin University, while a small portion was turned into high-end apartments and a gym.

The city's central location in Essex and proximity to London have contributed to its rise to prominence as a commercial, administrative, and transportation hub.

Geography of Chelmsford

From Harlow to Colchester, the early River Thames flowed through the area where modern-day Chelmsford stands from over 600,000 years ago during the Pleistocene ice age until the Anglian Stage around 478,000 to 424,000 years ago. From there, it crossed the North Sea to become a tributary of the Rhine. It's no surprise then that gravel deposits and gravel pits, both active and defunct, are prevalent in the area.

Chelmsford is located on two rivers: the River Can and the River Chelmer. Commonly mistaken for one another in the downtown area, these two rivers actually diverge before coming together to form the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation, which then flows past Maldon and into the Blackwater Estuary as tidal waters. When traveling counterclockwise, you'll encounter the Chelmer, which originates to the north near Thaxted, and the Can, which branches off to the west at Writtle from the River Wid.

Economy of Chelmsford

Founded as a market and agricultural hub in the 18th century, Chelmsford has subsequently become a major industrial hub. Before the 1850s, when rising wealth provided a local market for agricultural machinery, milling and malting were the primary businesses due to cheaper transportation and raw materials after the construction of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation in 1797.

A number of foundries and engineering works followed, such as Fell Christy's Factory (later known as Christy Norris Ltd) on the corner of Kings Road and Broomfield Road (opened in 1858 and closed in 1985), Coleman and Moreton, Thomas Clarkson (Steam Omnibus manufacturer and founder of the Eastern National Bus Company), and Eddington and Stevenson (makers of traction engines). Christy Norris is still in business, but now under the name Christy Turner Ltd and with headquarters in Ipswich. A residential street near the old Factory was given the name "Fell Christy" in his memory.

Companies like M&G Group, Teledyne e2v, and ebm-papst call the modern city of Chelmsford, England, home. The city is also home to the headquarters of the Essex Police Department, the Essex County Council, and the Chelmsford City Council. The fact that the number of "in" commuters (mainly from other parts of Essex) nearly equals the number of workers commuting into London demonstrates Chelmsford's continuing relevance as an employment center.

Over seventy-thousand people find gainful employment in Chelmsford's commercial sector. Bond Street, High Chelmer, and The Meadows are the three mid-sized malls in the area. A Flagship B&Q Store, Wyvale Garden Centre (part of the Garden centre Group), and Pets Corner are all located in the smaller Homelands Retail Park in Chelmsford, in addition to the larger Riverside, Chelmer Village, Clocktower, Army & Navy, and Moulsham Lodge retail parks. There are both mom-and-pop shops and big-box retailers along the High Street. Baddow Road and Moulsham Street, located at the end of the pedestrianized High Street, have a large selection of independent boutiques in addition to the major High Street names.