- This article refers to the town in Essex, England. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland For the village in Somerset, England see Witham Friary. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Witham Friary is a small village and Civil parish located between the Somerset (England towns of Frome and Bruton. For the river in Lincolnshire, see River Witham
| Witham | |
  Witham shown within Essex |
|
| Population | 28,000 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Braintree |
| Shire county | Essex |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WITHAM |
| Postcode district | CM8 |
| Dialling code | 01376 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Braintree |
| List of places: UK • England • Essex | |
Witham (pronounced /ˈwɪtæm/ Wittam) is a town in the county of Essex, in the south east of England. The River Witham is a River, almost entirely in county of Lincolnshire, in the east of England. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of Subdivisions of England used for the purposes of Local government outside Greater London Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of local government sub-national entity of England, with only one The East of England is one of the nine official Regions of England. Constituent country is a phrase used often by official institutions in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity or grouping England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged gives an overview of States around the world with information on the extent of their Sovereignty. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system UK Postal codes are known as postcodes. UK postcodes are Alphanumeric. The CM postcode area, also known as the Chelmsford postcode area, is a group of postal districts in central Essex, England around the towns of Billericay The UK Telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning Telephone numbers in the United There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. Essex Police is a Home Office (territorial police force with responsibility for policing the County of Essex in the East of England. The fire service in the United Kingdom operates under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS is the Statutory FRS (fire and rescue service for the county of Essex in the southeast of England and is The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the authority responsible for providing NHS Ambulance services in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, East of England is a Constituency of the European Parliament. This is a list of the 646 constituencies currently represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as at the 2005 general election Braintree is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. A Gazetteer of place names in the United Kingdom showing each place's County, Unitary authority or council area and its geographical coordinates List of places --> List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places This is a list of cities, Towns Villages and other named geographical features in the County of Essex, England. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan The counties of England are territorial divisions of England for the purposes of administrative political and geographical demarcation Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The population (2001 census) is 28,000. A nationwide Census, commonly known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday 29 April 2001 It is part of the District of Braintree. Witham is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Waldbröl is a town is in the southern part of the Oberbergischer Kreis (district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Witham stands between the larger towns of Chelmsford (7 miles to the south-west) and Colchester (15 miles to the north-east). Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. Colchester ( /ˈkəʊltʃɛstə/ is a town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester, in Essex, England. The River Brain runs through the town and joins the River Blackwater shortly outside it. The River Brain is a river in Essex, England that gives its name to the town of Braintree, though in fact Braintree lies on a low ridge between the Brain A blackwater river is a river with a deep slow-moving channel that flows through forested Swamps and Wetlands.
Contents |
History
Early History
Excavations of the Witham Lodge area of the town unveiled remains of a Roman temple as well as of a pottery kiln. This would have been alongside the main Roman road from London to Colchester. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Colchester ( /ˈkəʊltʃɛstə/ is a town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester, in Essex, England. These were found during the Maltings Lane develepment.
The parish of Witham appears in the Domesday Book of 1086. The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey [1] The manor of Witham was given to the Knights Templar in 1148. The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order To the north of the current town is Cressing Temple which was the earliest foundation of Templar lands in Britain, built over 700 years ago. Cressing Temple is an ancient monument situated between Witham and Braintree in Essex and originating from the 12th century when it was the headquarters of the first
The town started life on 'Chipping Hill', where the old forge and the church still exists to this day. As the years went by, the hamlet grew to become 'Witham' and St Nicolas Church of England Church (a unique spelling) serves a congregation of around 150 people each Sunday.
Witham briefly enjoyed a period as an affluent spa town after the discovery of a mineral-bearing spa in the town by Dr Taverner in the 18th century. Witham was also a centre of the wool trade until the decline of the industry in the late 17th century.
1st September 1905
Witham railway station was the scene of a serious accident on Saturday 1st September 1905. Witham railway station is a Railway station serving the town of Witham in Essex. The 09:27 London Liverpool Street to Cromer 14 carriage express derailed whilst travelling at speed through the station. Liverpool Street station, also called London Liverpool Street, is a major railway station and connected London Underground station in the north eastern Cromer is a coastal Town and Civil parish in the north of the English county of Norfolk. 10 passengers and a Luggage Porter were killed when several of the carriages somersaulted onto the platforms causing considerable damage to the rolling stock and the station. More than 50 passengers where seriously injured. This remains to this day the worst single loss of life in a railway accident in Essex. A recent opportunity to commemorate the centenary was missed and the incident is now largely forgotten. Ben Sainty, a signalman averted the next train hitting the wreckage has a road named after him in the town, Ben Sainty Court.
Post War
The town expanded greatly in the late 1960s and 1970s when the Greater London Council built 3 large council estates on the west and north sides of the town and a smaller one to the South for families from London to move to as part of the 'New Town' and 'Expanded Town' overspill policy of that time. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The Greater London Council (GLC was the top-tier Local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986
Starting in the 1980s but accelerating in the 1990s and 2000s a large number of houses were built in several estates to the south and southwest of the town infilling the farmland that used to exist between the town and the A12 bypass. The most recent of which is the Malting's lane development, which when completed will exceed 1200 homes, a school, business park and community shopping area.
A one time famous resident of the town is the author Dorothy L. Sayers whose statue stands opposite the town's library. Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( IPA: usually pronounced /ˈseɪɜrz/ although Sayers herself preferred /ˈsɛːz/ and encouraged the use of her middle initial to facilitate this The library stands on the site of the old Whitehall cinema, which closed in the late 1970s.
Transport
The town is served by Witham railway station, situated on the London Liverpool Street to Ipswich main line. Witham railway station is a Railway station serving the town of Witham in Essex. The Great Eastern Main Line ( "GE") is a major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street station in the Trains take approx 40mins to reach Liverpool Street. The station is also the junction with the Braintree branch line to Braintree and Braintree Freeport. Braintree to Bishop's Stortford The line once continued further west passing the southern perimeter of what is now Stansted Airport and meeting the West Anglia Main Braintree is a Town of about 42000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. Braintree is a Town of about 42000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. Another branch line, now dismantled, went from Witham to Maldon.
Witham is situated on the A12 trunk road between Chelmsford and Colchester. A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major Road &mdashusually connecting two or more cities, Ports Airports Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. Colchester ( /ˈkəʊltʃɛstə/ is a town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester, in Essex, England. Originally the A12 ran in a straight line through the middle of the town; however for some decades there has been a by-pass completely avoiding the town.
Because of these excellent transport links, the town has a large number of residents who commute to work in London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.
Economy and facilities
Witham has a mainly linea town centre, concentrated on the high street and its two modest shopping precincts form a cross, bisecting the High Street, the Newland Shopping Centre of 70's design to the North and the Grove Centre an 80's brick design to the South. There is a reasonable range of small shops and a full range of major high-street banks, national chains include Burtons, Dorothy Perkins, Thorntons, Boots, Woolworths, Clinton Cards and Superdrug. The town has four supermarkets - Tesco in the Grove Centre, Iceland in the Newlands Precinct and Morrisons and Netto both a little way away from the town centre. Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain Iceland is a Supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, partly owned by the Icelandic retailer conglomerate Baugur. Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC ( is the fourth largest chain of Supermarkets in the United Kingdom.
Leisure facilities include a bowling alley, Benton Hall Golf and leisure centre, a pool club and a library which occupies the building of the town's long-closed cinema, the Whitehall. Bowling is a Game / Sport in which players attempt to score points by rolling a Bowling ball along a flat surface either into objects called pins A 'River Walk' runs for three and a half miles through the town and is home to a range of wildlife. Bramston Sports Centre is also located in Witham. The sports center contains three swimming pools: a teaching pool, a diving pool (referred to as the Merlin pool) and the main pool which is 25 metres long (half the standard Olympic and competitive pool length). A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is an artificially enclosed Body of water intended for Swimming or The Centre also includes four squash courts and a "Kinetika" gym. Squash is a racquet sport that was formerly called squash racquets, a reference to the "squashable" soft ball used in the game (compared with the
The Morrisons supermarket site was previously the factory site of Crittall Windows, until 1994 when the factory was closed and moved to Braintree.
A significant industrial presence remains in the town, mainly concentrated on three industrial estates on the eastern side of the town close to the junction with the A12. There is also significant office accommodation in the town centre area.
In March 2007 Crittall closed its Braintree factory and returned to Witham to occupy a new factory on the Freebournes Industrial Estate. The factory Crittall have moved into was built for J. L. French in 2001, but never used for production. The new Crittall factory is visible on the right hand side of the road exiting Witham towards Colchester via the A12.
Education
There are two secondary schools in Witham, The John Bramston school, and The Rickstones school, both achieving a slightly below average 5 A*-C GCSE rating, averaging around the 40% mark. The John Bramston School is the larger of two Comprehensive schools serving the town of Witham in Essex England The General Certificate of Secondary Education ( GCSE) is the name of an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject generally taken in a number of subjects by The town's primary schools are Templars, Holy Family, Howbridge, Powers Hall, Chipping Hill Infants School (although this school will be expanding to a 210 place primary school and moving to a new site in the Maltings Lane development in September 2010), Rivenhall CoE, Elm Hall Primary, Southview and Silver End Primary.
Government
Witham is part of the Braintree constituency of the House of Commons. Braintree is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords The local Member of Parliament (MP) is the Conservative Brooks Newmark, who was elected to replace the former Labour Party MP Alan Hurst on at the 2005 general election on 5 May 2005. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Brooks Newmark (born 8 May 1958 is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Braintree. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Alan Arthur Hurst (born 2 September 1945 is a Solicitor and Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
However at the next general election Witham will become a new constituency in its own right. The constituency will include Hatfield Peverel, Wickham Bishops, Marks Tey, Kelvedon, and Coggeshall. Hatfield Peverel is a large urban village and Civil parish in the centre of Essex, England. Wickham Bishops is a Village in Essex, England. Transport Roughly three miles from the town of Witham (which has a mainline train station Marks Tey is a village in Essex located six miles west of Colchester. Kelvedon is a village and Civil parish in Essex, England, near to the town of Witham. Coggeshall is a small Market town of 3919 residents (in 2001 in Essex, England. It is regarded as a safe seat for the Conservative Party, based on the majority that it is estimated would have been achieved at the last general election. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom.
Witham is under the jurisdiction of Witham Town Council (its parish council), Braintree District Council and Essex County Council. A Parish council is a unit of Local government in Great Britain.
Witham, and parts of the Braintree district, hold one of the best recycling schemes in the UK, with compulsory recycling, reaching over 50% recycling. Recycling involves processing used materials into new products in order to prevent the waste of potentially useful materials reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials reduce
Notable residents
John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, the physicist who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of argon, died in 1919 at Terling Place, Witham. John William Strutt 3rd Baron Rayleigh OM (12 November 1842 &ndash 30 June 1919 was an English Physicist who with William Ramsay, discovered This article pertains to the chemical element For other uses see Argon (disambiguation.
Dorothy L. Sayers, translator of Dante's Divina Commedia, and famous as writer of detective fiction for her creation of aristocratic detective hero, Lord Peter Wimsey, died in Witham in 1957. Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( IPA: usually pronounced /ˈseɪɜrz/ although Sayers herself preferred /ˈsɛːz/ and encouraged the use of her middle initial to facilitate this The Divine Comedy Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey, a Fictional character, is a bon vivant sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy
James Gibson, the 2003 World Breaststroke 50m (Long-course) Champion, was born in Chelmsford and raised in Witham. James Gibson MBE (born 6 February 1980) is an English Swimmer. Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. Graham Hedman, 2006 European Champion, 4x400 men's relay, was born in Witham. Graham Hedman (born February 6 1979 in Witham, Essex) is a British sprinter
References
External links
Twin Town
Waldbröl, North Rhine-Westphalia
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