Chelmsford, England

Chelmsford is a town and administrative district in the county of Essex, in the United Kingdom. It lies 30 miles northeast of London, approximately halfway between there and Colchester. It is almost exactly in the centre of the county and it is therefore appropriate that it is the county town, although it is neither the largest nor the oldest town in the county.

About 10,000 commuters travel to London daily, making Chelmsford the busiest through railway station in England (the busiest overall being Watford[?] Junction).

Chelmsford is home to the Diocese of Chelmsford, and boasts the smallest cathedral in England. 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 Polytechnic University.

The population of the area covered by the district council is 156,000 (2001) approximately one third of that number living within the area of the town itself.

Hylands House[?] and Park just to the west of the town is a former country house saved from dereliction and now owned by the local council. It is open to the public and has in recent years been the site of popular annual music festivals. It has been chosen as the site for the 21st International Scout Jamboree in 2007.

Guglielmo Marconi, the "father of radio" opened the World's first "wireless" factory in Hall Street, Chelmsford in 1898, employing around 50 people. In 1922 the World's first regular wireless broadcasts for entertainment commenced from the Marconi Research Centre at Writtle[?] near Chelmsford.

Places of interest within the district include Writtle, one of the possible birthplaces of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, andPleshey[?], where stand the ruins of a once important castle mentioned in Shakespeare's Richard II.

Twin Towns[?]:

• Annonay[?], France (http://www.mairie-annonay.fr/ - in French)
• Backnang, Germany

Other external links

• Chelmsford Borough Council - http://www.chelmsfordbc.gov.uk/
• Diocese of Chelmsford - http://www.chelmsford.anglican.org/
• 21st World Scout Jamboree - http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/2007/21wsj.htm