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Brentwood, Essex
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Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, part of Essex in England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles (30 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in London and near to the M25 motorway.
Brentwood is a suburban town with a small, but expanding, shopping area and high street. Beyond this is extensive sprawling residential development entirely surrounded by open countryside and woodland; some penetrating to within only a few hundred yards of the town centre.
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Encyclopedia
Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, part of Essex in England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles (30 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in London and near to the M25 motorway.
Brentwood is a suburban town with a small, but expanding, shopping area and high street. Beyond this is extensive sprawling residential development entirely surrounded by open countryside and woodland; some penetrating to within only a few hundred yards of the town centre. It is perhaps most widely known for Brentwood School and for several businesses based in the town.
Business
Several notable businesses are located in Brentwood. The Ford Motor Company UK headquarters are located in the nearby suburb of Warley and SOSS hinge manufacturers NV Tools are still based here. The headquarters of Amstrad are located in Brentwood, despite TV show The Apprentice using overhead views of One Canada Square and the Canary Wharf business complex in London as an accompaniment to interior shots of the Amstrad offices.; in 2008, the firm announced a move of HQ to Loughton. Countryside Properties, the property developer, also have a substantial HQ in the town.
Well known businesses that used to operate in the town include Thermos, the famous vacuum flask manufacturer, and Nissen whose UK factory and HQ were established in the town by Ted Blake in the mid-1960s but eventually shut down in the 1980s.
History
Etymology
The name derives from a corruption of the words 'Burnt Wood', with the name Burntwood still visible on some old maps. The old name describes the presumed reason for settlement in the part of the Forest of Essex (later Epping Forest) that would have covered the area.
Early history
Although a Bronze Age axe has been found in Brentwood and there are clear signs of an entrenched encampment in Weald Country Park it is considered unlikely that there was any significant early settlement of the area which was originally covered by the Great Forest covering most of Essex at that time. Rather it is believed that despite the Roman Road between London and Colchester passing through, the Saxons were the earliest settlers of the area.
Robert Graves in his book I, Claudius refers to Brentwood as the site of the battle where Claudius defeated the Ancient Britons in 44AD. However, Graves also states that names and places in the book are sometimes fictitious.
Brentwood is the site of the 12th century ruin of Thomas à Becket Chapel, and was a popular stopping point for pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. Indeed, one local village is called Pilgrims Hatch, which means 'Pilgrims Gate'. The ruin stands in the centre of the High Street, next to the tourist information office, and the nearby parish church of Brentwood retains the dedication to St Thomas of Canterbury.
During the Peasants' Revolt (1381), Brentwood was the meeting place for some of the instigators; such as John Ball and Jack Straw. They, apparently, met regularly in local pubs and inns. The Essex assizes were sometimes held here, as well as at Chelmsford. One such pub is the White Hart (now known as the Sugar Hut and showing little of its original historic interest), which is one of the oldest buildings in Brentwood; it is believed to have been built in 1480 although apocryphal evidence suggests a hostelry might have stood on the site as much as a 100 years earlier and been visited in 1392 by Richard II whose coat of arms included a White Hart.
The "Brentwood Ring", the earliest Christian ring ever to have been discovered in Britain was found in Brentwood in the late 1940s. It now resides at the British Museum in London. The only other ring of its type in existence can be found at the Vatican Museum.
Modern history
Brentwood originated as an ancient parish of 460 acres (1.86 km²). In 1891 the population was 4,949. Under the Local Government Act 1894, the Brentwood parish formed part of the Billericay Rural District of Essex. In 1899 the parish was removed from the rural district and formed the Brentwood Urban District. In 1934 the parish and district were enlarged by gaining Hutton, Ingrave and South Weald. The district was abolished in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 and Brentwood became part of a further enlarged Brentwood district, which in 1993 gained borough status.
In 1917, the parish church was awarded cathedral status, then between 1989 and 1991 the building was modified to appear in an Italianate Classical style. Brentwood Cathedral is currently the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Brentwood.
Brentwood was the location of Warley Hospital, a Mental Institution, from 1853 to 2001. A British East India Company elephant training school was based in Brentwood and this remained an active Army base as a depot for the Essex Regiment until 1959, when much of the site was redeveloped as the European HQ for Ford. A few buildings remain from the Barracks - the regimental chapel, the gymnasium (now being a council-owned public hall called Keys Hall) and the officers mess (now Marillac Hospital).
Bored town
Brentwood gained some notoriety and national attention in the 1990s as the most boring town in Britain. The controversy was initially caused by David McClucky, the manager of Brentwood Theatre, who, while being interviewed by a local reporter, said it was "hard to pick something interesting about Brentwood" to celebrate in the upcoming Brentwood Festival (a now-defunct parade and street festival). He later claimed he meant it was hard to pick from the many interesting historical events in Brentwood's history. The amusing trivia that 'Bored town' is an anagram of Brentwood just fueled the fire in the press.
Local government and politics
Brentwood forms part of the larger borough of Brentwood of Essex which also encompasses the surrounding smaller towns and villages. It is located in the East of England region of the United Kingdom. For elections to Westminster, Brentwood forms part of the Brentwood and Ongar constituency.
Arts and media
The Brentwood Theatre and The Hermit are the main cultural buildings in Brentwood; located on the same site. The theatre is operated without subsidy by Mark Reed and David Zelly. The Hermitage is used as the centre for Brentwood Youth Service, with which the theatre is also involved.
The youth service operates its own cafe, youth club and a live music venue called "The Hermit", which has had bands such as Motörhead and InMe play there. InMe were heavily supported in their early years by the venue, whose purpose is to promote and encourage youth bands. It also plays host to private events such as a weekly Jazz Club that was, until his death, run by the saxophonist Spike Robinson. Both venues co-host the Brentwood Blues Festival, a music event that has played host to the Blockheads and Bill Wyman.
The town is served by a community radio station, Phoenix FM. The station was formed in August 1996 and broadcast ten trial broadcasts under a Restricted Service Licence, each lasting 28 days; the first starting on 29 December 1996 and the last ending on 25 February 2006. On 23 March 2007, the station started to broadcast permanently on 98.0 FM.
Brentwood is also home to the Royal British Legion Youth Band Brentwood, which perform at many events throughout the year, including the military tattoo at Haileybury and Swanage Carnival. It is a very successful band and attracts youngsters from the age of eight from around Brentwood and surrounding areas. It was the first British band to ever take part in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. It meets twice a week in Warley.
The town is the venue of the Brentwood International Chess Congress which was set up in 2006 and first ran 17 February-18 February 2007. The Congress attracted 231 competitors who included three Grandmasters and five International Masters. The prize fund is quite generous in comparison to many other similar congresses being around £4000. In 2007 it was the largest chess competition to be held in Essex and it was organised by . See also and .
Brentford's Orchestra for Young People was founded in 1990 and grew to include five ensembles for orchestral intrumentalists of school age, who perform regularly in and around the town. Regular rehearsals and workshops introduce the musicians to a wide variety of music, from well-known classical pieces to modern music.
Sport, parks and open spaces
Brentwood has a number of public open spaces including King George's Field in memorial to King George V, Shenfield Common and two vast country parks at South Weald and Thorndon. Weald Country Park was first chosen to hold the 2012 Olympics mountain bike race but is no longer the venue because it was declared to be 'too easy' a course. Although close to the extremities of Greater London Brentwood is surrounded by open countryside and woodland. Brentwood also hosts a number of 'Criterium Cycle Races' that attract many of Britain's greatest cyclists.
The town has two large sports centres providing access to a range of sports including badminton, squash, swimming, football etc. There are a number of golf courses, including a 70 par municipal course very close to the town centre at Hartswood as well as others in the surrounding countryside. A number of cricket clubs exist in and around the town although the 'County Ground', closest to the town centre, no longer hosts Essex matches. Brentwood is also home to Brentwood Town F.C. and London Leopards, who play at the Brentwood Centre. The town is also home to London Junior League club, Brentwood Elvers RLFC, the only rugby league club in West Essex.
Although no longer manufactured here, Brentwood became the centre of trampolining in the UK between 1965 and 1981 after George Nissen brought the new sport here in 1949 and eventually manufactured trampolines in the town, continuing to do so for many years after they ceased production in the USA for fear of litigation. Ted Blake, a long term Brentwood resident, was Managing Director of Nissen UK from its inception until shortly before it closed and became a leading figure worldwide in the development of modern trampolining. Brentwood still has a thriving trampolining community, but no longer a local factory.
Transport
Brentwood is served by several bus companies, the largest being First Essex. The other main public transport providers are Arriva, Imperial, Regal Busways and First London.
Brentwood does not have a railway station in its town centre because it is situated on a hill. Brentwood railway station is located to the south of the town and is served by National Express East Anglia stopping services between Liverpool Street in the City of London and Shenfield railway station, which is located to the north of Brentwood. National Express East Anglia also operate fast direct services from Shenfield to Liverpool Street. The area is served by a network of local bus routes. The A12 road bypasses the town to the north and the M25 motorway is located 2 miles (3 km) to the south west of the town. London Buses route 498 links Romford with Brentwood and operates Daily (every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday, and Sundays every 60 minutes).
Nearest railway stations
Nearest underground stations
Nearest places
External links
- - Welcome to Brentwood (PDF)
- - The Website of Churches Together in Brentwood
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