Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the
Borough of BrentwoodBrentwood is a local government district and borough in Essex in the East of England.-History:It is named after the town of Brentwood which is the main development in the area. Originally 'Burnt wood' as the area was largely used by Charcoal Burners. There are still large areas of woodland...
, part of
EssexEssex is a county in the East of England region of the United Kingdom. The county town of Essex is Chelmsford.-History:In pre-Roman Britain the territories of Suffolk and Essex were home to the Trinovantes tribe, which had grown wealthy through intensive trade with the Roman Empire, contemporary...
in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located in the
London commuter beltThe London commuter belt is the metropolitan area surrounding London, England from which it is possible to commute to work in the capital. It is alternatively known as the London metropolitan area or the Southeast metropolitan area...
, 20 miles (30 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and near the
M25 motorwayThe M25 motorway is a 117 mile orbital motorway which encircles Greater London, United Kingdom except for the tolled Dartford Crossing where it crosses the River Thames to the east of London...
.
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 SchoolBrentwood School is a public school in Brentwood, Essex, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Haileybury Group of independent schools.-History:...
and for several businesses based in the town.
Business
Several notable businesses are located in Brentwood. The
Ford Motor CompanyThe Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars of Sweden, and a small stake...
UK headquarters are located in the nearby suburb of
WarleyWarley is a suburb of Brentwood in south Essex. It is situated to the south of the town.Warley is home to the British headquarters of Ford Motor Company....
and SOSS hinge manufacturers NV Tools are still based here. The headquarters of
AmstradAmstrad is a British electronics company, founded in 1968 by Baron Sugar of Clapton. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstrad had a substantial share of the PC market in the UK. As of 2006,...
are located in Brentwood, despite TV show
The ApprenticeThe Apprentice is a BAFTA award-winning British reality television series in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to win a £100,000-a-year job as "apprentice" to the British business magnate Alan Sugar, The Baron Sugar...
using overhead views of
One Canada SquareOne Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London. It is the tallest building in the United Kingdom at above ground level...
and the
Canary WharfCanary Wharf is a large office and shopping development in East London, located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Rivalling London's traditional financial centre, The Square Mile, Canary Wharf contains the UK's three tallest buildings: One Canada Square ; 8 Canada Square and the Citigroup...
business complex in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
as an accompaniment to interior shots of the Amstrad offices.; in 2008, the firm announced a move of HQ to
LoughtonLoughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Buckhurst Hill, Theydon Bois, Waltham Abbey, and Chigwell...
.
Countryside PropertiesCountryside Properties PLC is a property development company based in the United Kingdom. It is active in urban regeneration and creation of sustainable communities. It also carries out Design and Build contracts for housing associations....
, the property developer, also has a substantial HQ in the town.
Well known businesses that used to operate in the town include
ThermosThermos may mean a number of things:* A brand name of domestic vacuum flask from Thermos, L.L.C. * Thermos , an ancient Greek city, the capital city of the Aetolian League....
, the famous
vacuum flaskA vacuum flask, also called a thermos, is a storage vessel which provides thermal insulation by interposing a partial vacuum between the contents and the ambient environment. The evacuated region of the partial vacuum removes material that could serve as a heat conductor or carrier, enabling the...
manufacturer, and
NissenGeorge P. Nissen is an American gymnast and inventor who developed the modern trampoline and made trampolining a worldwide sport....
whose UK factory and HQ were established in the town by
Ted BlakeTed Blake was an early British trampoline pioneer.Following the development of modern trampolines in the USA by George Nissen, Ted Blake was a major contributor to their nascence in the United Kingdom and in developing International Competition for trampolining.In his early years Ted went to the...
in the mid-
1960sThe 1960s was the decade that ran from January 1, 1960, to December 31, 1969.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends in the west, particularly United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, France,...
but eventually shut down in the 1980s.
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 ForestEpping Forest is an area of ancient parkland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
) that would have covered the area.
Early history
Although a
Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age of a culture is the period when the most advanced metalworking in that culture utilised bronze. This could either have been based on the local smelting of copper and tin from ores, or trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere...
axe has been found in Brentwood and there are clear signs of an entrenched encampment in
Weald Country ParkWeald Country Park is a 700-year-old, 500 acre country park in South Weald in the borough of Brentwood in the English county of Essex. It is on the north-east fringe of Greater London....
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
EssexEssex is a county in the East of England region of the United Kingdom. The county town of Essex is Chelmsford.-History:In pre-Roman Britain the territories of Suffolk and Essex were home to the Trinovantes tribe, which had grown wealthy through intensive trade with the Roman Empire, contemporary...
at that time. Rather it is believed that despite the
Roman RoadThe Roman roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate news. The Roman road system spanned more than 250,000 miles of roads, including more than 50,000 miles of paved roads...
between
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and
ColchesterColchester is a town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001 it had a population of 104,390...
passing through, the
SaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Old Germanic tribes. Their modern-day descendants in Lower Saxony and Westphalia and other German states are considered ethnic Germans ; those in the eastern Netherlands are considered to be ethnic Dutch; those in north...
were the earliest settlers of the area.
http://www.brentwood-council.gov.uk/index.php?cid=52
Robert GravesGraves considered himself a poet first and foremost. His poems, together with his translations and innovative interpretations of the Greek Myths, his memoir of the First World war, Good-bye to All That, and his historical study of poetic inspiration, The White Goddess, have never been out of...
in his book
I, ClaudiusI, Claudius is a novel by English writer Robert Graves, first published in 1934, that deals sympathetically with the life of the Roman Emperor Claudius and cynically with the history of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC to Caligula's...
refers to Brentwood as the site of the battle where
ClaudiusTiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 24 January AD 41 to his death in AD 54...
defeated the Ancient Britons in 44AD. However, Graves also states that names and places in the book are sometimes fictitious.
The borough began as a small clearing in the middle of a dense forest, created by fire, giving it the name of 'Burntwood,' or 'the place where the wood was burned.' People began to settle there and, because it was on the crossroads of the old Roman road from Colchester to London and the route the pilgrims took over the Thames to Canterbury, it grew into a small town. A chapel was built in or after 1221, and in 1227 a market charter was granted. The new township, occupying the highest ground in the parish, lay at the junction of the main London-Colchester road with the Ongar-Tilbury road. Its growth may have been stimulated by the cult of St. Thomas the Martyr, to whom Brentwood chapel was dedicated: the 12th century ruin of
Thomas BecketThomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to his death. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
Chapel was a popular stopping point for pilgrims on their way to
CanterburyCanterbury lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a local government district of Kent, in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. 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.
Pilgrims HatchPilgrims Hatch is a village in the borough of Brentwood in Essex, England. There is also a borough council ward bearing the same name 'Pilgrims Hatch', which covers the Bishops Hall and 'Flowers' Estates, and the area North of Brentwood beyond the A12, and a small rural area to the North, up until...
, which means 'Pilgrims' Gate,' in South Weald, was probably named from pilgrims who crossed through on their way to the chapel. It is likely, however, that Brentwood's development was due chiefly to its main road position, its market, and its convenient location as an administrative centre. Early industries were connected mainly with textile and garment making, brewing, and brickmaking.
During the
Peasants' RevoltThe Peasants' Revolt, Tyler’s Rebellion, or the Great Rising of AD 1381 was one of a number of popular revolts in late medieval Europe and is a major event in the history of England. Tyler's Rebellion was not only the most extreme and widespread insurrection in English history but also the best...
(1381), Brentwood was the meeting place for some of the instigators; such as
John BallJohn Ball was an English Lollard priest who took a prominent part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.-Life:Little is known of Ball's early years. He lived in St. Albans, Hertfordshire and subsequently at Colchester during the Black Death. He also lived in Kent at the time of 1381...
and
Jack StrawJack Straw was one of the three leaders of the Peasants' Revolt or Great Rising of 1381, a major event in the history of England.-Biography:...
. They, apparently, met regularly in local pubs and inns. The Essex
assizesAssize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to::;in common law countries :::*assizes , an obsolete judicial inquest...
were sometimes held here, as well as at
ChelmsfordChelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford.The town is located northeast of Charing Cross in London. Chelmsford is steeped in history and was one of the original settlements of Great Britain. Residents of Chelmsford are known as...
. One such pub is the
White HartThe White Hart was the personal emblem and livery of Richard II, who derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent", heiress of Edmund of Woodstock...
(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 hundred years earlier and been visited in 1392 by Richard II whose coat of arms included a White Hart. The ground floor was originally stabling and in the mid-1700s they ran their own coach service to London. On September 13th 2009, the building caught fire and fire crews took over 3 hours to bring it under control; the extent of damage has not yet been disclosed. Marygreen Manor, a handsome 16th century building on the London Road, is mentioned in Samuel Pepys' diaries and is said to have been often visited by the Tudor monarch Henry VIII when Henry Roper, Gentleman Pursuant to Queen Catherine of Aragon, lived there in 1514. It is now a hotel and restaurant. In 1686 Brentwood's inns were estimated to provide 110 beds and stabling for 183 horses . There were 11 inns in the town in 1788.
William Hunter, Protestant martyr, was burnt at the stake in Brentwood in 1555. A monument to him was erected by subscription in 1861 at Wilson's Corner. Thomas Munn (d. 1750), 'gentleman brickmaker' of Brentwood, met a less noble end. He was hanged for robbing the Yarmouth mail and his body was exhibited in chains at Gallows Corner. A ducking stool was mentioned in 1584.
As the Roman road grew busier, Brentwood became a major coaching stop for stagecoaches, with plenty of inns for overnight accommodation as the horses were rested. A "stage" is approximately ten miles, and being about 20 miles from London, Brentwood would have been a second stop for travellers to East Anglia. This hasn't changed; there is an above average number of pubs in the area - possibly due to the army being stationed at Warley Barracks in the town (closed down in the 1960s). Some of the pubs date back to the 15th and 16th Centuries. Brentwood was also significant as a hub for the London postal service, with a major post office since C18. The most recent major post office on High Street was recently closed in the 2008 budget cuts; Brentwood residents now must rely on sub-postal offices.
Daniel Defoe (C18 writer, journalist, and a founder of the English novel, most noted for "Robinson Crusoe") wrote about Brentwood as being
"..full of good inns, and chiefly maintained by the excessive multitude of carriers and passengers , which are constantly passing this way to London, with droves of cattle, provisions and manufactures."
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 1894The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...
, the Brentwood parish formed part of the
Billericay Rural DistrictBillericay Rural District was a local government district in Essex, England from 1894 to 1934.It consisted of the following parishes: *Basildon*Brentwood *Bowes Gifford*Childerditch*Downham*Dunton...
of Essex. In 1899 the parish was removed from the rural district and formed the
Brentwood Urban DistrictBrentwood Urban District was a local government district in south Essex, England from 1899 to 1974.The district was created in 1899 from the parish of Brentwood which from 1894 had formed part of Billericay Rural 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 1972The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, and Brentwood urban district was joined with the parishes of Ingatestone and Fryerning, Mountnessing, Doddinghurst, Blackmore, Navestock, Kelvedon Hatch, and Stondon Massey to form the Brentwood district with a total area of 36,378 a. In 1976 the new district was divided into 18 wards, with 39 councillors. The district council has always had a Conservative majority. In 1993, Brentwood 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 CathedralThe Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Helen is the Roman Catholic cathedral in the English town of Brentwood, Essex. It is the seat of the Diocese of Brentwood.-History:...
is currently the seat of the Roman Catholic
Bishop of BrentwoodThe Bishop of Brentwood is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood in the Province of Westminster.-Overview:The diocese covers the historic county of Essex, an area of 3,959 km² comprising the non-metropolitan county of Essex, the unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea and...
.
Incidentally, and stepping back in history for a moment,
Ingatestone Hall, noted for its Roman Catholic connections through the Petres, is a sixteenth-century manor house built by Sir William Petre at "Yenge-atte-Stone." The staunch Petres played a significant role in the preservation of the Catholic faith in England. Sir William was assistant to Thomas Cromwell, when Henry VIII sought to dissolve the monasteries, and ascended to the confidential post of Secretary of State, throughout the revolutionary changes of four Tudor monarchs: Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth. Queen Mary, in 1553, on her way to claim her crown in London, stopped at Ingatestone Hall; later, Queen Elizabeth I spent several nights at the hall on her royal progress of 1561.
Today, Ingatestone Hall is a beautiful and interesting house like all other large Tudor houses an expression of wealth and status and still retains many of the features of a 16th century knightly residence, despite alterations by descendants who live in the house to this day. Ingatestone Hall represented the exterior of Bleak House in the 2005 television adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel, and also appeared in an episode of the TV series Lovejoy. It is open to the public for tours, concerts, and performances; the hall and grounds can be rented for weddings and other occasions.
Brentwood was the location of
Warley HospitalWarley Hospital was a hospital for the mentally ill located in Brentwood, Essex, England.- History :The hospital was originally destined for Chelmsford and plans were drawn up as early as 1819, for a hospital for the mentally ill, serving south Essex....
, a
Mental InstitutionA psychiatric hospital, sometimes known as an asylum, is a hospital specializing in the treatment of serious mental illness, usually for relatively long-term inpatients....
, from 1853 to 2001. A
British East India CompanyThe East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
elephant training school was based in Brentwood and this remained an active Army base as a depot for the
Essex RegimentThe Essex Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army that saw active service from 1881 to 1958. Members of the regiment were recruited from across Essex county. Its lineage is continued by the Royal Anglian Regiment.-Origins:...
until 1959, when much of the site was redeveloped as the European HQ for
FordThe Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars of Sweden, and a small stake...
. 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).
Brentwood's military history
The military has associations with the Warley section of Brentwood going back over 200 years. It also had strategic importance during the time of the Spanish Armada - it was used as a meeting place for contingents from eight eastern and midland counties (900 horsemen assembled here) to then travel on to Tilbury.
The local common was used as a military camp in 1742, with thousands of troops camped there during the summer months. It was an ideal base, as it was less than a day's march to Tilbury, where the troops would leave for foreign service. In the 1778 encampment, George III came to inspect the troops, and Dr. Samuel Johnson stayed for five days. The camps were made permanent in 1804, with space for 2,000 cavalry. 116 acres of land were bought and used for two troops of horse artillery - 222 horses, with 306 soldiers of varying ranks and ten officers - a hospital and half a battalion of the Rifle Brigade.
In 1842 the East India Company's barracks at Chatham became inadequate, and they purchased the land to move their troops in. Accommodation was created for 785 recruits and 20 sergeants with new buildings for the officers. Married family housing was also provided, and a chapel. In 1856 further building work was carried out, and a total of 1,120 men were housed there every year. After training they were shipped out to India.
The area and men were absorbed into the British Army after the Indian Mutiny in 1857, and in 1861 the barracks was bought by the War Office. By 1881 the many different regiments had evolved into the Essex Regiment, which saw active service in the Boer War and both World Wars. The barracks served as a training centre and depot for the Essex Regiment for a number of years after the war, with many National Servicemen serving their first weeks here, but with the ending of conscription in 1960 the barracks closed.
During World War II, over 1,000 bombs were dropped on Brentwood, with 19 flying bombs (doodlebugs), 32 long range rockets (V2s) and many incendiary bombs and parachute mines. 5,038 houses were destroyed, 389 people were injured and 43 died. It is a wonder that the 15th and 16th century pubs survived. It should be borne in mind that Brentwood had been considered a safe enough haven to evacuate London children here - 6,000 children arrived in September 1939 alone.
Bored town
Brentwood gained some unfair notoriety and national attention in the 1990s mocked as the most boring town in Britain. The controversy was initially caused by David McClucky, the former manager of Brentwood Theatre, who, while being interviewed by a local reporter, said it was "hard to pick something interesting about Brentwood" in response to a query about 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
anagramAn anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place. Someone who creates anagrams is called an anagrammatist...
of Brentwood just added to the jesting in the press. No question that Brentwood is a commuter community, but there are many exciting changes coming to revitalize the downtown area, including a full pedestrian walkway. Brentwood is also redefining itself as a hub for the arts, both visual and performing.
Today's Brentwood
The town is increasingly suburban, but it does have a very rural feel, with trees, fields and open spaces all around the town.
Brentwood was the first town in Britain to install colour CCTV in 1994.
Local government and politics
Brentwood forms part of the larger
borough of BrentwoodBrentwood is a local government district and borough in Essex in the East of England.-History:It is named after the town of Brentwood which is the main development in the area. Originally 'Burnt wood' as the area was largely used by Charcoal Burners. There are still large areas of woodland...
of Essex which also encompasses the surrounding smaller towns and villages. It is located in the
East of EnglandThe East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk....
region of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. For elections to Westminster, Brentwood forms part of the Brentwood and Ongar constituency.
Arts and media
The
Brentwood Theatre and
The Hermitage are the main cultural buildings in Brentwood; located on the same site in the heart of Brentwood, the yellow and blue theatre and the historic brick buildings are not to be missed. Owned and maintained by an independent charity,
Brentwood Theatre receives no regular arts funding or subsidy. However, through very careful management by Mark Reed, theatre manager, and David Zelly, production manager—and with the support of a huge team of volunteers—they are able to keep costs down so that hire rates are an excellent value for a 100 - 176 seater professional venue. The Hermitage is used as the centre for
Brentwood Youth Service, with which the theatre is also involved.
Brentwood Theatre is a fully-fitted community theatre that serves more than 40 non-professional performing arts groups. With superior lighting and sound, set design/production, and flexible staging, it is also an ideal venue for touring professional troupes, like Eastern Angles, who recently staged "Return to Akenfield" to critical acclaim. Audrey Longman, retiring chair of Brentwood Theatre Trust, and Stephen Moyer, Patron (with yeoman's work by Mark Reed) led a fundraising campaign to build on much-needed backstage facilities. Gone are the days of running from stage left to stage right around the back of the building in the wind and rain! The "
Reaching Out, Building On" campaign, well publicised by
Phoenix FMPhoenix FM is a community radio station serving the areas of Brentwood and Billericay, England. It was formed in 1996 and has broadcast twelve 28-day restricted service licence broadcasts on FM. The station's presenters include local snooker hero Steve Davis, Boxer Rebellion drummer Piers Hewitt,...
, enabled the theatre to build on an entire back wing, enhancing the theatre with dressing rooms, kitchen, office space, elevator, and the Audrey Longman Studio, a 40-seat multi-purpose room outfitted with dance mirrors, staging, seating, lighting, and sound for intimate performances, rehearsals, workshops, classes, and community meetings/ceremonies.
- Local involvement provided support for Brentwood Theatre's renovation, but the campaign received a significant bump when a fan-based fundraiser (led by USA's Jean Armitage, Volunteer Fundraising Coordinator for the theatre) became known to American fans of actor Stephen Moyer, first patron of the theatre. Word of the endeavor rapidly spread among the many fansites on the internet that emerged as a result of the popularity of HBO's TRUE BLOOD, created/produced by Alan Ball and based loosely on the Charlaine Harris Southern Vampire novels. The show stars Brentwood's own Stephen Moyer and Golden Globe/Oscar winner Anna Paquin, with an amazing supporting cast. Moyer's portrayal of Bill Compton, the passionately romantic, but tormented vampire, inspired American and international contributors to donate more than £5,000 to the cause.
- The theatre is becoming renowned for its month-long Annual Holiday Children's Production every December. In 2008, local families enjoyed Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (with Stephen Gunshon, Deborah Leury, and Katie-Elizabeth Allgood); the theatre just secured permission to present Dahl's "The Twits" for the 2009 season.
The Hermitage youth service operates its own cafe, youth club and a live music venue called "
The Hermit", which has had bands such as
MotörheadMotörhead are a British rock band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Lemmy, who has remained the sole constant member. The band was part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which re-energized heavy metal in the late '70s and early '80s. Usually a power trio, Motörhead had...
and
InMeInMe are an English alternative rock band from Brentwood, Essex formed in 1996. To date they have released four studio albums - Overgrown Eden ; White Butterfly ; Daydream Anonymous and Herald Moth...
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 RobinsonHenry Berthold "Spike" Robinson was a tenor saxophonist. He began playing at age twelve, making recordings with famous jazz and bop musicians on several labels including Discovery, Hep and Concord. However, he sought an engineering degree and followed that profession on a fulltime basis for nearly...
. Both venues co-host the Brentwood Blues Festival, a music event that has played host to the Blockheads and
Bill WymanBill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
.
A community radio station,
Phoenix FMPhoenix FM is a community radio station serving the areas of Brentwood and Billericay, England. It was formed in 1996 and has broadcast twelve 28-day restricted service licence broadcasts on FM. The station's presenters include local snooker hero Steve Davis, Boxer Rebellion drummer Piers Hewitt,...
serves the Brentwood communities. 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, featuring popular music, local musicians and acts, local events, and interviews with key Essex people.
The
Brentwood Art Trail has become a popular annual summer event. Brentwood Borough Council has a long tradition of supporting and promoting the arts in the area and works closely with artists, schools and the local community to achieve this. As a result, Brentwood Art Trail was developed to create an arts experience whereby art created by local people can be recognised and appreciated.
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 ParadeThe Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is the "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flowers, music and equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day, produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual parade was first held...
in
Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States; and is a satellite city of Los Angeles. Famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and the Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home of many leading scientific and cultural institutions, including the...
. It meets twice a week in Warley.
Among the many theatre companies in the region, too many to mention all, Brentwood Operatic Society and Shenfield Operatic Society are two that represent the many groups providing excellent theatrical productions for the community. Brentwood Operatic Society also trains young actors with its
BOSSY Youth acting program , headed by Gaynor Wilson, who directed actor Stephen Moyer before he hit the big-time. David Pickthall serves as Musical Director when he is not busy heading the music department at Brentwood School, scoring films and television shows for BBC, directing British orchestras, anc composing. The award-winning composer wrote two operas and three musicals, published worldwide by Samuel French Ltd. He is also the musical voice of the villainous penguin in the Oscar-winning Wallace & Grommit “The Wrong Trousers” (Nick Park, Aardvark Studios).
Brentwood's Orchestras 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.
The
Brentwood Performing Arts Festival has now been accepted into membership by the British and International Federation of Festivals of which Queen Elizabeth II is patron. With this, the Festival has achieved recognition as the Festival of Performing Arts for Brentwood.
The youth of Brentwood are also included in preparation for the Olympics 2012. Brentwood Borough Council formed
Brentwood Young Ambassadors in Celebration of 2012: nine Year-7s from five secondary schools in Brentwood have been selected to be the 'voice' of young people locally. They will help to ensure that young people have a strong and memorable experience of 2012 and tis educational opportunities and celebrations through arts, sports, culture and community. Not only will they lead on key celebratory projects within their school, partnership primary schools and their local community, they will have the opportunity to take part in some key local events and have a say about how young people can be involved. The Ambassadaors will take part in a 6 week training scheme to help them deliver projects with a small budget. Training will be delivered in Team work and leadership, presentation and debating, budgeting and fundraising and project management and evaluation skills.
The town is the venue of the
Brentwood International Chess Congress which was set up in 2006 and first ran
17 FebruaryYear 17 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.-Roman Empire:*Germanicus leads military campaigns in the East.*Cappadocia becomes a Roman province....
-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
Brentwood Chess Club. See also
Brentwood International Chess Congress Website and
Essex Chess Association Homepage.
Sport, parks and open spaces
Although close to the extremities of
Greater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was officially created in 1965 and covers the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and thirty two London boroughs...
Brentwood is surrounded by open countryside and woodland. This has been cited as showing the success of the Metropolitan
Green BeltIn United Kingdom town planning, the green belt is a policy for controlling urban growth. The idea is for a ring of countryside where urbanisation will be resisted for the foreseeable future, maintaining an area where agriculture, forestry and outdoor leisure can be expected to prevail...
in halting the outward spread of London's built-up area.
Brentwood has a number of public open spaces including
King George's Playing Field in memorial to
King George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
, Shenfield Common and two vast country parks at South Weald and Thorndon.
Weald Country ParkWeald Country Park is a 700-year-old, 500 acre country park in South Weald in the borough of Brentwood in the English county of Essex. It is on the north-east fringe of Greater London....
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. Brentwood 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, and football. 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.Brentwood Town F.C. are an English football club based in Brentwood, Essex. The club is currently a member of the Isthmian League Division One North....
and
London LeopardsThe London Leopards are a British basketball team that competes in the English Basketball League Division 1. The team was founded in 1997 as Ware Fire and later renamed to Ware Rebels. Following a merger in 2004, the team was renamed to Essex & Herts Leopards...
, who play at the Brentwood Centre. The town is also home to London Junior League club, Brentwood Elvers RLFC
http://www.brentwoodelvers.co.uk, the only rugby league club in West Essex.
Although no longer manufactured here, Brentwood became the centre of
trampoliningTrampolining is a competitive Olympic sport in which gymnasts perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. These can include simple jumps in the pike, tuck or straddle position to more complex combinations of forward or backward somersaults and twists....
in the UK between 1965 and 1981 after
George NissenGeorge P. Nissen is an American gymnast and inventor who developed the modern trampoline and made trampolining a worldwide sport....
brought the new sport here in 1949 and eventually manufactured
trampolineA trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a steel frame using many coiled springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes....
s in the town, continuing to do so for many years after they ceased production in the USA for fear of litigation.
Ted BlakeTed Blake was an early British trampoline pioneer.Following the development of modern trampolines in the USA by George Nissen, Ted Blake was a major contributor to their nascence in the United Kingdom and in developing International Competition for trampolining.In his early years Ted went to the...
, 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
trampoliningTrampolining is a competitive Olympic sport in which gymnasts perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. These can include simple jumps in the pike, tuck or straddle position to more complex combinations of forward or backward somersaults and twists....
. Brentwood still has a thriving trampolining community, but no longer a local factory.
Notable persons
- Stephen Moyer
Stephen Moyer is an English actor who has starred as vampire Bill Compton in the HBO series True Blood since 2008.Moyer was born in Brentwood, Essex...
: Moyer was born in Brentwood, Essex. A former pupil of St. Martin's School and a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he has a son, Billy, born in 2000 and a daughter, Lilac, born in 2002. He became Brentwood Theatre's first patron in October 2007, especially supporting their "Reaching Out, Building On" campaign to help fund the 2008 completion of backstage facilities.
- Jodie Marsh
Jodie Louisa Marsh is an English model and media personality. She has appeared topless in many tabloid newspapers and has appeared on her own reality show, Totally Jodie Marsh.-Television and film appearances:...
: Glamour Model
- Pixie Lott
Pixie Lott is an English singer–songwriter, actress, and dancer signed to Mercury Records in the UK and Interscope Records in the U.S...
: Musician
- Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane was an English playwright. Her plays deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture — both physical and psychological — and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of...
: Playwright
- Logan Sama
Logan Sama is a British Grime DJ from Brentwood, Essex, who currently hosts a weekly Grime show on London radio station Kiss 100 which has been running since May 2005...
: Grime DJ
Transport
Brentwood is served by several bus companies, the largest being
First EssexFirst Essex Buses Limited is owned by First Group. First Essex carries around 29 million passengers each year on a network of routes serving Essex and the surrounding areas. It arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses, whose yellow/maroon livery has only recently disappeared...
. The other main public transport providers are
Arriva Shires & EssexArriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It is also one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester and Southend, which were moved to Arriva Southern Counties...
,
Imperial BusesImperial Bus Co Ltd is a small bus company located in Rainham, London who operate services in Essex, Greater London and Thurrock.-Routes:They mostly operate school buses and rail replacement services but also operate some routes around Essex. They have a private hire business, with vintage...
,
Regal BuswaysRegal Busways Ltd is a small bus operator established in 2001 and based in Essex. Their services operate through 30 local communities including Chelmsford, Epping, The Hanningfields, Canvey Island, Harlow, Ongar, Pleshey, Toot Hill, Upshire, Waltham Abbey, Waltham Cross and Wickford.-History:Regal...
and
First LondonFirst London is one of many operators of London Buses and owned by First Group. They did also run the Tramlink network, in a partnership with Tramtrack Croydon before June 2008. Their registered office is at Paddington station in London...
.
Brentwood town centre does not have a railway station because it is situated on a hill.
Brentwood StationBrentwood railway station is a railway station at Brentwood in Essex, England. It was opened on 1 July 1840 as a temporary terminus by the Eastern Counties Railway on what was to become the Great Eastern Main Line. The line was extended towards Colchester in 1843...
is located to the south of the town and is served by National Express East Anglia stopping services between
Liverpool StreetLiverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a major railway station and connected London Underground station in the north eastern corner of the City of London in England...
in the City of London and
Shenfield railway stationShenfield is a major station located in Shenfield in the borough of Brentwood in Essex, England. It lies on the Great Eastern Main Line and links Liverpool Street station in the City of London to places in the East of England. It was first opened by the Eastern Counties Railway on 29 March 1843 on...
, 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 motorwayThe M25 motorway is a 117 mile orbital motorway which encircles Greater London, United Kingdom except for the tolled Dartford Crossing where it crosses the River Thames to the east of London...
is located 2 miles (3 km) to the south west of the town.
London Buses route 498London Buses route 498 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to First Capital.-History:...
links
RomfordRomford is a large suburban town in northeast London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
with Brentwood and operates Daily (every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday, and Sundays every 60 minutes).
Nearest railway stations
- Brentwood railway station
Brentwood railway station is a railway station at Brentwood in Essex, England. It was opened on 1 July 1840 as a temporary terminus by the Eastern Counties Railway on what was to become the Great Eastern Main Line. The line was extended towards Colchester in 1843...
- National Express East Anglia services between Liverpool Street and ShenfieldShenfield is a small town in the London Commuter Belt in the borough of Brentwood in Essex, England.-History:The name originates from the Saxon Chenefield, meaning 'good lands'....
- Shenfield railway station
Shenfield is a major station located in Shenfield in the borough of Brentwood in Essex, England. It lies on the Great Eastern Main Line and links Liverpool Street station in the City of London to places in the East of England. It was first opened by the Eastern Counties Railway on 29 March 1843 on...
- National Express East Anglia services to Liverpool Street, Brentwood and East AngliaEast Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
- West Horndon railway station
West Horndon station is a railway station located in West Horndon on the boundary between the boroughs of Brentwood and Thurrock, with the railway line forming a continuation of the boundary....
- c2cc2c is a National Express Group train operating company that provides train services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line from Fenchurch Street station in the City of London to East London along the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway area including Basildon, Chafford Hundred ,...
services between Fenchurch Street and ShoeburynessShoeburyness is a railway station located in the small town of Shoeburyness in the borough and unitary district of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. The station serves as the eastern terminus of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway from Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London,...
Nearest underground stations
- Epping tube station
Epping on the London Underground is the north-eastern terminus of the Central Line. The station before Epping is Theydon Bois, which is about three minutes travelling time away. Epping station is in the Epping Forest District of Essex. It is one of eight London Underground stations in this...
- Central LineThe Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Out of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
- Upminster tube station - District Line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines and the third busiest overall on the Underground network. Out of the 60...
Nearest places
- Chipping Ongar
Chipping Ongar is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located East of Epping, South-East of Harlow and North-West of Brentwood.- Geography :...
- Doddinghurst
Doddinghurst is a village and civil parish in south Essex. It is situated 3 miles to the north of Brentwood.-History:The village was recorded in the Domesday Book as Doddenhenc, an Anglo-Saxon name meaning 'the wood of Dudda or of his people'...
- Ingatestone
Ingatestone is a small town in Essex, England, with a population of about 4500 people. To the immediate north lies the village of Fryerning, and the two form the civil parish of Ingatestone and Fryerning....
- Ingrave
Ingrave is a village in south Essex. It is situated 2 miles south of Brentwood.-Name & History:Ingrave's name is derived from the name of the original manor in this area being called Ging-Ralph, or Ralph’s-ing. The manor was originally owned by the Mordaunt family but acquired by the Petre...
- Herongate
Herongate is a village in south Essex, situated on the A128 between Brentwood and West Horndon....
- Hutton
Hutton is a village in south Essex. It is situated to the east of Brentwood and to the west of Billericay. The village is close to Shenfield being largely built-up but with a substantial rural element as well.-History:...
- Pilgrims Hatch
Pilgrims Hatch is a village in the borough of Brentwood in Essex, England. There is also a borough council ward bearing the same name 'Pilgrims Hatch', which covers the Bishops Hall and 'Flowers' Estates, and the area North of Brentwood beyond the A12, and a small rural area to the North, up until...
- Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in northeast London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
- Shenfield
- Warley
Warley is a suburb of Brentwood in south Essex. It is situated to the south of the town.Warley is home to the British headquarters of Ford Motor Company....
External links