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Springfield, Essex
Springfield is a settlement and civil parish of the borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England, which is now a north-eastern suburb of the city of Chelmsford. In 2008 it had a population of 17,405. HistoryUntil the 1950s, the parish was a semi-rural village lying one mile north east of Chelmsford, on the old Roman Road, with little to attract the visitor outside of the annual Essex show, a half dozen pubs and the town's prison and Essex Police headquarters, both of which still lie to the east of the Roman road. The Essex show-ground was once sited on fields north of The Green, and south of Pump Lane. Since this time, the former show site along with a thousand or so acres of surrounding arable land have been developed to create the most populous suburb of Chelmsford. An area in the north of the parish was transferred to Broomfield in 1888.[2] Larger areas were transferred to Chelmsford in 1907 and 1934.[2] The historic heart of the parish, now within Chelmsford's unparished area,[3] is centred on the Anglican All Saints' Church,[4] Springfield Place[5] and Springfield Green. This area is one of the few not to have been visibly transformed in the last 50 years. From 1894 to 1974 it was in Chelmsford Rural District.[2] In 1974 it became part of the non-metropolitan district of Chelmsford. Listed buildings in Springfield include Springfield Hall,[6] The Old Rectory, Springfield Place (purchased by Thomas Brograve in 1781) and Dukes Cottages. GeographyThe parish originally took in the portion of the town north of the River Chelmer and west of the A12 road, and comprised the manors of Springfield Hall, Springfield Barnes (now Chelmer Village), Cuton Hall, and part of New Hall (now Beaulieu Park).[7] Now that Chelmer Village is a separate parish, Springfield extends north-west from the A138 road as far as the river.[3] Influence on the City of Springfield, Massachusetts A former resident of the village of Springfield, William Pynchon, went on to become one of the leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony – a group of New World settlers whose capital city was Boston. In 1636, Pynchon and a group of pioneers founded Springfield, Massachusetts, beside New England's greatest river, the Connecticut River, amidst New England's most fertile soil. Originally named Agawam (now a suburb of the city itself, featuring the Six Flags New England amusement park), the settlement was renamed "Springfield" in Pynchon's honour, after he had suffered indignities from Connecticut's Captain John Mason – the notorious "Indian Killer" of British America's Pequot War – who expressed disdain at Pynchon's "delicate treatment" of the region's Native People. After this, Springfield forever aligned with Boston, although 89 miles separate the two, instead of aligning with Hartford, Connecticut, now the state capital of Connecticut – only 23 miles south of Springfield. This city was the first of many across the English-speaking world to take the name of the Essex village. Among places named after Springfield, Massachusetts, is Springfield, Illinois, the capital of that state. EducationThe parish hosts a number of schools:
New Hall School (independent, RC) is nearby at Boreham. References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Springfield, Essex.
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