Chignal St James
| Chignal St James | |
| Essex | |
|---|---|
 Village pump and telephone box | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 51°45’42"N, -0°25’3"E |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Chelmsford |
| Postcode: | CM1 |
| Dialling code: | 01245 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Chelmsford |
Chignal St James is a village and ancient parish in the Chelmsford hundred of Essex. It is situated 3½ miles north-west by west of the county town of Chelmsford. Along with neighbouring Chignal Smealy it forms part of the civil parish of Chignall.
The spelling of the village name is open to discussion. Sometimes it is spelt as "Chignall St James" at other times, as "Chignal St James".
Businesses providing employment in the area include Ashdown Engineering, Gardening Express & Balance Life Magazine, and local farms.
The area once included a Roman villa, the site of which was discovered in the 1970s.[1][2] Originally the village was a settlement for farmers and their labour force that worked the land, but as mechanisation took over the farming population left. The village is now partly a commuter settlement, and partly resident to remaining agricultural workers and retired people.
The village has a public house, The Three Elms, thought to be over 500 years old.
Notable village landmarks include an old brick-built farm barn with a dove-cote thought to be the oldest and only example of its type in Essex, an old red brick school (now a dwelling), the former church, and the Old Rectory.
References
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Chignal St James) |
- The Three Elms
- Chignal Parish Council Web Site
- Ashdown Engineering
- Gardening Express
- Balance Life Magazine
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