Wickford

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
This article is about the town in England. For other uses, see Wickford (disambiguation).

Wickford
Wickford town sign
Wickford is located in Essex
Wickford
Wickford
Location within Essex
Population27,601 (Parish, 2021)[a][1]
27,535 (Built up area, 2021)[2]
OS grid referenceTQ746932
Civil parish
  • Wickford
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWICKFORD
Postcode districtSS11, SS12
Dialling code01268
PoliceEssex
FireEssex
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Essex
51°36′41″N 0°31′15″E / 51.6114°N 0.5207°E / 51.6114; 0.5207

Wickford is a town and civil parish in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. It is located approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of London and 4 miles (6 km) north-east of the centre of Basildon. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 27,601 and the built up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics had a population of 27,535.

Wickford has a main high street which includes a wide range of shops. It also has a swimming pool, library, open-air market and a community centre within the vicinity of the town centre.

History

[edit]

There is evidence that the area was inhabited in prehistoric times, including by the tribe of Britons called the Trinovantes.[3] There was a Roman military marching camp on the Beauchamps Farm site, which was succeeded by a Roman villa. This is now the site of Beauchamps High School.[4]

The name Wickford is first attested in a Saxon charter of 995, where it appears as Wicford. The "-ford" indicates a crossing of the River Crouch, but there are a number of theories as to the meaning of the "Wick-" element; it may refer to wych elm, a dairy or other specialised farm, or sheep.[5][3][6]

In the Domesday Book of 1086 there were nine estates or manors at the vill of Wicfort or Wincfort in the Barstable Hundred of Essex.[7][8] The two main estates were the manor of Wickford Hall and the manor of Stilemans. Robert Wikeford or de Wickford (c.1320–90), Archbishop of Dublin, was born in Wickford and his family are thought to have been Lords of the Manor of Wickford Hall.[9]

St Catherine's Church

No priest or church is mentioned in any of the Wickford entries in the Domesday Book, but Wickford became a parish. Its parish church, dedicated to St Catherine, stands on high ground along Southend Road, to the east of the Crouch. The church was rebuilt in 1875–1876, replacing a medieval building on the same site.[10]

Before the 20th century, Wickford was an agricultural village. The original core of the village was around the church; the manor house of Wickford Hall formerly stood immediately to the east of the church.[11] Over time, the commercial centre of Wickford has migrated westwards towards the modern High Street on the western side of the Crouch.[3]

Wickford railway station opened to passengers in 1889 on the Shenfield to Southend branch line of the Great Eastern Railway. Later that same year the station became a junction station when the Crouch Valley branch line to Southminster opened. The arrival of the railway encouraged the growth of Wickford.[12]

Naturism

[edit]

Wickford became the birthplace of Naturism in the United Kingdom; in 1924, the English Gymnosophist Society was formed and had its home in the town.[13]

Second World War

[edit]

During the Second World War, the edge of the town was hit by a German doodlebug and, on 6 December 1944, a V-2 rocket fell in Branksome Avenue, about a mile west of the town centre. Around the town, in amongst the hedgerows and fields, there are numerous pillboxes constructed as a part of British anti-invasion preparations.[citation needed]

1958 flood

[edit]

In 1958, Wickford town centre was hit by a flood which made national news headlines. The most striking image of the flood was a double-decker bus, left stranded at Halls Corner overnight, partly submerged by the floodwater.[14] A second flood, in 1960, meant that changes were made to the course of the River Crouch; this included turning the river into a concrete channel through the centre of the town.

Regeneration

[edit]
Riverside Place Phase 1 complete

There have been a number of proposals to regenerate the town centre in recent years. A town centre masterplan was adopted by Basildon Council in 2006, followed by a town centre regeneration strategy in 2013. Some of the proposals in these plans have been delivered, and further plans for the regeneration of the town centre continue to be considered.[15]

Geography

[edit]
The River Crouch flows through Wickford in a concrete channel, which is designed to protect the town from flooding

For the most part, Wickford is flat and 10 metres (33 ft) above sea level. The highest point, on the outskirts of the town, is 74 metres (243 ft) above sea level. The River Crouch flows through the town, from the west to the east. The River Wick flows into the River Crouch from the south.

The Office for National Statistics defines a Wickford built up area which also covers Shotgate, which forms its own parish separate from Wickford. Immediately adjoining the Wickford built up area to the north is the Runwell built up area, which is includes the parts of Wickford parish north of the railway line and River Crouch. The Wickford built up area had a population of 27,535 at the 2021 census, and the adjoining Runwell built up area had a population of 8,085.[2]

Wick Country Park

[edit]

The Wick Country Park comprises 50 acres (20 ha) of former agricultural land, with over 2 km (1 1/4 miles) of easy access trails around the site. The trails leads visitors past old hedgerows, the 5-acre (2.0 ha) lake, ponds, World War II pillboxes and recent woodland plantings; bridges and boardwalks allow the trails to continue over the North Benfleet brook.

Transport

[edit]

Railway

[edit]
Wickford station entrance, before it was demolished in 2021

Wickford railway station is situated on the Shenfield to Southend Line, which provides services between London Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria. A journey to London takes approximately 40 minutes.

In addition, the Crouch Valley line has services between Wickford and Southminster.

Greater Anglia manages the station and operates all of its passenger services.[16]

Buses

[edit]

Bus services in Wickford are operated primarily by First Essex, but also by Stephensons of Essex and NIBS Buses.

Routes include:[17]

Roads

[edit]

The town can be reached easily via the A127, which connects east London and Southend-on-Sea, and by the A130 from Chelmsford.

Governance

[edit]

There are three tiers of local government covering Wickford, at parish (town), district, and county level: Wickford Town Council, Basildon Borough Council, and Essex County Council. The town council generally meets at the Wick Community Centre and has an office at Wych Elm House on Nevendon Road.[18][19]

Administrative history

[edit]

Wickford was an ancient parish in the Barstable Hundred of Essex. When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894, Wickford was given a parish council and included in the Billericay Rural District.[20]

In 1934 most of the rural district, including the parish of Wickford, was converted into the Billericay Urban District. The parishes within it were then classed as urban parishes and so became ineligible to have their own parish councils. All the civil parishes within the urban district were merged into a single parish called Billericay in 1937. The urban district was renamed Basildon in 1955 and was reformed to become the modern Basildon district in 1974, at which point the district also became an unparished area.[21]

In 2007 part of the area of the pre-1937 parish of Wickford was made the new parish of Shotgate.[22]

In 2022 a new civil parish of Wickford was created, with its parish council taking the name Wickford Town Council.[23][24]

Media

[edit]

Local TV coverage is provided by BBC London and ITV London which is received from the Crystal Palace TV transmitter. [25] BBC East and ITV Anglia can also be received from the Sudbury TV transmitter. [26]

Local radio stations are on BBC Essex on 95.3 FM, Heart East on 96.3 FM, and Gateway 97.8, a community based radio station which broadcast from Basildon on 97.8 FM. [27]

The town is served by the local newspaper, the Southend Echo.[28]

Notable people

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Although the civil parish of Wickford did not exist at the time of the 2021 census, formally coming into being in 2022, the Office for National Statistics uses the parish boundaries as they existed in 2022 to report the populations on census night in 2021, and so does report a population for Wickford parish.
  1. ^ "2021 Census Parish Profiles". NOMIS. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 March 2025. (To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.)
  2. ^ a b "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021". Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Rayment, David (17 October 2013). Wickford and Around Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445632254. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Beauchamps Farm Settlement". Heritage Gateway. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  5. ^ Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, pp. 515–516
  6. ^ "Wickford". Key to English Place-Names. University of Nottingham. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  7. ^ Powell-Smith, Anna. "Wickford". Open Domesday. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Essex T–Z". The Domesday Book Online. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  9. ^ O'Flanagan, J. Roderick Lives of the Lord Chancellors of Ireland London 1870
  10. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Catherine (Grade II) (1338415)". National Heritage List for England.
  11. ^ "Essex Sheet LXIX". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. 1880. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  12. ^ Phillips, Charles (2024). The Great Eastern Railway: The late 19th and early 20th century, 1862–1924. Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 9781399024662. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  13. ^ Edwards, Adam (9 May 2006). "Stark naked ambition". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  14. ^ "Aftermath of Black Friday's Fantastic Storms". Illustrated London News. No. 6223. 13 September 1958. pp. 35–36. Retrieved 22 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ Wickford Neighbourhood Plan Scoping Report (PDF). Wickford Town Council. 2024. p. 7. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  16. ^ "Timetables". Greater Anglia. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Wickford Bus Services". Bus Times. 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Committees and Meetings". Wickford Town Council. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  19. ^ "Contact Us". Wickford Town Council. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  20. ^ "Wickford Parish". Vision of Britain. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  21. ^ "Billericay Urban District". Vision of Britain. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  22. ^ "The Basildon (Parish) Order 2007" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for England. The National Archives. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  23. ^ "Local Government and Local Involvement in Health Act 2007 : The Basildon Borough (Reorganistation of Community Governance) Order 2021" (PDF). Basildon.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  24. ^ "New town council to be established for Wickford in 2022". Yellowad.co.uk. 30 March 2021.
  25. ^ "Full Freeview on the Crystal Palace (Greater London, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  26. ^ "Full Freeview on the Sudbury (Suffolk, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  27. ^ "Gateway 97.8". Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  28. ^ "Southend Standard". British Papers. 25 December 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  29. ^ O'Flanagan J. Roderick "Lives of the Lord Chancellors of Ireland" London 1870
[edit]