Billericay

History

Some of the earliest records of human occupation of Billericay are the burial mounds in Norsey Wood: evidence of occupation in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Evidence of Roman occupation has been found at a number of locations in the town and there may have been a small cavalry fort at Blunts Wall.

The Saxons did not settle in the centre of Billericay. They established themselves two miles south, at Great Burstead. In the late 10th century it was known as 'Burhstede'. Billericay was not mentioned in the Domesday Book, as it lay within Great Burstead. At this time the parish church for Billericay was at Great Burstead.

Origin of the name

Billericay (previously Billerica) is a well-known exception in the identification of the origins of English place-names. The name of the town was first recorded as "Byllyrica" in 1291. The urban settlement, which was within the manor and parish of Great Burstead, was one of many founded in the late 13th century in an already densely populated rural landscape. Several suggestions for the origin of the place name include:

Although the a precise etymology of the name is not known, England has other places named Billericas, they are:

The Tudor antiquarian John Leland believed the already-abandoned Billerica in Kent was a variant of Bellocastrum, ‘fair castle’ in Latin. In Billericay there is a Roman fort at Blunt’s Wall Farm; likewise ‘Burh’ gives is name to Great Burstead. This suggests that a Romano-British place name was reused by the Anglo-Saxons following the end of Roman rule in Britain.

Middle Ages

In the 13th and 14th centuries some pilgrims to Canterbury journeyed via Billericay. Some of them may have spent the night in Billericay before crossing the River Thames at Tilbury. This may account for the large number of inns in the town.

Billericay's most notable historical episode was the Battle of Billericay during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

The Wycliffe preachers influenced the town. Four local people (Thomas Watts, Joan Hornes, Elizabeth Thackwell, and Margaret Ellis) were burnt at the stake. Two other residents (Joan Potter and James Harris) were tortured for their faith during the reign of Queen Mary.

Pilgrim Fathers

A meeting of the Pilgrim Fathers prior to their sailing in the Mayflower is said to have taken place in Billericay, and many local names and much historical imagery reflect this: Mayflower House, Morris Men, Taxis, School, Hall. Sunnymede School's houses were called Mayflower, Pilgrim, Chantry and Martin (after Christopher Martin, a Billericay merchant who travelled on the Mayflower as Ship's Governor).

Four people from Billericay were on board, including Christopher Martin. He and his wife Marie, along with Solomon Prowe and John Langemore, perished shortly after their arrival at Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The unfortunate fate of the would-be pioneers did not deter other inhabitants of Billericay from setting sail for the New World. The town of Billerica, Massachusetts was established in 1655 by colonists from Billericay and named after their home town in England.

Georgian and Victorian eras

In the Georgian period many excellent examples of the period's houses were built in Billericay. One of those remaining today is Burghstead Lodge in High Street, which used to house the library. The road from Billericay to Tilbury still had a reputation for "footpads" and highwaymen operating along the road, where it passed through open country.

In the town, the Union Workhouse was built in 1840 to continue to implement the Poor Law. Parts of this building were later incorporated into what was St. Andrew's Hospital. The railway arrived in Billericay in 1889, being on the Great Eastern Main Line between London and Southend-on-Sea.

The 20th century

In 1916, during the First World War, one of the giant German Zeppelin airships was shot down during an aerial battle over Billericay. During its fiery demise, it narrowly missed the High Street, crashing into a nearby field. Recent research has indicated that this may be identified with the 'ghost Zeppelin' of Tonbridge which was allegedly seen floating over that town earlier in the day.

St. Andrew's Hospital, which was formerly the site of the town's Victorian workhouse, continued to function as an important communal building. From 1973, it housed the internationally renowned Regional Plastic Surgery and Burns unit until this was relocated to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford in April 1998. After the relocation, most of the hospital was redeveloped into housing. The listed buildings remain intact but are now residential.

Geography

Billericay is within the London Basin and lies on a mixture of London clay, Claygate Beds and Bagshot Beds. Near the High Street, there is a change in soil type from sandy to clay, which gives rise to local underground springs. Open spaces include Norsey Wood, Mill Meadows Nature Reserve, Queen's Park Country Park, Sun Corner, Lake Meadows, Hanningfield Reservoir and South Green. Billericay contains Billericay School, Mayflower High School and St John's School.

Governance

Between 1 July 1837 and 1 July 1939 Billericay was a registration district. From 1974 until the present, the town falls under the Basildon district. The registry office is located in Basildon, in the council offices. There is also the facility to register deaths in Basildon Hospital.

Parliamentary

Since major boundary changes in Essex for the 2010 general election, Billericay has been part of the parliamentary constituency of Basildon and Billericay, whose MP is John Baron of the Conservative Party. The town was previously represented by Teresa Gorman from 1987 to 2001, a Conservative rebel who had the whip withdrawn for opposing the Maastricht Treaty. Her predecessor, the Conservative MP Harvey Proctor, was also prominent in the news in 1987, when he was charged with indecency.

Local government

Billericay is part of the Basildon district, although occasional proposals have been made to transfer it to the nearby Brentwood district. Basildon District Council is Conservative-controlled. Billericay is served by a town council of 20 members elected in 3 wards. There is also a youth town council, elected in schools around the town. The town council has powers related to local planning and finance, while the youth council has an annual budget of £500 to spend or invest in local services or entertainment.

Billericay parish was not formed until 1937; before then the area had been part of the ancient Great Burstead parish. In 1894 Billericay Rural District was created, which covered a wide area stretching as far as Brentwood and Pitsea. In 1934 the core of this district around Basildon and Billericay became Billericay Urban District, and in 1937 a Billericay civil parish was created covering the same area. The urban district, but not the parish, was renamed Basildon in 1955. In 1974 the district was abolished and became the present-day Basildon district.

Transport

Billericay is a part of the London commuter belt.

It is served by Billericay railway station on the Abellio Greater Anglia route from Liverpool Street station, in the City of London, to Southend. The station connects to local bus routes.

Billericay is close to two primary routes: the A12 to the north and the A127 in the south. The A176 provides a road link to Basildon to the south of Billericay, as well as to the A127. The only secondary road in the town, the B1007, passes from just south of the town centre as Laindon Road, meets the A129 at Sun Corner and then continues northwards as Billericay's High Street and then Stock Road. It continues north to the county town of Chelmsford. Along its route is the village of Stock and an interchange to the A12. The town is a destination on the A129, linking it to the neighbouring towns of Brentwood and Wickford.

Sport

Culture

Billericay is served by a community radio station, Phoenix FM, which is based in Brentwood.

The town was immortalised in the Ian Dury and the Blockheads song "Billericay Dickie". Billericay is mentioned in George Orwell's novel Down and Out in Paris and London. Billericay is the setting of the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey as the home of Gavin Shipman (Mathew Horne) and his parents; however, the actual filming took place in Wales.

The Cater Museum is a privately owned local history museum housed in an 18th & 19th century building in the High Street. The Billericay Community Archive strives to record photos, memories and history relating to the town and surrounding areas on their website.

The Mayflower Morris Men are members of the Morris Ring of England and continue to dance the Morris in the town and perform their traditional Mummers' play, St. George and the Dragon, in the High Street every year on the nearest Saturday to St. George's Day.

Twinning

Billericay is twinned with:

Notable people