Blackmore

This article is about the English village. For other uses, see Blackmore (disambiguation).
Blackmore

Village sign
Blackmore
 Blackmore shown within Essex
OS grid referenceTL603016
Civil parishBlackmore, Hook End and Wyatts Green
DistrictBrentwood
Shire countyEssex
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town INGATESTONE
Postcode district CM4
Dialling code 01277
Police Essex
Fire Essex
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentBrentwood & Ongar
List of places
UK
England
Essex

Coordinates: 51°41′22″N 0°19′36″E / 51.6894°N 0.3266°E / 51.6894; 0.3266

Blackmore is a village in Essex, England.[1] It is located approximately 3 miles (5 km) east of Chipping Ongar and 4 miles (7 km) north of Brentwood. The village is in the parish of Blackmore, Hook End and Wyatts Green in the borough of Brentwood and the parliamentary constituency of Brentwood & Ongar.

History

The village was recorded in the Domesday Book as 'Phingaria' which was a Latinised form of its original Anglo-Saxon name, Fingreth, meaning 'the stream of the people of Fin'. It is thought that the name Blackmore was introduced in the Middle Ages as a reference to 'Black Marsh' or 'Black Swamp'.[2]

The Priory Church of St Laurence church marks the site of a former Augustinian Priory, dissolved during the reign of Henry VIII in 1525. The church is the original building (but without the chancel which was destroyed at the time of dissolution) and is now the parish church and features one of the last remaining all wooden steeples (currently inhabited by a community of bats) in England. The site still shows signs of the original moat.[3] The village itself is believed to have migrated to a location closer to the chapel of the Priory from around Fingrith Hall during the mediaeval period.

Jericho Priory, on the site adjacent to the church and still within the moated area, was built in the 18th century on the site of an earlier 16th-century building which was believed to be the country retreat of Henry VIII and where, in 1520, his 'natural son', Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, was born.[3]

Other old buildings in the village include the 15th- 16th-century Bull Inn, a traditional Essex timber-framed house, and Fingreth Hall, in the north of the parish, where Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer during the Elizabethan era lived.[3]

Society and leisure

The Bull 15th-century public house

The village is surrounded by countryside and has been named Essex best kept village of the year, for 1982, 1984, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and Essex Village of the Year 1997. The village green has a small pond at its eastern end. To the east of the village itself is a cottage which was built in 1345.

There is a village shop, the primary school, two village halls, a sports and social club, football and cricket pitches, a sport arena used for football, netball and hockey. Blackmore Tennis Club is also situated next to the arena. The village has three pubs: The Prince Albert, The Bull, and The Leather Bottle.[4] Societies and clubs include those for the Women's Institute, Scouts, amateur dramatics, sports and fitness, and croquet. Village football teams are Spartak Blackmore F.C., and Infield F.C. Infield F.C., also known as 'The Wasps', are an adult side who play at the Sports & Social Club. The village name has recently become used for a brand of cycling clothing.

The village has two churches: the Anglican Priory Church of St Laurence, part of which date back to the 12th century and which has a timber tower dating back to 1400;[5][6] and Blackmore Baptist Church.[7]

Transport

The village is close to the Chelmsford Road, part of the A414, to the A12 and the M11 and M25 motorways; it has rail links from Brentwood—four miles away—to London.[1] The 261 bus route connects the village to Brentwood. The 32 bus route also goes through the village connecting it to Ongar and Chelmsford. A 339 service operates from Blackmore to Ongar, Brentwood and Warley.

References

  1. 1 2 Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 167 Chelmsford (Harlow & Bishop’s Stortford) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2012. ISBN 9780319232101.
  2. ↑ Brentwood Official Guide - 2001
  3. 1 2 3 Brentwood Guide
  4. ↑ "Blackmore village: Social". www.blackmorevillage.com. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "Blackmore Church Introduction". www.blackmorehistory.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Blackmore Village History". www.blackmorevillage.com. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Blackmore Churches". www.blackmorevillage.com. Retrieved 1 April 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blackmore.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.