Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Chelmsford (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Chelmsford City Racecourse, Chelmsford Cathedral, and Hylands House. Also, be sure to include RHS Garden Hyde Hall in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Chelmsford (England).
Table of Contents
Chelmsford City Racecourse
Sports venue in England. Chelmsford City racecourse, originally known as Great Leighs Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Great Leighs near Chelmsford, Essex, England. When it opened in April 2008, it was the first entirely new racecourse in the UK since Taunton opened in 1927. It went into administration in January 2009, and racing did not resume until January 2015.
Chelmsford City (known as Great Leighs at the time) was developed and owned by entrepreneur John Holmes and his son, Jonathan. It aimed to exploit potentially the largest unserved market in British horseracing. Overall there is slightly more than one racecourse per million people in Great Britain, but there was no racecourse in Essex (population >1.6 million), in east London (formerly in part, part of Essex) or in the neighbouring county of Hertfordshire (population >1 million). The new course is only 50 miles (80 kilometres) from Newmarket, the largest racehorse training centre in Britain. The course is laid out as an 8.5-furlong (1,700-metre) left-handed Polytrack oval, with a 2-furlong (400-metre) home straight. The 10,000-capacity grandstand was used at the 2006 Ryder Cup.[1]
Address: Moulsham Hall Lane, CM3 1QP Chelmsford (Boreham and The Leighs)
Chelmsford Cathedral
Place of worship since the 11th century. Chelmsford Cathedral in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop of Chelmsford.[2]
Address: New St, CM1 1TY Chelmsford
Hylands House
Neo-classical villa and grounds. Hylands House is a Grade II* neo-classical villa situated within Hylands Park a 232-hectare park south-west of Chelmsford in Essex in South East England. It is owned and operated by Chelmsford City Council.[3]
Address: London Rd, CM2 8WQ Chelmsford (Writtle)
RHS Garden Hyde Hall
Garden in England. RHS Garden Hyde Hall is a public display garden run by the Royal Horticultural Society in the English county of Essex. It is one of five public gardens run by the society, alongside Wisley in Surrey, Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire, Rosemoor in Devon, and Bridgewater in Greater Manchester.
The 360-acre Hyde Hall site encompasses a range of garden styles, from the Dry Garden with drought resistant plants, to the Hilltop Garden with roses and herbaceous borders. Hyde Hall has had a lot of investment in recent years with the opening of a new Global Growth Vegetable Garden (in 2017) showing vegetables from around the world, a new Winter Garden (in 2018) hosting an RHS Trial of Cornus, a new Welcome building (in 2017), and Hilltop Complex (in 2018) featuring a new restaurant and activity centre.
There is a reference library, located in the old farmhouse. It provides a substantial collection of books on practical gardening, garden design, botanical art, garden history, wildlife gardening, plant hunting and much more.
Robert Brett is the current curator after taking over from Ian Le Gros who became Head of Site.[4]
Address: Hyde Hall Creephedge Lane, CM3 8ET Chelmsford
Chelmsford Museum
Museum in Chelmsford, England. The Chelmsford Museum is based in Oaklands House, an historic property off Mousham Street in Chelmsford, Essex. It is a Grade II Listed building.[5]
Palace of Beaulieu
Building in Boreham, England. The Palace of Beaulieu is a former Royal Palace in Boreham, Essex, England, north-east of Chelmsford. The surviving part is a Grade I listed building. The property is currently occupied by New Hall School.[6]
Chelmer Valley Riverside
Nature preserve in Chelmsford, England. Chelmer Valley Riverside is a 17.6 hectare Local Nature Reserve along the banks of the River Chelmer in Chelmsford in Essex. It is owned and managed by Chelmsford City Council.
The northern end has the river, unimproved grassland, veteran hedges, scrub and woodland. The southern area is more managed, with mown grass as well as large trees and an area of marshland. Wildlife includes kingfishers, otters, mistletoe and pyramidal orchids.
There are many access points, including Valley Bridge at the northern end and Victoria Road at the southern one.[7]
Our Lady Immaculate Church
Parish church in Chelmsford, England. Our Lady Immaculate Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Chelmsford, Essex, England. It was founded in 1845, opened in 1847 and designed by Joseph John Scoles. It is situated on New London Road, next to Our Lady Immaculate Primary School, close to the junction with Anchor Street, in the city centre. It is served by the Premonstratensians from their only community in the UK, St. Philip's Priory.[8]
Address: 178 New London Rd, CM2 0AR Chelmsford
Great Baddow
Village in England. Great Baddow is an urban village and civil parish in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the county town, Chelmsford and, with a population of over 13,000, is one of the largest villages in the country.
Great Baddow's name is believed to have been derived from the River Beadwan, now known as the River Chelmer, which marks the northern boundary of the village. Beadwan is thought to be a Celtic word of uncertain meaning, possibly "birch stream" or a reference to the goddess Badbh. The centre of Great Baddow is now a Conservation Area and contains over 30 listed buildings.[9]
Leez Priory
Mansion in England. Leez Priory is a 16th-century mansion in Little Leighs, a small parish in the district of Chelmsford in the county of Essex, England. The civil parish boundary between Felsted and Great and Little Leighs crosses the priory, so that it partially lies in Felsted and partially in Great and Little Leighs. The priory was designated a Grade I listed building in 1952.[10]
Address: Hartford End，Great Leighs，Chelmsford, Chelmsford
Essex Record Office
The Essex Record Office is the repository for records about the county of Essex in England. The office is run by Essex County Council. A searchable database of the records held at the office is available on a system called Seax.[11]
Little Waltham Meadows
Nature reserve in Little Waltham, England. Little Waltham Meadows is an 8.9 hectare nature reserve south of Little Waltham in Essex. It is owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
The site is wet and dry meadows on the bank of the River Chelmer, which are grazed to restore them to their previous state. There are grassland plants such as saxifrage, bee orchids and yellow oat-grass. Tawny owls and sparrowhawks hunt in the meadows and ancient hedgerows.
There is access from Back Lane.[12]
Hanningfield Reservoir
Reservoir in England. Hanningfield Reservoir is a large 25,500-million-litre pumped storage reservoir located between Billericay and Chelmsford in Essex. It has a surface area of 352 hectares and is owned and operated by Essex and Suffolk Water.
The reservoir is part of a 402.9 ha (996 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site is also owned by Essex and Suffolk Water and is run by them in conjunction with the Essex Wildlife Trust. The reservoir is covered by a Bird Sanctuary Order.[13]
Writtle
Village in England. The village and civil parish of Writtle lies 1 mile west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishing variety of ancient cottages". The village is now home to Writtle College, one of the UK's oldest and largest land-based colleges and a partner institution of the University of Essex, the grounds of which once housed a Royal hunting lodge, later the possession of the De Brus and De Bohun families.
The suggestion that Writtle is the birthplace of Robert the Bruce, as well as his father Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale, is contested, though its possession and use by both is incontrovertible. From 1996 until 2017 Writtle hosted the annual southern V Festival within the grounds of Sir John Comyn's Hylands Park. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 5,632, decreasing to 5,383 at the 2011 Census.[14]
21st World Scout Jamboree
The 21st World Scout Jamboree was held in July and August 2007, and formed a part of the Scouting 2007 Centenary celebrations of the world Scout Movement. The event was hosted by the United Kingdom, as 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of Scouting on Brownsea Island.
The event was held for 12 days between 27 July and 8 August, in Hylands Park, Chelmsford, Essex. This site was selected because of the easy access to air and sea transport, and it is also near Gilwell Park, an important campsite and training centre for Scout Leaders.
Over 38,000 Scouts and leaders from 158 countries which have a recognised National Scout Organization (recognition is conferred by membership in the World Organization of the Scout Movement) camped for the event, while over 50,000 others attended for day visits. There were also over 8600 members of the International Service Team who also came from all over the world.[15]