Great Baddow

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 51.719
longitude= 0.507
official_name= Great Baddow
population = 14000
shire_district= Chelmsford
shire_county = Essex
region= East of England
constituency_westminster=
post_town= Chelmsford|postcode_district = CM2
postcode_area= CM |dial_code= 01245
os_grid_reference= TL731052

Great Baddow is an urban village in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the county town, Chelmsford, and is one of the largest villages in the Country.

Great Baddow was named after the river Baddow which runs a mile or so east of the village, many will now know the river from its modern name, the Chelmer derived from Chelmsford. At the heart of the old village there are over 30 listed buildings. The village has been the site of a Marconi factory for many years, and major development started in the fifties with the building of the Rothmans Estate for workers at Marconi's and English Electric Valve Company in Chelmsford. During the 1960s the local council had multi-storey housing, shops, and offices built on the Vineyards, a country house turned hotel. Fact|date=May 2007. Today, the newly refurbished Vineyards flats are proving to be highly regarded and sought after properties.

Great Baddow has five pubs -- The White Horse, The Blue Lion, The Kings Head, The Beehive and The Star.

The manor was once a possession of Robert the Bruce [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=3LBIzUN5D1wC&pg=PA24&dq=baddow+and+bruce&sig=ioEpAXbmHg_LfEuTHhOswxVjKYY#PPA24,M1] Scripta Diversa, By George Osborne Sayles, 1982] [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=wHZcIRMhSEMC&pg=PA733&dq=bruce+and+Baddow&sig=_1iJsPKVqilBVmDkwuV2Afapp7o] Magna Carta Ancestry, By Douglas Richardson, Kimball G. Everingham, 2005]

According to information in the village church of St Mary, the rebel leader Jack Straw led an ill-fated crowd (the "men of Essex") from the churchyard to London, in one of the risings in the 1381 Peasants' Revolt.

A former Chain Home radar transmitter tower, originally sited at Canewdon, can now be found on the outskirts of the village where it is used to test equipment by Marconi.

The village is also home to Great Baddow High School, situated on Duffield Road. The school is a sports college and shows exceptional performances in this field. As well as the high school it is also home to Baddow Hall Infant and Junior Schools, Beehive Lane County Primary School, Larkrise Primary School, (formerly Rothmans Primary School), and Meadgate County Primary Schools.

Nearby villages include

* Galleywood
* Sandon
* Danbury
* Little Baddow
* Rettendon
* Moulsham

References

External links

* [http://www.greatbaddowparishcouncil.co.uk/ Great Baddow Parish Council]
* [http://www.greatbaddow.org.uk/ Website for the Great Baddow Team Ministry] - includes a [http://www.greatbaddow.org.uk/docs/Great%20Baddow%20Timeline.htm history] of the village
* [http://www.greatbaddowonline.co.uk/ Great Baddow Online - Website for the village community]
* [http://www.mainlymono.co.uk/greatbaddow/ Pictures of Great Baddow Pubs in the 1970s]
* [http://www.thebeehivegtbaddow.co.uk/ The Beehive Public House]