Bicknacre : Priory arch, Landmarks, 2023 Bicknacre earthquake, Notable people Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bicknacre

Human settlement in England

Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre

District

Chelmsford

Shire county

Essex

Region

East

CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townCHELMSFORDPostcode districtCM3Dialling code01245PoliceEssexFire Essex Ambulance East of England UK Parliament

Maldon

List of places: UK; England; Essex

51°41′47″N 0°35′12″E / 51.6964°N 0.5868°E / 51.6964; 0.5868

Bicknacre is a village in the civil parish of Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre, in the county of Essex, England. It is approximately 4.0 mi (6.5 km) north of South Woodham Ferrers and 5.7 mi (9.2 km) southeast of the city of Chelmsford. The village is in the borough of Chelmsford and in the parliamentary constituency of Maldon. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 2,263.^[1]

Priory arch

There was a hermitage on this site until around the end of 1154, when it was converted into a priory for the Augustinian Canons, also known as the Black Canons. It was known as Wodeham (Woodham) Priory until 1235 when the name Bicknacre first occurs.

The arch is all that remains of the priory. It comprises the west arch of the crossing of the church (estimated to date from about 1250) with attached fragments of the nave and north transept.^[2] The arch and the surrounding fields, known as Priory Fields, are looked after by a voluntary group, called Friends of Priory Fields.

Landmarks

The St Giles Home for British Lepers no longer exists, but St. Giles Churchyard, which is marked as an Essex Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve is in Moor Hall Lane. It is rumoured that the church is haunted by a man buried in the graveyard. His name remains unknown.

2023 Bicknacre earthquake

On 9 February 2023, Bicknacre was the epicentre of a small earthquake with a magnitude of 2.6 which was felt as far away as South Woodham Ferrers and Chelmsford.^[3]^[4]

Notable people

Notable people from the village include Richard Robarts, a former Formula One driver, and the artist Danielle West (now known as Danielle Martin). The artist Grayson Perry spent part of his childhood in the village. Joe Pettit, writer of the multi-award-winning short film Yout also lived in Bicknacre.^[5]

Images

Bicknacre Village Sign
The White Swan Public House
Shops at Bicknacre

References

^ "Bicknacre". City Population De. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
^ "Arch | Priory Fields". prioryfields.org.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-64580440
^ http://www.quakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/recent_events/20230209050515.html#page=summary
^ Martin Green (10 October 2011). "Grayson Perry interview - 'If I had not been an artist, I'd probably be a serial killer'". Essex Chronicle. Retrieved 18 May 2015.^{[permanent dead link]}