Hockley | |
---|---|
Location within Essex | |
Population | 9,616 (2011) [1] |
OS grid reference | TQ826924 |
Civil parish |
|
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | HOCKLEY |
Postcode district | SS5 |
Dialling code | 01702 |
Police | Essex |
Fire | Essex |
Ambulance | East of England |
UK Parliament | |
Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 1890s [2] and at the 2001 census had a population of 13,616 people, [3] reducing to 9,616 at the 2011 Census,. [1] The parish of Hockley itself had a population of 8,909 at the (2001 census), while the urban area runs into the neighbouring parish of Hawkwell. Hockley railway station serves the village.
The place-name 'Hockley' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Hocheleia. The name means "Hocca's woodland clearing or glade". [4] Today, there is still a large wooded area named Hockley Woods. Notable buildings in the village include the church of St Peter and Paul, which has a nave which was possibly built before the twelfth century, a thirteenth-century chancel and a fourteenth-century tower, the upper half of which is octagonal and was built at a later date. The tower holds three bells, manufactured by Miles Gray in 1626, by James Bartlett in 1684 and by John Hodgson in 1657, and the building is Grade II* listed. [5] The church is situated to the north-west of the village centre, where Grade II listed Spa Pump Room is situated. The building was built as a spa to a design by James Lockyer in 1842, after Robert Clay found a medicinal spring there in 1838. [6] Hockley is also the site of the former Bullwood Hall prison which closed in 2013. [7]
Plumberow Mount, a Roman burial mound, [8] was excavated in 1913 by Mr. E. B. Francis. At the time, there was a summer house on the top of the mound, and so trenches were cut on three sides. The excavation found a Roman coin of Domitian and some Saxon pottery which may indicate a secondary burial. The oval mound is 14 feet (4.3 m) high, and 76 feet (23 m) in diameter, with a flattened top, where the summerhouse was located. [9] Since 2005, a metal fence has surrounded the mound to protect it from erosion, and a number of trees which were growing on or near it were cut down at the same time. [10]
In 2009, the sixteenth-century Hockley Pendant was discovered in a field at Hockley. [11]
Hockley has a parish council consisting of two wards [12] and is part of Rochford District Council [13]
Rochford is a town and civil parish in the Rochford District in Essex, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Southend-on-Sea, 43 miles (69 km) from London and 21 miles (34 km) from Chelmsford. At the 2011 census, the civil parish had a population of 8,471.
Rayleigh is a market town and civil parish in the Rochford District in Essex, England; it is located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, 32 miles (51 km) east of central London. It had a population of 32,150 at the census in 2011.
St Osyth is an English village and civil parish in the Tendring District of north-east Essex, about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Clacton-on-Sea and 12 miles (19.3 km) south-east of Colchester. It lies on the B1027, Colchester–Clacton road. The village is named after Osgyth, a 7th-century saint and princess. Locally, the name is sometimes pronounced "Toosey". It is claimed to be the driest recorded place in the United Kingdom. In 2011 it had a population of 4,277.
Rochford is a local government district in Essex, England. It is named after one of its main settlements, Rochford, where the council is based. The largest town in the district is Rayleigh. Other places in the district include Hockley, Ashingdon, Great Wakering, Canewdon and Hullbridge.
Rayleigh was a parliamentary constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election from 1997 to 2010.
Alpheton is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. Located on the A134 road about six miles north of Sudbury, in 2005 it had a population of 260, reducing to 256 at the 2011 Census. According to Eilert Ekwall the meaning of the village name is the homestead of Aelfled.
Ashingdon is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Rochford and is 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Chelmsford. The village lies within Rochford District and the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh.
Hawkwell is a village and civil parish in the Rochford district of Essex, England. The 2011 Census gave a population for the parish of 11,730, an increase from 11,231 at the 2001 Census.
Birch is a village and civil parish in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. It is located approximately 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Colchester and 17 miles (27 km) north-east of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the parliamentary constituency of North Essex. There is a parish council.
Rayleigh and Wickford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Mark Francois, a Conservative.
Eastwood is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It was formerly a civil parish, the main part of which was absorbed into the municipal borough of Southend-on-Sea in 1933.
Arriva Southend is a division of Arriva Southern Counties, a subsidiary of transport group Arriva which operates bus services in and around the Southend-on-Sea, Rochford, Rayleigh areas of Essex. They operate most services east of Southend and a few services west of Southend, and compete to a limited extent with three other local operators with services in the same areas: First Essex, NIBS and Stephensons of Essex.
Canewdon is a village and civil parish in the Rochford district of Essex, England. The village is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of the town of Rochford, while the parish extends for several miles on the southern side of the River Crouch.
Sutton is a village and civil parish in the District of Rochford in Essex, England. It is located between the River Roach and the adjoining Borough of Southend-on-Sea, and includes the hamlet of Shopland. It has a population of 127, increasing at the 2011 Census to 135, the smallest in the District, although at the time of the Domesday Book it had a flourishing village with its own market and fair.
Rochford consists of two hamlets, Lower and Upper Rochford. A civil parish in the Malvern Hills District near Tenbury Wells, in the county of Worcestershire, England, Rochford is 18 miles (29 km) NW of Worcester. The River Teme, which rises in Wales, flows past Lower Rochford and joins the River Severn in Worcester. The chapelry of Rochford was an exclave of Herefordshire, part of the hundred of Wolphy. It was transferred by the Counties Act 1844 to Worcestershire.
Hockley Woods is a large woodland in south-east Essex. It is a Local Nature Reserve, and parts are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is owned and managed by Rochford District Council.
The Spa Pump Room is a Grade II listed, early Victorian building in Hockley, Essex. It was built to the designs of James Lockyer in 1842 after a medicinal spring was discovered on the site four years earlier. Short lived, the building closed as a pump room in the early 1850s and was used for other purposes thereafter, including a Baptist chapel, billiard hall, and a clothing factory; the pump room is now in private ownership.
Rochford Hundred Rugby Club is an English rugby union club based in Hawkwell near Rochford in Essex. The first XV team currently play in Regional 1 South East, having been relegated from the National League 2 East. The club also operates other adult teams and a full academy set-up of junior teams for both boys and girls.