Wickford

Wickford is a town and civil parish in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of 33,486. Located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of London, it is within the Borough of Basildon along with the original town of Basildon, Billericay, Laindon and Pitsea. Wickford has a main high street which includes a wide range of shops. It also has a swimming pool, library, open-air market and a community centre within the vicinity of the town centre. Wickford has a history going back over two thousand years. There is evidence that the area itself was inhabited in prehistoric times probably by a tribe of Britons called Trinovantes. There was a Roman military marching camp on the Beauchamps Farm site, which was succeeded by a Roman villa. This is now the site of Beauchamps High School. This area on higher ground was the historic core of Wickford, the site of the manor house and the parish church of St Catherine's. Over time, the commercial centre of Wickford has migrated westwards towards the modern High Street on the other side of the River Crouch. The place name 'Wickford' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 995, where it appears as Wicford; it appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wincfort. The name means 'ford by a wych elm or ford by a dairy-farm'. Before the 20th century, Wickford was an agricultural village. At the time of the Domesday Survey, six land-holders were recorded. Historically, there have been only two considerable estates in Wickford: the manor of Wickford Hall and the manor of Stilemans. Robert Wikeford or de Wickford (c.1320–90), Archbishop of Dublin, was born in Wickford and his family are thought to have been Lords of the Manor of Wickford Hall. Wickford was an ancient parish in the county of Essex and, from 1894, had a parish council. In 1934, the parish council was abolished when the town became part of Billericay Urban District. The civil parish was re-created on 1 April 2022. The first town councillors took office following an uncontested election in May 2022, and the council held its first meeting on 16 May 2022 at the Wick Community Centre.