Galleywood
Coordinates: 51°41′49″N 0°28′26″E / 51.697°N 0.474°E
| Galleywood | |
 Galleywood
Galleywood shown within Essex |
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| Population | 5,757 approx. |
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| OS grid reference | TL709027 |
| District | Chelmsford |
| Shire county | Essex |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Chelmsford |
| Postcode district | CM2 |
| Dialling code | 01245 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Maldon and East Chelmsford |
| List of places: UK • England • Essex | |
Galleywood is a village surrounded by countryside in Essex, about 30 miles from London, and close to the town of Chelmsford. It is off the A12 which connects to the M25 in London. Galleywood has a population of 5,757 [1], and has a higher percentage of retired citizens than the national average.
Galleywood Common is approximately 400 yards in width and one mile in length, and consists of open fields and woodland. It also has St. Michaels Church in the woodland, which is visible for miles around.
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[edit] History
Galleywood dates back to early medieval times and was recorded in 1250 as Gauelwode (Galleywood Common), a hamlet of Great Baddow, part of an ancient forest interspersed with open scrubland.
In early-Victorian times the village was centred on The Eagle crossroads, The Street and Well Lane, education being provided by a school that doubled as a Chapel of Ease on Sundays and by a Methodist chapel built in Well Lane.
Council housing was developed in the 1930s, with major building programmes during the early 1960s and through the 1970s. Private development was carried out concurrently and continued over the following three decades. The population has grown from under 800 in 1851 to around 1,000 in 1951 and to over 6,000 in 2004.
From all approaches Galleywood is separated either by open farmland, wooded slopes or green areas, free from ribbon development, giving a true rural feel to visitors and residents alike. Within the village outskirts there are several surviving long established working farms, some with buildings dating back to the 14th century.
The civil parish of Galleywood covers an area of 2200 acres and was established in 1987, with the transference of responsibility from Great Baddow to the newly created Galleywood Parish Council.
[edit] Galleywood Common
Galleywood Common comprises 175 acres and was declared a Local Nature Reserve in 1993. It is an ancient man-made landscape, first recorded in Domesday (1086). The Common has a very strong character and has always been an important feature of the hamlet around which the village grew, providing grazing land, furze and wood for gathering and gravel for building and road making. The Common has had many uses throughout the ages:
Defensive fortifications during the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1813)
A large star-shaped Fort with artillery batteries, redoubts and earthwork fortifications were built on the racecourse astride the Margaretting Road in response to an invasion threat by French forces on the Essex coast. These defence works were decommissioned around 1813.
Galleywood Racecourse (1759–1935)
The historic Galleywood Racecourse on Galleywood Common in the Borough of Chelmsford, Essex was the scene of the Chelmsford Races for 176 years.
Chelmsford Golf Course (1893–1912)
In 1893 when the 9-hole golf course, designed by Tom Dunn, opened on Galleywood Common the game bore little relation to what it is today. It was played with a gutta-percha ball and clubs with hickory shafts hence the seemingly generous “Par” score allocations for each hole.
Cyril Yorker who caddied in 1910 described the course as no Gleneagles or Wentworth, just a great expanse of gorse and heather where more time was spent hunting for the balls than actually playing.
Chelmsford Golf Club was constituted in 1893 and played on Galleywood Common until they moved to Widford in 1912.
Brickworks
Brick making in the 19th and early-20th centuries
Army Training Ground and Artillery Defences (1914–1918)
The Grandstand and the Common were taken over by the Army for the duration of the First World War.
[edit] Race course
Galleywood's race course was first formally mentioned in 1770. In that year that the track's main event was granted the title of the "Queen's Plate" by King George III.
The race course began to fall into decline from the late 19th and 20th centuries. It was bought for housing land after World War II, although parts of the course remain around the common. It was the only race course in the country to go around a church.
[edit] Schools
There are 3 schools in Galleywood, Galleywood Infants School, St. Michael's C of E Junior School and The Thriftwood School
[edit] Services
Galleywood has a local Library and Civic Hall.
[edit] Parks
Galleywood is home to the Chelmer Park which has facilities for hockey, football, netball, tennis, cricket, and rounders. It is the home of Chelmsford Hockey Club, the Chelmsford Cricket Club, and the Galleywood Football Club. It has a playground area for young children.
Galleywood has Jubilee Recreational Park with a playground area and is the meeting point of Galleywood Scouts.
[edit] External links
Galleywood Information[2] Galleywood[3]
Media related to Galleywood at Wikimedia Commons
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