While Neild found the house to be under satisfactory leadership, the same could be not for the state of the property, which Neild concluded had:. By the premises had deteriorated further and on a subsequent visit, Neild was compelled to report this damning verdict:. On my visit the 31 st July , I found the good old keeper dead; the whole prison [was] filthy and out of repair; in the two upper rooms five women and two children sick on the floor; the straw worn to dust; and in one of the rooms a cartload of rubbish heaped up in a corner.
In one of the sick rooms below were four women; in the other room six women and two children, one of the women quite naked, another without a shift, the other four had neither shoe nor stocking…The whole prisoners were coniferous, and almost desperate for water…The prisoners complained of the want of medical attendance, and, if I may judge from the filthiness of the fores and bandages, not without reason. Not surprisingly, Neild was relieved to discover that a new site had recently been purchased adjacent to the new county gaol.
The site was completed in , with the prisoners moving in that same year. Illustration depicting the new site of the House of Correction and County Gaol.
Suggestions as to what to do with the vacant site continued for some time. At one point it was hoped that the site should be redeveloped to accommodate the judges visiting the town for the Assizes although this plan never came to fruition.
The property was ultimately sold in and demolished a year later, making way for two new brick houses. In the s, the individual sites of were consolidated by Marks and Spencer, forming one of the largest stores on the high street.
OS maps showing dramatic change on the west side of Chelmsford High Street between and The largest store seen on the map is Marks and Spencer. The extract from the OS map above depicts prior to the arrival of Marks and Spencer. By , these properties had been consolidated to form one large property. The OS map presents a significantly cleaned up version of the high street.
Marks and Spencer continue to occupy the same spot on the high street today. Our county town of Chelmsford may look modern on the surface, but look a little deeper and you will find layer upon layer of history waiting to be discovered. Come along to see and hear them for yourself, and for a talk from architectural historian Dr James Bettley on some of the major changes to the town since the Second World War. In the ninth post in our series looking at the history of Chelmsford High Street, Ashleigh Hudson looks at no.
Find out more about the project here. Over the centuries, the lives of a whole cast of characters have played out at no.
Its origins are as a private residence, but it was used during the 19 th century as grand lodgings for travelling judges visiting the town. In the early 18 th century the property was owned by the Goodwin family of goldsmiths.
They sold it in to Sherman Wall, an apothecary, who later passed it to his son, also apothecary named Sherman. Benjamin was a surgeon, and a pioneer in the fields of midwifery and smallpox inoculation. Sherman Wall died in , and by Benjamin Pugh established full control of the property and had commissioned the demolition of the existing buildings to make way for the handsome red brick four storey town house we see today.
Benjamin owned the property until when he sold it to John Lucy. For several decades in the 19 th century the house was used to accommodate judges who were visiting Chelmsford to preside at the Assizes — periodic courts which heard the most serious criminal and civil cases. The engraving below, by J. Ryland, depicts the grandeur of the Assize procession through the High Street. Engraving by J.
These lodgings must have been rather more luxurious than the judges had endured in the past. In , the High Sheriff of Essex, James Urmston, wrote to the chairman of the Quarter Sessions the county authority which preceded the County Council highlighting the inadequacy of existing lodgings for the visiting judges. Accommodation had been provided by the Ipswich Arms site of 73 High Street which, according to Urmston, was in such a dire state the building faced demolition.
The property had been purchased in by James Potter, a draper who had intended to use the house as his main residence. The judges must have been comfortable there as the arrangement continued until the house was sold in Extract from the Sales Catalogue of The property contains a handsome bold staircase which led to a large suite of rooms on the first floor. The document also mentions that the apartments were recently occupied by the Judges of the Assize.
Various alterations were made to the interiors of the building, including the addition of a machine room in Watercolour by A.
Bamford of 26 High Street in Occupied by Essex Weekly News. Building plan of the machine room, 26 High Street. The Essex Record Office fortunately possess several Spalding photographs which capture the machine room in action.
The 18th century building is currently occupied by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The Grade II listed building retains much of the original 18 th century detailing today, despite having functioned in various capacities since it was built. The site is currently occupied by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Today, no. In the eighth post in our series looking at the history of Chelmsford High Street, Ashleigh Hudson looks at what else has stood on the site through the centuries.
Find out more about the Chelmsford Then and Now project here. In the 16 th century, the site of 61 High Street formed part of two tenements known as Cocksayes and Patchings.
By , the site was divided into three distinct properties. The central property 61 was occupied by the Ship Inn, later known as the Waggon and Horse. The inn was ideally situated opposite Springfield road, in the heart of the High Street. The Sales Particulars reveal a large property, with considerable facilities for entertaining including a bar, a large parlour and a market room.
Bamford in The watercolour above, by A. The romanticised image of the yard is perhaps at odds with reality. Most inn yards were a hub of activity, with horses passing through at all hours of the day and night. The yard certainly would not have appeared so inviting a century earlier. By the 20 th century, inns and public houses were slowly disappearing from the high street as the demand for retail increased. A quick comparison of the Ordance Survey OS map of and the OS map of reveals that a substantial section of the west side of the high street was completely redeveloped.
The OS map from reveals a very different property on the site of 61 High Street. The shape of the building has completely changed and the narrow passageway has been consolidated to form part of the new building. Entry to the yard can only be obtained via the rear of the property. These maps illustrate how the town was transforming in the 20 th century; based on these maps, one would imagine that the west side of the high street is virtually unrecognisable to those who remember the high street as it looked in the s.
But the High Street is still classed as a public highway, drivers are still allowed to drive on it with certain 'conditions' for deliveries which if you ever spent time on the High Street it is never enforced.
And when I challenge the local media, it falls on deaf ears when I try get them to see the real dangers which is not those who cycle but in fact those who drive! But if you look closely at how the cycle routes go, there are sections of shared paths that go through the pedestrianised areas.
Does that sound so wrong to you? And the signs are so contradictory too, here you can't cycle across if heading away from The Meadows but you can if you cycle across heading towards the Meadows. And this bridge you have to walk across But you can cycle across on this bridge which from experience has a higher footfall So the hysteria on dangerous cycling has been growing over the years, claims those who cycle are more of a danger than those who drive through the pedestrianised zones.
So lets look at the facts than the anecdotal evidence of gossip. Even TRL research back when the High St was pedestrianised shows that cycling in the pedestrianised areas is not as dangerous as made out to be. Cycling in Pedestrianised Areas research And those I have seen I have taken photos of them. Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
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