Wickford, a Town in the South of the County of Essex, England
The town of Wickford is in the south of Essex County, England and is within the Borough of Basildon together with Pitsea, Laindon, Billericay and the original town of Basildon. Nevertheless, some sections of the town fall under other districts such as Rochford and Chelmsford. This town is also a commuter town for the City of London by way of the Southend Victoria line from where a train to London travels about 40 minutes only. From Chelmsford, the town can be reached via the A130 and from Southend-on-Sea and London via the A127.
The history of the town goes back to more than two thousand years. There are proofs of settlement in the area in the prehistoric times possibly by a British tribe known as Trinovantes. The site of the Beauchamps High School used to be a Roman military marching camp and later, a Roman Villa. The historic town centre of Wickford where the St Catherine parish church and the manor house are located is on a higher ground of the town. As time passed, Wickford commercial centre moved westwards, approaching the new High Street across the River Crouch.
Things to See and Do in Wickford
The town is relatively small but with a high street with a good selection of shops. It also has an open-air market, a library, a swimming pool and a community centre that can be found in the town centre. It has a small estate called Shotgate which is the home to many of the town folks. Shotgate boasts of a park, a children’s play area and a row of village shops. For such a small town, it hosts quite a decent selection of eating establishments mostly serving traditional British fare but with one or two restaurants or pubs serving Asian, Mexican, Indian and Chinese cuisine.