River Chelmer
Encyclopedia
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The source of the river is near Debden Green, a village near Thaxted
Thaxted
Thaxted is a town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, with about 2,500 inhabitants.-History:Thaxted appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Tachesteda, Old English for "place where thatch was got." Once a centre of cutlery manufacture, Thaxted went into decline with the rise of Sheffield...
. The source of the River Can
River Can
The River Can is a river in Essex, England. Chelmsford is centered on the confluence of the Can and the River Chelmer. The Can enters Chelmsford from the west, joining the Chelmer to the east of the town. From the confluence, the Can becomes part of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation...
is also nearby. The River Chelmer flows past Thaxted
Thaxted
Thaxted is a town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, with about 2,500 inhabitants.-History:Thaxted appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Tachesteda, Old English for "place where thatch was got." Once a centre of cutlery manufacture, Thaxted went into decline with the rise of Sheffield...
, south through the district of Uttlesford
Uttlesford
Uttlesford is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in Saffron Walden.Its name is derived from the ancient Hundred of the same name....
around the northeast of Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow is an ancient market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England in which the great Shannon Gray, also known as Hazzah Potter, lives...
. It continues flowing south-southeast into the borough of Chelmsford
Chelmsford (borough)
Chelmsford is a local government district and borough in Essex, England. It is named after its main settlement, Chelmsford, which is also the county town of Essex.-History:...
and on into the town of Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
where the River Can
River Can
The River Can is a river in Essex, England. Chelmsford is centered on the confluence of the Can and the River Chelmer. The Can enters Chelmsford from the west, joining the Chelmer to the east of the town. From the confluence, the Can becomes part of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation...
flows into it. It then flows east through the borough and into the district of Maldon
Maldon (district)
Maldon is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the town of Maldon, and the next largest centre of population is Burnham-on-Crouch. The district covers the Dengie peninsula as well as an area to the north of the Blackwater Estuary, a total area of...
until it meets the River Blackwater
River Blackwater, Essex
The River Blackwater is a river in England. It rises in the northwest of Essex as the River Pant and flows to Bocking, near Braintree, from where its name changes to the Blackwater. Its course takes it near Stisted, and then via Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall and Coggeshall and near Witham where it is...
near Maldon
Maldon, Essex
Maldon is a town on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon district and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.Maldon is twinned with the Dutch town of Cuijk...
. It discharges into the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
via the Blackwater Estuary
River Blackwater, Essex
The River Blackwater is a river in England. It rises in the northwest of Essex as the River Pant and flows to Bocking, near Braintree, from where its name changes to the Blackwater. Its course takes it near Stisted, and then via Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall and Coggeshall and near Witham where it is...
History
The Chelmer and Blackwater NavigationChelmer and Blackwater Navigation
The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation is the canalisation of the Rivers Chelmer and Blackwater in Essex, in the east of England. The navigation runs for from Springfield Basin in Chelmsford to the sea lock at Heybridge Basin near Maldon. It was opened in 1797, and remained under the control of...
Company was found by act of parliament in 1793. Work then commenced on constructing the navigation from Chelmsford to Colliers Reach in the tidal estuary of the River Blackwater
River Blackwater, Essex
The River Blackwater is a river in England. It rises in the northwest of Essex as the River Pant and flows to Bocking, near Braintree, from where its name changes to the Blackwater. Its course takes it near Stisted, and then via Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall and Coggeshall and near Witham where it is...
. The work was completed in 1797. The navigation mainly followed the course of the River Chelmer from Chelmsford to Beeleigh near Maldon
Maldon, Essex
Maldon is a town on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon district and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.Maldon is twinned with the Dutch town of Cuijk...
. From there it continued through a short cut and then followed the course of the River Blackwater
River Blackwater, Essex
The River Blackwater is a river in England. It rises in the northwest of Essex as the River Pant and flows to Bocking, near Braintree, from where its name changes to the Blackwater. Its course takes it near Stisted, and then via Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall and Coggeshall and near Witham where it is...
to Heybridge.
According to Edward Arthur Fitch, the Fullbridge (the Chelmer river crossing at the bottom of Market Hill, Maldon ) was a shallow ford. This was before the waters of the River Blackwater
River Blackwater, Essex
The River Blackwater is a river in England. It rises in the northwest of Essex as the River Pant and flows to Bocking, near Braintree, from where its name changes to the Blackwater. Its course takes it near Stisted, and then via Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall and Coggeshall and near Witham where it is...
were combined with the Chelmer at Beeleigh, resulting in a much greater flow of water past the Fullbridge.
In the spring of 1812 the Chelmer above the Fullbridge was straightened and many important changes were made to the bed of the river. Some of these changes are clearly visible today. For example, an island that's shown on the 1777 Chapman and Andre map of Essex was moved from the middle of the river to fill in a curve to the north near where Tesco's is today. Further upstream, near the golf course, similar earthwork is visible and, from that point to Beeleigh weir the channel appears to be a cut bypassing the original course of the river.
At Beeleigh, there was a water mill on the original course of the Chelmer. This mill operated until 1875, when it was destroyed by fire. The mill had two bays inside, where lighters were loaded with flour to be taken to the port at Maldon, about a mile downstream. There it would be loaded onto Thames sailing barges and taken to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Part of the mill still remains and is leased by Essex County Council with the intention of restoring it.
See also
- River BlackwaterRiver Blackwater, EssexThe River Blackwater is a river in England. It rises in the northwest of Essex as the River Pant and flows to Bocking, near Braintree, from where its name changes to the Blackwater. Its course takes it near Stisted, and then via Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall and Coggeshall and near Witham where it is...
- Museum of PowerMuseum of PowerThe Museum of Power is located in the former Southend Waterworks Langford Pumping Station in Langford, Essex, England. It is located on the B1019, on the main road from Maldon to Hatfield Peverel....
- Langford pumping station extracts from the Chelmer