Witham
Encyclopedia
Witham is a town in the county
of Essex, in the south east of England with a population (2001 census
) of 22,500. It is part of the District of Braintree
and is twinned with the town of Waldbröl
, Germany. Witham stands between the larger towns of Chelmsford
(8 miles to the south-west) and Colchester
(13 miles to the north-east). The River Brain
runs through the town and joins the River Blackwater
shortly outside it.
and used as a stop over point on the long journey, another notable find during the excavation was a Votive Offering pool in the grounds of the temple, the pool contained several artifacts that would have been offered to the gods.
The name Witham is Saxon in origin and remains unchanged in spelling. The parish of Witham appears in the Domesday Book
of 1086. The manor of Witham was given to the Knights Templar
in 1148. To the north of the current town is Cressing Temple
which was the earliest foundation of Templar lands in Britain, built over 700 years ago.
The town as it is now started life on 'Chipping Hill', where the old forge and the church still exists to this day. As the years went by, the hamlet grew to become 'Witham' and St Nicolas Church of England Church (a unique spelling) serves a congregation of around 150 people each Sunday. During the latter half of the 18th century and the early 19th century, Admiral Sir William Luard
was the town's most prominent citizen, a resident of Chipping Hill and a founder and patron of St. Nicolas' Church. His funeral cortege through the town in 1910 was witnessed by thousands.
Witham briefly enjoyed a period as an affluent spa town after the discovery of a mineral-bearing spa in the town by Dr Taverner in the 18th century. Witham was also a centre of the wool trade until the decline of the industry in the late 17th century.
was the scene of a serious accident on Saturday 1 September 1905. The 09:27 London Liverpool Street to Cromer
14 carriage express derailed whilst travelling at speed through the station. 10 passengers and a Luggage Porter were killed when several of the carriages somersaulted on to the platforms causing considerable damage to the rolling stock and the station. 71 passengers were seriously injured. This remains to this day the worst single loss of life in a railway accident in Essex. In 2005 an opportunity to commemorate the centenary was missed and the incident is now largely forgotten. Ben Sainty, a signalman, whose quick action averted the next train hitting the wreckage has a road named after him in the town, Ben Sainty Court.
built 3 large council estates on the west and north sides of the town and a smaller one to the South for families from London to move to as part of the 'New Town' and 'Expanded Town' overspill policy of that time.
Starting in the 1980s but accelerating in the 1990s and 2000s a large number of houses were built in several estates to the south and southwest of the town infilling the farmland that used to exist between the town and the A12 bypass. The most recent of which is the Malting's lane development, which when completed will exceed 1200 homes, a school, business park and community shopping area.
A one time famous resident of the town is the author Dorothy L. Sayers
whose statue stands opposite the town's library. The library stands on the site of the old Whitehall cinema, which closed in the late 1970s.
, situated on the London Liverpool Street to Ipswich main line
operated by National Express East Anglia. Trains take approximately 40-45 minutes to reach . The station is also the junction for the Braintree branch line
to , , and . Another branch line, now dismantled, went from Witham to Maldon
.
Witham is situated on the A12 trunk road
between Chelmsford
and Colchester
. Originally the A12 ran in a straight line through the middle of the town; however for some decades there has been a by-pass completely avoiding the town.
Because of these excellent transport links, the town has a large number of residents who commute to work in London. This is evidenced by Witham railway station's appearance within the 150 busiest railway stations in Great Britain, which would not be expected based on the town's population alone.
in the Grove Centre, Iceland
in the Newlands Precinct, Morrisons
on Braintree Road and Asda
on Highfields Road.
Leisure facilities include Benton Hall Golf and leisure centre, a pool club and a library which occupies the building of the town's long-closed cinema, the Whitehall. A 'River Walk' runs for three and a half miles through the town and is home to a range of wildlife. Bramston Sports Centre is also located in Witham. The sports centre contains three swimming pools: a teaching pool, a diving pool (referred to as the Merlin pool) and the main pool which is 25 metres long (half the standard Olympic and competitive pool length). The Centre also includes four squash
courts and a "Kinetika" gym.
The Morrisons
supermarket was previously a Safeway
supermarket, and before that the site contained the factory of Crittall Windows Ltd
, until 1994 when the factory was closed and manufacturing moved to the firm's Braintree site.
Woolworths
closed on Newlands Street in late December 2008 as a quarter of their stores closed across the United Kingdom. It is now a 99 Pence store.
A significant industrial presence remains in the town, mainly concentrated on three industrial estates on the eastern side of the town close to the junction with the A12. There is also significant office accommodation in the town centre area.
In March 2007, Crittall closed its Braintree factory and returned to Witham to occupy a new factory on the Freebournes Industrial Estate. The factory Crittall moved into was built for J.L. French in 2001, but never used for production. The new Crittall factory is visible on the right hand side of the road exiting Witham towards Colchester via the A12.
and The New Rickstones Academy, both achieving a slightly below average 5 A*-C GCSE rating, averaging around the 40% mark.
The town's primary schools are Templars, Holy Family, Howbridge, Powers Hall, Chipping Hill (This became a primary school in September 2010 and will move to a new site in the south of town in January 2012), Rivenhall CoE, Elm Hall Primary, Southview and Silver End Primary. Both Chipping Hill School and Powers Hall Junior School received Outstanding OfSTED reports in 2008.
constituency of the House of Commons
. The local Member of Parliament (MP) is the Conservative
Priti Patel
, who was elected at the 2010 General election, being the first Asian
female Conservative MP ever elected to Parliament.
The constituency includes Hatfield Peverel
, Langford
, Wickham Bishops
, Marks Tey
, Tiptree
, Tolleshunt Knights
, Stanway
Kelvedon
, and Coggeshall
. It is regarded as a safe seat for the Conservative Party
, and Priti Patel holds a strong 15,196 vote majority. Witham however in contrast to other parts of the constituency is a strong Labour party area.
Witham is under the jurisdiction of Witham Town Council (its parish council), Braintree District Council and Essex County Council.
Witham, and parts of the Braintree district
, hold one of the best recycling
schemes in the UK, with compulsory recycling, reaching over 50% recycling.
Counties of England
Counties of England are areas used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. For administrative purposes, England outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly is divided into 83 counties. The counties may consist of a single district or be divided into several...
of Essex, in the south east of England with a population (2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
) of 22,500. It is part of the District of Braintree
Braintree (district)
Braintree is a local government district in the English county of Essex. Its main town is Braintree.The main centres of population are Braintree, Witham and Halstead....
and is twinned with the town of Waldbröl
Waldbröl
Waldbröl is a town is in the southern part of the Oberbergischer Kreis , in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geographical location:The city lies on the slopes of the Nutscheid and is part of the Naturpark Bergisches Land...
, Germany. Witham stands between the larger towns 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...
(8 miles to the south-west) and Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
(13 miles to the north-east). The River Brain
River Brain
The River Brain is a river in Essex, England that gives its name to the town of Braintree, though in fact Braintree lies on a low ridge between the Brain and the River Blackwater. Above Braintree it is known as Pods Brook. The brook rises near the village of Bardfield Saling...
runs through the town and joins 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...
shortly outside it.
Early history
Excavations by Essex County Council field archaeological unit at the recent Maltings Lane development discovered evidence of Neolithic occupation of Witham including human remains and several trackways across ancient marsh. Excavations of the Witham Lodge (Ivy Chimneys) area of the town unveiled remains of a Roman temple in the 1970s as well as a pottery kiln. This would have been alongside the main Roman road from London to ColchesterColchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
and used as a stop over point on the long journey, another notable find during the excavation was a Votive Offering pool in the grounds of the temple, the pool contained several artifacts that would have been offered to the gods.
The name Witham is Saxon in origin and remains unchanged in spelling. The parish of Witham appears in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086. The manor of Witham was given to the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
in 1148. To the north of the current town is Cressing Temple
Cressing Temple
Cressing Temple is an ancient monument situated between Witham and Braintree in Essex and was founded in 1137 by Matilda of Boulogne, the wife of King Stephen. It was the headquarters of the first grant of land given to the religious order of the Knights Templar in England. The two barns and the...
which was the earliest foundation of Templar lands in Britain, built over 700 years ago.
The town as it is now started life on 'Chipping Hill', where the old forge and the church still exists to this day. As the years went by, the hamlet grew to become 'Witham' and St Nicolas Church of England Church (a unique spelling) serves a congregation of around 150 people each Sunday. During the latter half of the 18th century and the early 19th century, Admiral Sir William Luard
William Luard
Admiral Sir William Garnham Luard, R.N., K.C.B. was a leading British naval figure during the latter half of the 19th century.Born in 1820, he was the eldest son of a local magistrate, William Wright Luard J.P., D.L. of Witham Lodge, Witham, Essex and Anne Garnham, only child of Thomas Garnham of...
was the town's most prominent citizen, a resident of Chipping Hill and a founder and patron of St. Nicolas' Church. His funeral cortege through the town in 1910 was witnessed by thousands.
Witham briefly enjoyed a period as an affluent spa town after the discovery of a mineral-bearing spa in the town by Dr Taverner in the 18th century. Witham was also a centre of the wool trade until the decline of the industry in the late 17th century.
1 September 1905
Witham railway stationWitham railway station
Witham railway station is a railway station serving the town of Witham in Essex. The station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line and is also the junction of the Witham-Braintree line...
was the scene of a serious accident on Saturday 1 September 1905. The 09:27 London Liverpool Street to Cromer
Cromer
Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. The local government authority is North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is in Holt Road in the town. The town is situated 23 miles north of the county town, Norwich, and is 4 miles east of Sheringham...
14 carriage express derailed whilst travelling at speed through the station. 10 passengers and a Luggage Porter were killed when several of the carriages somersaulted on to the platforms causing considerable damage to the rolling stock and the station. 71 passengers were seriously injured. This remains to this day the worst single loss of life in a railway accident in Essex. In 2005 an opportunity to commemorate the centenary was missed and the incident is now largely forgotten. Ben Sainty, a signalman, whose quick action averted the next train hitting the wreckage has a road named after him in the town, Ben Sainty Court.
Post War
The town expanded greatly in the late 1960s and 1970s when the Greater London CouncilGreater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
built 3 large council estates on the west and north sides of the town and a smaller one to the South for families from London to move to as part of the 'New Town' and 'Expanded Town' overspill policy of that time.
Starting in the 1980s but accelerating in the 1990s and 2000s a large number of houses were built in several estates to the south and southwest of the town infilling the farmland that used to exist between the town and the A12 bypass. The most recent of which is the Malting's lane development, which when completed will exceed 1200 homes, a school, business park and community shopping area.
A one time famous resident of the town is the author Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
whose statue stands opposite the town's library. The library stands on the site of the old Whitehall cinema, which closed in the late 1970s.
Transport
The town is served by Witham railway stationWitham railway station
Witham railway station is a railway station serving the town of Witham in Essex. The station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line and is also the junction of the Witham-Braintree line...
, situated on the London Liverpool Street to Ipswich main line
Great Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line is a 212 Kilometre major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as...
operated by National Express East Anglia. Trains take approximately 40-45 minutes to reach . The station is also the junction for the Braintree branch line
Braintree Branch Line
The Braintree Branch Line is a branch line from Witham to Braintree in Essex, England.The line diverges from the Great Eastern Main Line at Witham. Passenger services are currently operated by National Express East Anglia...
to , , and . Another branch line, now dismantled, went from Witham to Maldon
Witham-Maldon branch line
The Witham-Maldon branch line is a long closed railway line between Witham and Maldon in Essex, England which operated from 1848 until closure in 1966.-Infrastructure:...
.
Witham is situated on the A12 trunk road
Trunk road
A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, and other things.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...
between 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...
and Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
. Originally the A12 ran in a straight line through the middle of the town; however for some decades there has been a by-pass completely avoiding the town.
Because of these excellent transport links, the town has a large number of residents who commute to work in London. This is evidenced by Witham railway station's appearance within the 150 busiest railway stations in Great Britain, which would not be expected based on the town's population alone.
Economy and facilities
Witham has a mainly linear town centre, concentrated on the high street and its two modest shopping precincts form a cross, bisecting the High Street, the Newlands Shopping Centre of 70s design to the North and the Grove Centre an 80s brick design to the South. There are a reasonable range of small shops and a full range of major high-street banks. National commercial chains include Burton, New Look, Select, Dorothy Perkins, Costa, Subway, Greggs, Thorntons, Boots, Specsavers, Holland and Barret, Clinton Cards and Superdrug. The town has four supermarkets - TescoTesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
in the Grove Centre, Iceland
Iceland (supermarket)
Iceland is a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Iceland's primary product lines include frozen foods, such as frozen prepared meals and frozen vegetables - hence the name of the company...
in the Newlands Precinct, Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
on Braintree Road and Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
on Highfields Road.
Leisure facilities include Benton Hall Golf and leisure centre, a pool club and a library which occupies the building of the town's long-closed cinema, the Whitehall. A 'River Walk' runs for three and a half miles through the town and is home to a range of wildlife. Bramston Sports Centre is also located in Witham. The sports centre contains three swimming pools: a teaching pool, a diving pool (referred to as the Merlin pool) and the main pool which is 25 metres long (half the standard Olympic and competitive pool length). The Centre also includes four squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
courts and a "Kinetika" gym.
The Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
supermarket was previously a Safeway
Safeway (UK)
Safeway was a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores in the United Kingdom. It started as a subsidiary of the American Safeway Inc., before being sold off in 1987....
supermarket, and before that the site contained the factory of Crittall Windows Ltd
Crittall Windows Ltd
Crittall Windows Ltd is a notable English manufacturer of steel-framed windows, today based in Witham, Essex, close to its historic roots in the county...
, until 1994 when the factory was closed and manufacturing moved to the firm's Braintree site.
Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
closed on Newlands Street in late December 2008 as a quarter of their stores closed across the United Kingdom. It is now a 99 Pence store.
A significant industrial presence remains in the town, mainly concentrated on three industrial estates on the eastern side of the town close to the junction with the A12. There is also significant office accommodation in the town centre area.
In March 2007, Crittall closed its Braintree factory and returned to Witham to occupy a new factory on the Freebournes Industrial Estate. The factory Crittall moved into was built for J.L. French in 2001, but never used for production. The new Crittall factory is visible on the right hand side of the road exiting Witham towards Colchester via the A12.
Education
There are two secondary schools in Witham, Maltings AcademyMaltings Academy
Maltings Academy is a secondary school in Witham, Essex, it is the larger of two secondary schools in Witham. It is a relatively new school as it is a replacement for the John Bramston School....
and The New Rickstones Academy, both achieving a slightly below average 5 A*-C GCSE rating, averaging around the 40% mark.
The town's primary schools are Templars, Holy Family, Howbridge, Powers Hall, Chipping Hill (This became a primary school in September 2010 and will move to a new site in the south of town in January 2012), Rivenhall CoE, Elm Hall Primary, Southview and Silver End Primary. Both Chipping Hill School and Powers Hall Junior School received Outstanding OfSTED reports in 2008.
Government
Witham is part of the WithamWitham (UK Parliament constituency)
Witham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
constituency of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. The local Member of Parliament (MP) is the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Priti Patel
Priti Patel
Priti Patel is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. First elected in the 2010 general election, she is the Member of Parliament for the Witham constituency, and an officer of the Conservative Friends of Israel group....
, who was elected at the 2010 General election, being the first Asian
British Asian
British Asian is a term used to describe British citizens who descended from mainly South Asia, also known as South Asians in the United Kingdom...
female Conservative MP ever elected to Parliament.
The constituency includes Hatfield Peverel
Hatfield Peverel
Hatfield Peverel is a large urban village and civil parish in the centre of Essex, England. Its population, including the hamlet of Nounsley, is approximately 5,500 . Hatfield means a 'heathery space in the forest'; Peverel refers to William Peverel, the Norman knight granted lands in the area by...
, Langford
Langford
-Canada:* Langford, British Columbia - Canadian municipality on Vancouver Island* Langford, Manitoba-England:* Langford, Bedfordshire* Langford, Essex* Langford, Norfolk* Langford, Nottinghamshire* Langford, Oxfordshire* Langford Budville, Somerset...
, Wickham Bishops
Wickham Bishops
Wickham Bishops is a village in Essex, England.The place-name 'Wickham Bishops' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Wicham', meaning 'dwelling place with a farm'...
, Marks Tey
Marks Tey
Marks Tey is a large village in Essex, England located six miles west of Colchester.Marks Tey railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line, and is a junction for the Sudbury Branch Line to Sudbury...
, Tiptree
Tiptree
Tiptree is a village in the English county of Essex, situated south-east of Colchester and around north-east of London. Surrounding villages include Messing, Tolleshunt Knights, Layer Marney, Inworth, Birch, Great Braxted, Great Totham and Little Totham....
, Tolleshunt Knights
Tolleshunt Knights
Tolleshunt Knights is a village and civil parish in the English county of Essex.The Parish has a Parish council, and lies within the area of Maldon District Council. It borders Tiptree, Layer Marney and Salcott cum Virley within the Colchester Borough Council's District and Tolleshunt D'Arcy also...
, Stanway
Stanway
-People:* Mark Stanway , a British musician* Peter Powers , a British television personality who purports to be a hypnotist-Other:* Stanway House, a Jacobean manor house near Stanway, Gloucestershire...
Kelvedon
Kelvedon
Kelvedon is a village and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex in England, near to the town of Witham. It has a population of 3,485.-Origins:...
, and Coggeshall
Coggeshall
Coggeshall is a small market town of 3,919 residents in Essex, England, situated between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road of Stane Street , and intersected by the River Blackwater. It is known for its almost 300 listed buildings and formerly extensive antique trade...
. It is regarded as a safe seat for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, and Priti Patel holds a strong 15,196 vote majority. Witham however in contrast to other parts of the constituency is a strong Labour party area.
Witham is under the jurisdiction of Witham Town Council (its parish council), Braintree District Council and Essex County Council.
Witham, and parts of the Braintree district
Braintree (district)
Braintree is a local government district in the English county of Essex. Its main town is Braintree.The main centres of population are Braintree, Witham and Halstead....
, hold one of the best recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
schemes in the UK, with compulsory recycling, reaching over 50% recycling.
Notable residents
- James GibsonJames Gibson (swimmer)James Gibson MBE is an English swimmer.Born in Chelmsford, Essex, and raised in Witham, Gibson's specialism is breaststroke and he competes in the 50 metre, 100 metre and 200 metre events. In 2003 he became world champion at 50 metres . He was 6th in the 100 metre event at the Athens Olympics in...
, the 2003 World Breaststroke 50m (Long-course) Champion, was born in ChelmsfordChelmsfordChelmsford 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...
and lived in Witham.
- Dorothy L. SayersDorothy L. SayersDorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
, translator of Dante's Divina Commedia, and a famous writer of detective fiction, died in Witham in 1957.
- Admiral Sir William LuardWilliam LuardAdmiral Sir William Garnham Luard, R.N., K.C.B. was a leading British naval figure during the latter half of the 19th century.Born in 1820, he was the eldest son of a local magistrate, William Wright Luard J.P., D.L. of Witham Lodge, Witham, Essex and Anne Garnham, only child of Thomas Garnham of...
, K.C., President of the Greenwich Naval College and AdmiralAdmiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
of the Fleet.
- John Strutt, 3rd Baron RayleighJohn Strutt, 3rd Baron RayleighJohn William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, OM was an English physicist who, with William Ramsay, discovered the element argon, an achievement for which he earned the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1904...
, Nobel Prize winning physicist for the discovery of argonArgonArgon is a chemical element represented by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table . Argon is the third most common gas in the Earth's atmosphere, at 0.93%, making it more common than carbon dioxide...
, died in 1919 at Terling Place, Witham.
- James WinslowJames WinslowJames Winslow is a British racing driver. He is the winner of four motorsport championships and currently competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series and the Australian Drivers' Championship.-2004-2008:...
, Australian and Asian Formula 3 champion lived in Witham before moving to Australia and then the US to race in Formula Atlantic.
- Eddie HallEddie HallEddie Hall is a British single seater and karting driver from Essex, England. He began karting in the mid nineties and won a regional championship in 1997 before briefly moving up to Formula Ford in 1999. Since 2002 he has been racing in various UK and European Club100 Championships...
, Multiple British and European karting champion was born and raised in Witham.
- Graham HedmanGraham HedmanGraham Hedman is a British sprinter. At the 2006 European Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg, he won the silver medal in the 4x400 m relay along with Robert Tobin, Rhys Williams and Timothy Benjamin, in a time of 3:01.63.-Personal bests:100 m 10.64 sec 200 m 21.02 400 m 45.84 400 L 45.0...
, 2006 European Champion, 4x400 men's relay, was born in Witham.
- Molly ConlinMolly ConlinMolly Frances Conlin is an English child actress from Essex, best known for her role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Dotty Cotton.-Personal life:Conlin was born in Essex where she lives with her mother and her brother, Jack...
, EastEndersEastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
star as Dot Cotton's granddaughter "Dotty".
- Nadine LewingtonNadine LewingtonNadine Lewington is a British actress, most notable for her role as Dr Young on Holby City. Raised in Witham, Essex, Nadine is the eldest daughter of Tony and Sonia Lewington. She attended the Anglo European School, Ingatestone. She has one sister, Vania....
who starred in Holby CityHolby CityHolby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
between 2007 and 2009 lived in Witham.
- Cody McDonaldCody McDonaldCody Darren John McDonald is an English footballer who plays for Coventry City as a striker. He previously played for Norwich City and Gillingham, on loan where he made a name for himself scoring 25 goals in 41 games.-Club career:...
former Witham Town player, who eventually moved to Norwich City F.C.Norwich City F.C.Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
.
- Olly MursOlly MursOliver Stanley "Olly" Murs is an English singer-songwriter and TV presenter. Murs rose to fame after being the runner-up on the sixth series of The X Factor...
who was the runner up in the 2009 series of The X FactorThe X Factor (UK)The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
. He attended Howbridge Junior School and then Notley High School where he was a star centre forward in the school's football (soccer) team. He also played semi-professionally for Witham Town.