Chelmsford, Essex, England, United Kingdom

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Chelmsford is a city and the county town of Essex, in the East of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately 30 miles (50 kilometres) north-east of the centre of London and approximately 22 miles (35 kilometres) from Colchester.

The main conurbation of Chelmsford incorporates all or part of the former parishes of Broomfield, Newland Spring, Great Leighs, The Walthams, Great Baddow, Little Baddow, Galleywood, Howe Green, Margaretting, Pleshey, Stock, Roxwell, Danbury, Bicknacre, Writtle, Moulsham, Rettendon, The Hanningfields, The Chignals, Widford and Springfield, including Springfield Barnes, now known as Chelmer Village.

The communities of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Chelmsford, Ontario and Chelmsford, New Brunswick are named after the city. Chelmsford's population consists of a large number of City and Docklands commuters, attracted by the 30–35-minute journey into Central London via the Great Eastern Main Line railway. The same journey takes at least 60 minutes by road, via the A12.

History Before 1199, there were settlements nearby from ancient times. The remains of a Neolithic and a late Bronze Age settlement have been found in the Springfield suburb, and the town was occupied by the Romans. A Roman fort was built in AD 60, and a civilian town grew up around it. The town was given the name of Caesaromagus (Caesar's field or Caesar's marketplace), although the reason for it being given the great honour of bearing the Imperial prefix is now unclear – possibly as a failed 'planned town' provincial capital to replace Londinium or Camulodunum. The remains of a mansio, a combination post office, civic centre and hotel, lie beneath the streets of modern Moulsham, and the ruins of an octagonal temple are located beneath the Odeon roundabout. The town disappeared for a while after the Romans left Britain.

An Anglo-Saxon burial was discovered at Broomfield to the north of Chelmsford in the late 19th century and the finds are now in the British Museum. The road 'Saxon Way' now marks the site.

The city's name is derived from Ceolmaer's ford which was close to the site of the present High Street stone bridge. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the town was called Celmeresfort and by 1189 it had changed to Chelmsford. Its position on the Londinium – Camulodonum Roman road (the modern A12) ensured the early prosperity of Chelmsford.

Royal charter On 7 September 1199, following the commissioning of a bridge over the River Can by Maurice, Bishop of London, King John granted to William of Sainte-Mère-Eglise a royal charter for Chelmsford to hold a market, marking the origin of the modern town. An under-cover market, operating Tuesday to Saturday, is still an important part of the city centre over 800 years later.

The town became the seat of the local assize during the early 13th century (though assizes were also held at Brentwood) and by 1218 it was recognised as the county town of Essex, a position it has retained to the present day.

Royal connections King Robert I of Scotland, better known as Robert the Bruce (1274–1309), had close ties with the nearby village of Writtle and there is some evidence to suggest he was born at Montpeliers Farm in the village, but the story is disputed and possibly conflated with his father, Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale.

Chelmsford was significantly involved in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, and King Richard II moved on to the town after quelling the rebellion in London. 'The Sleepers and The Shadows', written by Hilda Grieve in 1988 using original sources, states: "For nearly a week, from Monday 1st July to Saturday 6th July, Chelmsford became the seat of government… The king probably lodged at his nearby manor house at Writtle. He was attended by his council, headed by the temporary Chancellor… the new chief justice… the royal chancery… Their formidable task in Chelmsford was to draft, engross, date, seal and despatch by messengers riding to the farthest corners of the realm, the daily batches of commissions, mandates, letters, orders and proclamations issued by the government not only to speed the process of pacification of the kingdom, but to conduct much ordinary day-to-day business of the Crown and Government". Richard II famously revoked the charters which he had made in concession to the peasants on 2 July 1381, while in Chelmsford. It could be said that given this movement of government power, Chelmsford for a few days at least became the capital of England. Many of the ringleaders of the revolt were executed on the gallows at what is now Primrose Hill.

King Henry VIII purchased the Boleyn estate in 1516, and built Beaulieu Palace on the current site of New Hall School. This later became the residence of his then mistress, and later wife Anne. Soon after it became the residence of Henry's daughter, by his first marriage, Mary I.

Witchfinder General In the 17th century many of the victims of Matthew Hopkins (the self-styled "Witchfinder General") spent their last days imprisoned in Chelmsford, before being tried at the Assizes and hanged for witchcraft.

Charles Dickens In 1835, when visiting Essex and Suffolk to cover local elections, Charles Dickens visited Chelmsford. He was apparently so upset that he could not find a newspaper on a Sunday that he wrote in a letter to a friend that Chelmsford was "the dullest and most stupid place on earth".

Birthplace of radio • In 1899 Guglielmo Marconi opened the first "wireless" or radio factory in the world at Hall Street in the Moulsham area of Chelmsford. • In 1920 Marconi made the first official publicised sound broadcast in the United Kingdom, featuring Dame Nellie Melba at the New Street Works, the first purpose-built radio factory in the world. • In 1922, Marconi made the world's first regular wireless broadcasts for entertainment (call sign "2MT") began from the nearby village of Writtle.

Station 2MT led to the creation of its sister station in London "2LO", which subsequently led to the creation of the BBC.

Bishopric In 1914 Chelmsford's church became a cathedral and the town got its own bishop.

History: World War II During World War II Chelmsford, an important centre of light engineering war production, was attacked from the air on several occasions, both by aircraft of the Luftwaffe and by missile. The worst single loss of life took place on Tuesday 19 December 1944, when the 367th Vergeltungswaffe 2 or V2 rocket to hit England fell on Henry Road, a residential street near the Hoffmans ball bearing factory and the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company factory in New Street. Both factories were key to the war effort. Thirty-nine people were killed and 138 injured, 47 seriously. Several dwellings in Henry Road were completely destroyed, and many badly damaged in nearby streets. A monument to the dead is located in the city cemetery on Writtle Road.

On 14 May 1943 Luftwaffe bombing raids hit Chelmsford leaving more than 50 people dead and leaving nearly 1,000 homeless. The bombs hit mainly the town centre, Springfield, and Moulsham.

The GHQ Line part of the British hardened field defences of World War II runs directly through Chelmsford with many pillboxes still in existence to the north and south of the city.

Hylands Park, the site of the former annual V Festival, hosted a prisoner of war camp, and from 1944 until it was disbanded in 1945, was the headquarters of the Special Air Service (SAS).

History: Recent Since the 1980s defence-related industries in the city have declined, most notably the Marconi Company with all of its factories either being closed or sold. The site on West Hanningfield Road was sold to BAE Systems; the Waterhouse Lane site sold to E2V and the former New Street Works site has undergone major redevelopment for residential/mixed use.

The one-time largest employer in Chelmsford, RHP (the former Hoffman ball bearing manufacturer), closed its New Street/Rectory Lane site in 1989. Some of the factory was converted into luxury apartments and a health club although most of the site was demolished to make way for the Rivermead Campus of the Anglia Ruskin University.

The city's location close to London and at the centre of Essex has helped it grow in importance as a financial, administrative and distribution centre.

The Channels Development, Beaulieu Park, The Village and Chancellor Park are some of the most recent large-scale housing developments built in the city. The local plan targets an additional 18,000 new homes by 2036, in developments largely to the north of the city.

In 2007, the Channel 4 programme Location, Location, Location voted Chelmsford the 8th-best place to live in the UK.

Business and commerce Originally an agricultural and market town, Chelmsford has been an important centre for industry since the 19th century. Following the opening of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation in 1797, cheaper transportation and raw materials made milling and malting the main industries until the 1850s, when increasing prosperity created a local market for agricultural machinery.

Foundries and engineering works followed including Fell Christy at his Factory (In later years known as Christy Norris Ltd) on the corner of Kings Road and Broomfield Road opened 1858, closed 1985, Coleman and Moreton, Thomas Clarkson (Steam Omnibus manufacturer and Founder of the Eastern National Bus Company) and Eddington and Stevenson (makers of traction engines). The Company Christy Norris still survives, trading as Christy Turner Ltd based in Ipswich. A residential street close to the old Factory was named "Fell Christy" in his honour.

As well as the headquarters of Essex Police, Essex County and Chelmsford City Councils, the modern city is home to a range of national and international companies including M&G Group, Teledyne e2v and ebm-papst. The continuing importance of Chelmsford as an employment centre is demonstrated by the fact that the number of "in" commuters (mostly from other parts of Essex) almost exactly balances the number of workers commuting into London.

Chelmsford is largely a commercial city which employs around 80,000 people. There are three medium-sized shopping centres, Bond Street, High Chelmer and The Meadows. Chelmsford has six retail parks, Riverside, Chelmer Village, Clocktower Retail Park, The Army & Navy, Moulsham Lodge Retail Park and the smaller Homelands Retail Park housing a Flagship B&Q Store, Wyvale Garden Centre (part of the Garden centre Group) and Pets Corner. The High Street is full of independent and chain stores. As well as the leading High Street names, there is also a wide variety of specialist retailers, especially in Baddow Road and Moulsham Street which are located at the end of the pedestrianised High Street. On 29 September 2016 a new retail development opened anchored by John Lewis. On 6 January 2005, Chelmsford was granted Fairtrade Town status.

Sizeable businesses are now based in the Chelmsford Business Park at Boreham housing companies such as the Anderson Group and Global Marine Systems. The city also has a low unemployment rate (1.6% in 2002) and a well-educated workforce, with 9% holding a degree or above.

Chelmsford has a vibrant nightlife scene with many pubs, late night bars and restaurant establishments in the city centre area. Its central Essex location and good public transport links make the city ideal for revellers, commuters and tourists to visit from surrounding areas.

Transport: Rail The Eastern Counties Railway arrived in Chelmsford in 1842. Owing to the geography of the city, three viaducts were constructed, the longest of which is the 18-arch Central Park viaduct. The station is at the end of the second viaduct. The third viaduct is at the River Chelmer, Springfield. The current Chelmsford railway station dates from around 1885.

Around 14,000 commuters per day travel to London Liverpool Street on Greater Anglia services, making Chelmsford one of the busiest non-terminus stations outside London until 2010, when three early morning services were added from Chelmsford to London and three late evening services terminating at Chelmsford from London.

Southbound services operate to London Liverpool Street and northbound services run to Colchester, Ipswich, Clacton-on-Sea, Harwich, Braintree and Norwich via the Great Eastern Main Line. Despite having elevated platforms, the station has full disabled access via a lift on each platform, as well as its stair access.

Since 2011, a second station, since announced to be called Beaulieu Park, has been proposed to serve the new Beaulieu housing developments to the north-east of Chelmsford. Work began in January 2023 and the station is set to open in late 2025.

Transport: Bus The current bus terminal in Duke Street replaced the ageing 1930s bus station in March 2007 with shops, apartments and a covered roof for passengers. • First Essex has many routes around the city and beyond including the X10 & X30 Essex Airlink. • Other bus companies serving the area include Stephensons of Essex, Hedingham & Chambers and Arriva Colchester. There are a variety of school buses serving the city and surrounding areas. Outside of peak times many of these services are run under contract to Essex County Council. • Arriva operates a single service, the 59 route, to Harlow from Chelmsford, via Roxwell, The Rodings, Hatfield Heath and Old Harlow. The route is on the Hertfordshire Intalink network, allowing single-operator access to destinations within Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire, as well as select Greater London destinations such as Stanmore and Barnet. The route was previously operated by Tellings-Golden Miller.

Essex County Council Highways & Transportation Department have considered constructing a 'Bus Rapid Transit System' to be built serving the Beaulieu Park/Springfield Area because of the increasing demand for Rapid Transit Plans in Ipswich, Colchester and Southend.

Chelmsford has a park & ride service at nearby Sandon, just off Junction 18 of the A12. It runs from 7 am to 7 pm, Monday to Saturday, with five bus stops around the city (one near High Chelmer for shopping), and charges £2.50 per adult and is free for old-age pensioners or people under the age of 16. An adult weekly ticket is £12.50 and Adult monthly £47.00. It has a capacity of 1,200 cars. Opened in March 2006, it has proved highly successful and is widely used.

A second service known as the Chelmer Valley Park and Ride was opened on the A130/A131 to the north of the city near Little Waltham in April 2011.

Transport: Road The A12 trunk road, which connects London and Lowestoft, was originally built by the Romans to connect London and Colchester. It used to pass through the city until the £34.8m nine-mile (14 km) bypass around the east opened in November 1986. It links London and the M25 motorway with the docks at Harwich and Felixstowe, and the East Coast. Despite being notorious for frequent congestion, poor road surfaces, potholes and accidents, many people move to Chelmsford for it being so well connected by road and rail. The A414 trunk road between Hemel Hempstead and Maldon is a main road into the city (just off the A12) and links the city to junction 7 of the [M11] motorway in the west, near Harlow. The A130 provides a link to the A127 and A13, while the A131 passes through smaller towns and villages. The nearest motorway is the M25 London Orbital at J11 of the A12, 14 miles away, near Brentwood.

Chelmsford is 25 to 30 minutes' drive from Stansted Airport (via A130/A120), and London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London City, Luton and Southend airports are all within reach.

In the south-west of the city centre, the A138 meets the A414 at the Army and Navy roundabout which is notorious for its traffic congestion. • Traffic lights were tried to improve matters in the early 2000s, but that scheme was abandoned after a short while; however, some of the lights were recommissioned for early morning and evening part-time use in 2009. • The recently-built bus lane on the A1114 Great Baddow bypass, and priority to traffic using it, has meant traffic queues approaching the roundabout can now be over 1 mi (1.6 km) long during peak periods. • The roundabout is known as the Army and Navy even though the public house and music venue from which the junction got its name has long been demolished. • Until 2019, the junction had an unusual bi-directional flyover (in a similar manner to the Hogarth Roundabout in Chiswick); it was open for city-bound traffic westerly until 2.30 pm each day and then easterly out of the city after 2.30 pm. The Army and Navy roundabout flyover was condemned as unsafe and was permanently closed in September 2019 by Essex County Council with demolition works taking place in February/March 2020. • Construction of the £32 million replacement A138 Chelmer Viaduct road, which connects Chelmer Village Way roundabout to the Army and Navy roundabout, began in February 2015. The new bridge replaced the previous structure, built in 1932, which was demolished in 2016. • On 15 January 2024, final plans were announced for the £81m Army and Navy sustainable transport package by Essex County Council including a so called 'hamburger' roundabout due for completion by 2028.

Since 2 September 2013, to save money and reduce carbon emissions, many streets lights in the Chelmsford district switched over to Essex County Council's part-night street lighting scheme. This involves most street lights being switched off between 1:00 am and 5:00 am (Tuesday to Sunday) with exceptions such as the city centre area, key road junctions, some pedestrian crossings and known accident sites; on Monday mornings, the switch off is from midnight to 5:00 am.

Future transport plans Proposals for a bypass of Chelmsford connecting the A12 interchange at Boreham (Junction 19) and the A131 were put forward for public consultation by Essex County Council in 2006, the preferred route was announced in March 2007. It comprises the creation of 7.9 km (4+15⁄16 mi) of two-lane dual carriageway and junctions connecting to the A12 and A131, it will sever 10 footpaths/bridleways and involve almost entirely greenfield construction. The scheme was estimated to cost £138 million in March 2007 but was increased to an estimated range of £229 – £262 million in February 2008. The scheme still requires funding and planning permission with applications timetabled for 2009–2011, a public inquiry timetabled for 2012 and with an estimated construction start date of 2014–2016. The Chelmsford North Action Group (NAG) objects to this scheme, stating that Chelmsford was to "be engulfed by huge motorways connecting the Channel Ports, via a new Lower Thames Crossing, A130, on to Stansted, M11 and A14".

A second new Park and Ride scheme on the A130 near Little Waltham in addition to that at Sandon began construction in March 2010 at a price of £7.9 million. There has been criticism of the park and ride as some worry it would be unable to provide a service to the nearby Broomfield Hospital from the new site. The Little Waltham Park and Ride opened in April 2011.

A new second railway station called Chelmsford Beaulieu for the city was announced in September 2009 to be built near the A12 Boreham Interchange. Construction began in early 2023 with an expected completion date of 2025.

Redevelopment A major new development on the Duke Street site of the old 1930s bus station was completed in 2007, which contains a new smaller bus station, shops and luxury apartments. The lower level apartments of this development and the bus station area is known as Marconi Plaza, while the upper level apartments are known as the Kings Tower. The new bus station and shops were opened in January 2007, while the rest of the development was ready in September 2007.

A new housing development site near Beaulieu Park, towards the north of the city, is currently under construction; it will be an urban village containing around 3,500 homes.

The public house The Army and Navy, from which the roundabout gets its name, was demolished in March 2007. It was replaced by a Travelodge hotel, a Frankie & Benny's restaurant, a bed store and private apartments. Building work started at the site in October 2007 and the project was completed in December 2008.

Recently, plans were revealed for Waterside, a large development of shops, bars and restaurants on the banks of the River Chelmer on derelict land near the Essex Records Office, at the end of Wharf Road. If this development goes ahead, High Bridge Road, which connects Parkway and Springfield Road, would be demolished along with the adjacent gasometers and a new central link road would be built.

The former Anglia Ruskin University central campus, off Park Road, was demolished in January/February 2010; it has been redeveloped by social housing provider Genesis as a mixed use development of housing for social rent, alongside other new housing for private sale and several retail units, new squares, streets and plazas. The new development has been given the name City Park West.

High Chelmer shopping centre underwent a refit during 2008/2009 with new flooring, lighting with a new front entrance and a rebounded logo. Further work is being carried out in the shopping centre; an old portion was demolished in spring 2011 and the work was completed in early 2012.

In January 2011, John Lewis announced, together with development partner Aquila House Holdings, that it was to anchor a brand new 119,000-square-foot (11,100 m²) department store as part of a 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m²) retail development at Bond Street. The site opened in September 2016.

Places of interest Hylands House and Park, just to the west of the city, are a country house and parkland which were saved from dereliction after being purchased by the local council in 1966, after the death of the last private owner, and is now open to the public. Dating from 1730, the house was much damaged by fire and vandalism by the time of the sale, but has since been completely restored by Chelmsford City Council and is now available for weddings and other private hires including conferences. The 574 acres (232 hectares) park was landscaped by Humphry Repton has hosted a wide range of community events, including the annual music festival V Festival. The 21st World Scout Jamboree 2007 was held at Hylands Park from 27 July to 8 August 2007. Within the grounds which comprise woodland, rolling grassland and lakes is a large children's play area with adjoining car parking.

Chelmsford Museum in Oaklands Park, off Moulsham Street, is a local history and industrial heritage museum which incorporates the Essex Regiment Museum. A major £5 million extension and redevelopment scheme opened in January 2010 and the museum now includes exhibits and interactive displays focusing on Crompton, Marconi, and Hoffmann, as well as illustrating the development of the town and city from prehistory up to modern times. Further development in 2019 upgraded the museum to include new visitor facilities as well as new exhibits from the Saxon burial site at Broomfield. A second site at Sandford Mill – Chelmsford's former waterworks – displays further exhibits from Chelmsford's telecommunications, electrical engineering and rolling bearings industries.

The Shire Hall is situated at the top of the High Street. Opened in July 1791 and built by local architect and Essex county surveyor John Johnson, it features a Portland Stone façade. One of the oldest and most prominent buildings in Chelmsford, it was built as a courthouse and there has been a court on the site since at least 1199. However this finally came to an end on 2 April 2012 with the opening of a new magistrates' court a short distance away in New Street.

Chelmsford Cathedral, which is located directly behind the Shire Hall, is one of the oldest buildings in the city. Originally called "St Mary's Church", it became a cathedral when the Diocese of Chelmsford for the Bishop of Chelmsford was created in 1914. It is officially the second smallest in England behind Derby Cathedral.

Chelmsford Prison is a male prison and Young Offenders Institution, constructed in 1830. The 1979 film special of the TV series Porridge with Ronnie Barker was filmed largely on location at Chelmsford Prison, while it was closed for repairs after a fire.

The 1842 constructed, 18-arch Victorian railway viaduct (that spans the River Can in Central Park) is one of three railway viaducts in the city that carry the Great Eastern Main Line. The viaduct was constructed by the Eastern Counties Railway and opened for passenger traffic on 29 March 1843.

Chelmsford's two tallest buildings are: • Parkside Court, built in 1962 as Melbourne Court in Melbourne Avenue, sometimes locally known as "Melbourne flats", and • the 13-floor "Kings Tower" in Duke Street, completed in 2007.

They share the same height of 141.04 feet (42.99 m).

The tallest structure by far in the borough is the former Chain Home radar tower in Great Baddow which rises to 360 ft (110 m). The tower was constructed in 1937 and originally stood at the village of Canewdon's former RAF base (1936–1970). However, in 1956 it was relocated to Great Baddow. It is the only Chain Home tower still in its original unmodified form in the United Kingdom and is a highly visible landmark throughout the surrounding area. The tower was finally given Grade II listed building status in October 2019 by Historic England.

Geography From over 600,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene ice age, until the Anglian Stage around 478,000 to 424,000 years ago, the early River Thames flowed through the area where Chelmsford now stands, from Harlow to Colchester, before crossing what is now the North Sea to become a tributary of the Rhine. Consequently, gravel deposits are frequently found in the area and current and former gravel pits in the district are common.

Chelmsford has two rivers, the River Can and the River Chelmer. Although often confused to be the same river in the city centre, they are quite separate until they join towards the east of the city to form the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation which heads out towards Maldon before flowing into tidal waters at the Blackwater Estuary. In the other direction, the Chelmer comes from the north from its source near Thaxted while the Can comes from the West from Writtle where it separates from the River Wid.

Until the 1960s, these rivers were extremely prone to flooding the city centre area including two disastrous floods in August 1888 (known locally as 'The Great Flood') and in September 1958 (which also badly affected nearby Wickford) causing widespread damage. Flood prevention schemes in the 1960s on both rivers have largely prevented any further incidents here although the natural floodplains to the north and east such as The 'Baddow Meads' and The 'Chelmer Valley' continue to see flooding after prolonged heavy rainfall.

Education Chelmsford has a wide range of educational institutions. Higher education in the city is provided at one campus of Anglia Ruskin University (formerly called Anglia Polytechnic) and Writtle University College. Chelmsford College is the main provider of further education in the city. Sixth form colleges are attached to many of the secondary schools listed below.

Secondary school educational establishments in Chelmsford include: • The Boswells School • The Beaulieu Park School • Chelmer Valley High School • Columbus School and College • Chelmsford County High School for Girls • Great Baddow High School • Hylands School • King Edward VI Grammar School • Moulsham High School • New Hall School • The Sandon School • St John Payne Catholic School • St Peter's College (closed in August 2011 and formerly known as Rainsford High School). • Thriftwood School and College

Chelmsford includes many primary schools, including The Bishop's C of E & R C Primary School, one of the few joint Anglican and Roman Catholic primary schools in the country

Media Chelmsford is often referred to as the Birthplace of Radio. • City Sound Radio is a community radio station which started broadcasting online and on digital services in September 2023, delivering local news, topics, popular music, and a haven for unsigned musicians with session and broadcast performance facilities. It was created to provide more provincial representation at a time where national broadcasters had started to curtail their local obligations. citysound.radio • Chelmsford Community Radio (CCR) broadcasts to the city on 104.4FM. It started out in 2013 as an internet only station and was granted an FM Licence in 2015. The FM frequency launched in 2017. The station offers a wide range of shows catering for many different tastes as well as offering a platform for many local bands, charities, community groups and businesses. www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com • Chelmsford was home to local radio station Chelmsford Radio. The station moved to studios in Southend-on-Sea having vacated its Heybridge premises on 12 January 2009. The station was originally situated in Chelmsford city centre in Cater House until November 2006. This station was previously known as Dream 107.7 until February, and before that, 107.7 Chelmer FM up to 2002. The station began broadcasting on 18 October 1998. It is the local station for mid-Essex. Adventure Radio have owned this station since 2008, where it was purchased from Tindle Radio Ltd. As of 19 February 2015, Chelmsford and Southend Radio re-branded and merged to form Radio Essex, www.radioessex.com • Chelmsford has a local opt-out of Heart. Heart Essex (previously Essex FM up to June 2009) has been on air since 12 September 1981 and has been owned by Global Radio since 2007. It moved to studios in Glebe Road in late 2004, having previously been based in Southend-on-Sea. In May 2009, the station was rebranded to The Heart of Essex, Essex FM. In June 2009, the popular Essex FM née Essex Radio name brand was dropped after 28 years. On 3 June 2019 Heart Essex was closed as part of wider changes to the Heart network. It was replaced by Heart East with programs coming from studios in London and Milton Keynes. The Chelmsford studio was closed. • BBC Essex has been on air since 5 November 1986 and its studios are based in New London Road. • There is a local Award-winning, Hospital Radio Station based out of Broomfield Hospital, known as Hospital Radio Chelmsford, the station has been running since 1964 and is supported by volunteers. The station broadcasts 24 hours for patients at the hospital but can also be listened to online and via the app. www.hrc.org.uk

Until their closure in the mid-2000s Anglia Television/ITV Anglia had offices located in Chelmsford city centre. Chelmsford is served by London and East Anglia regional variations of the BBC and ITV1. Television signals are received from either the Crystal Palace or Sudbury TV transmitters.

Chelmsford has its own Film Festival which was initially set up in 2017 by a few filmmakers and business owners who live in the Chelmsford area. This takes place predominantly at the Everyman Cinema in Chelmsford.

Publications based in Chelmsford include: • the Essex Chronicle, which was founded as the Chelmsford Chronicle in 1764. The weekly Essex Chronicle newspaper is the longest in continuous publication in the country. Until the closure of the printing plant in 2002, the paper was printed in the town. It is now printed on presses by the Reach plc Group which now owns the paper. • Chelmsford Weekly News was a free local paper which ceased production in June 2017. • a popular publication is the free "Edge" magazine, a primarily volunteer effort aimed at older Chelmsfordians. • The Face of Chelmsford is a monthly magazine delivered to 12,500 homes in Chelmsford that has now become a digital publication updated daily. • City Life is a newspaper produced by Chelmsford City Council that is distributed throughout the area.

Visual art In May 2022, Chelmsford hosted its first street art festival, Concrete Canvas. The festival saw around 30 murals created in the cities Business Improvement District (BID). The artworks were created by a mix of local and internationally renowned street artists. They range from large pieces, installed on the walls of local businesses to smaller pieces on bollards and Openreach cabinets. The festival was supported by Chelmsford Council and Chelmsford For You.

Concrete Canvas continued in May 2023, an additional 43 artworks were added to the street art trail including work by local artists and international names such as DFace and Shephard Fairey.

Religion Chelmsford Cathedral is the second smallest cathedral in England after Derby Cathedral. It was built in the 15th and early 16th centuries, when it was the parish church of the prosperous medieval town. The Diocese of Chelmsford was established in 1914 from part of the Diocese of St Albans. It covers all of Essex and much of East London.

Chelmsford is situated in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood and the two dioceses are now uniquely (at least within England) conterminous. With the coming of the Reformation the Catholic community of Chelmsford was subjected to the anti-Catholic laws and Chelmsford was the site of the death of a Catholic martyr, Saint John Payne. In the 19th century, native Catholics resurfaced and immigrants helped to build up the Catholic community. There are now three Catholic churches within Chelmsford along with a Norbertine canonry situated on New London Road; St. Philip's Priory and one of the largest Catholic private boarding schools in the country, New Hall School.

Other denominations are represented, the Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventist Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Presbyterians, the Quakers, and the United Reformed Church all have places of worship within the city. The Jehovah's Witnesses' Bethel, or UK supervisory office, is based in Chelmsford.

For the local Muslim community, the majority of whom are Bengali and Pakistani, the Main Jamia Masjid mosque is located on Moulsham Street at the junction with Parkway.

Sport Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first-class county clubs that make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the county of Essex. The club is based at the County Ground in New Writtle Street close to the city centre.

Chelmsford City Football Club plays in the National League South. The club's home ground is at the Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre, Melbourne Park, which it shares with Chelmsford Athletic Club. Chelmsford is one of the largest settlements in England without a Football League team. The city is home to the Chelmsford Sunday League, of which there are five divisions consisting of teams from around the area. The former ground of the club the New Writtle Street Stadium hosted greyhound racing which was one of two venues to do so. The other was at Springfield on local farmland on Pump Lane corner which took place during April 1949. The racing at both was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club) and they were known as flapping tracks, which was the nickname given to independent tracks.

The Chelmsford Rugby Football Club was established in 1920 and for the last 40 years has been playing rugby at Coronation Park in Timpsons Lane. As of 2016 the club has over 300 members and fields up to five senior teams each week. The club as of 2016 plays in the London 1 North league, the sixth tier of English rugby. In addition to the senior teams, there are 150 youth members providing teams from under 6's to under 17's. Chelmsford Hockey Club is a men's and ladies' field hockey club based in the city. It fields eight men's teams and five ladies' teams every weekend. The Ladies' 1st XI compete in the English Hockey League Conference East as of July 2016.

Chelmsford Swimming Club has been running for over 100 years and is located in the Riverside Ice and Leisure building in Chelmsford. Based in the same building are the Chelmsford Chieftains, an ice hockey team that plays in the English National Ice Hockey League. The club promotes the use of junior players and local players from the Chelmsford and Essex area.

Team Essex Volleyball Club is Chelmsford's national league volleyball club. It has four teams, which play in Volleyball England's national volleyball league. Its men's 1st team currently competes in the top division in the country, the Super 8s, while the women's 1st team competes one tier below the men. The club has a strong junior program and trains in The Boswells School in Chelmsford.

Horse racing has been run at two separate venues using the name Chelmsford, neither actually in the city centre itself. The sport originally took place at Chelmsford Racecourse, at Galleywood, from the 18th century until its closure in 1935. A new racecourse was established at Great Leighs in 2008 and subsequently changed its name to Chelmsford City Racecourse.

Since 2014 the city has held a marathon. Starting and ending in the city centre, the marathon takes in the city itself and the surrounding environs. The 2014 edition had over 1000 participants.

The Chelmsford campus of Anglia Ruskin University has many sports teams and facilities.