Moulsham

Moulsham is a suburb of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is located to the south of the City centre and has two distinct areas: Old Moulsham and Moulsham Lodge.

Moulsham is approximately midway between Colchester and London and is located on the south side of the River Chelmer, straddling the Roman road between the two cities. Moulsham Street follows the line of the former Roman road and it is a designated Conservation Area.

The fertile Chelmer Valley has been a focus for human activities from the beginning of the Neolithic period (c.4000BC), with ceramics of this period having been found during excavation in the Moulsham Street area. These excavations also revealed evidence for settlement through the Bronze Age and late Iron Age. Significant habitation at Moulsham can be traced back to Roman times, preceding the origins of Chelmsford itself. Moulsham Street is perhaps the oldest street in the City.

Soon after the rebellion of Boudicca in AD60, a small Roman military fort was built on the southern banks of the River Can near an important road bridge crossing midway between Colchester and London. A civilian town soon grew up around the fort and received the name Caesaromagus (Caesar's Market Place). The present Moulsham Street follows the line of the main thoroughfare through the Roman Town southwards to London. Long after the fort had gone, the Romans maintained an official presence in Moulsham, in the form of a grand mansio (located in the vicinity of what is now Roman Road), which served as a post office, civic centre and hotel. Roman occupation of Moulsham centred on the area defined by what are now Moulsham Street/ Hall Street/Hamlet Road and Mildmay Road. The town was defended by substantial banks and ditches and contained public baths and a temple.

The Roman town was abandoned in the 5th Century AD. The nearest centres of population at this time would have been small Saxon farmsteads to the north of what is now Chelmsford. Following the collapse of the Roman wooden bridge across the River Can, the main route between Colchester and London was diverted to a crossing point at Widford several miles west of Moulsham.

After the Norman Conquest of AD1066 Moulsham was owned by the Abbot of Westminster; the land on the Chelmsford side of the River Can was owned by the Bishop of London. Records at this time refer to a place named Ceolmaer’s Ford on the northern banks of the Can. Around AD1100 a new bridge was constructed across the River Can restoring the route of the old Roman road along what is now Moulsham Street. In AD 1199 Chelmsford was formally founded by the Bishop of London, William of Sainte-Mère-Église when he was granted the right to hold a weekly market at ‘Chelmersford’ around which a new town was formed.

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