Runwell
| Runwell | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's church in Runwell |
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 Runwell
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| Runwell shown within Essex | |
| Population | 3,394 United Kingdom Census 2011 |
| Civil parish |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Runwell is a village near Wickford and a civil parish on the A132 road, in the Chelmsford District, in the English county of Essex.
The village is surrounded by neighbouring parishes such as Battlesbridge and Rettendon. In 1870-72 the imperial Gazetteer described Runwell like this:
RUNWELL, a parish in Chelmsford district, Essex; on the river Crouch, 5 miles N by E of Pitsea r.station. Post-town, Chelmsford. Acres, 2,059. Real property, £2, 641. Pop., 366. Houses, 70. The manor, with R. Hall, belongs to T. Kemble, Esq. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £570.* Patron, the Rev. T. Knox. The church is later English and was recently restored. There is a day school.
According to the 2011 Census the total population was 3,394 with 1,658 males and 1,736 females living in the parish.
Runwell Community Primary School and St Mary's Church are located in Runwell. Runwell Hospital was closed in 2010 and partially demolished in 2012. The site is being transformed into a housing estate consisting of around 580 new homes as well as non-residential space. The village also has a Pre-school and two pubs; the Quart pot and Toby Carvery Runwell. The closest train station to Runwell is Wickford railway station and the number 15 bus runs from Runwell to Basildon.
Runwell has had inhabitants dating back to the 1200s when the church (st Mary's) was built and the village was included in the 1801 census that reported that it had 243 people living in it. The parish grew steadily in every census after that. The village has always been a majority agricultural intensive area in terms of its employment of its inhabitants with a huge amount of the population working in agriculture in the 1831 census.
In 1824 Runwell was subject to a robbery headed by a man with the name of John Turner who knew of a farmer in Runwell by the name of Samuel Robinson who kept large amounts of cash on the premises. "After the heist over £15 in cash was stolen which they divided among them, and nine bottles of gin and brandy which they quickly began to consume". It is not clear how Turner was arrested, but on 21 December 1827, he was executed at Springfield Prison.
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