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Find a Bed and Breakfast or B & Bs in EssexB & Bs based in Basildon, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester,
Epping, Halstead, Harlow, Harwich, Maldon, Ilford, Romford, Southend, Braintree and Brentwood. |
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Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough
of Brentwood, part of Essex in England. It is located in the London commuter
belt, 20 miles (30 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in London and near to the
M25 motorway.
Brentwood is a suburban town with a small shopping area and high street. Beyond
this is extensive sprawling residential development entirely surrounded by open
countryside and woodland; some penetrating to within only a few hundred yards of
the town centre. It is perhaps most widely known for Brentwood School and for several
businesses based in the town.
Robert Graves in his book I, Claudius refers to Brentwood as the site of the battle
where Claudius defeated the Ancient Britons in 44AD. However, Graves also states
that names and places in the book are sometimes fiction.
Brentwood was the meeting place of some of the instigators of the Peasants' Revolt
such as John Ball and Jack Straw. They, apparently, met regularly in local pubs
and inns. The Essex assizes were sometimes held here, as well as at Chelmsford.
One such pub is the White Hart (now known as the Sugar Hut and showing little of
its original historic interest), which is one of the oldest buildings in Brentwood,
and a pub has stood on the site for over 500 years.
Brentwood originated as an ancient parish of 460 acres (1.86 km²). In 1891 the population
was 4,949. Under the Local Government Act 1894, the Brentwood parish formed part
of the Billericay Rural District of Essex. In 1899 the parish was removed from the
rural district and formed the Brentwood Urban District. In 1934 the parish and district
were enlarged by gaining Hutton, Ingrave and South Weald. The district was abolished
in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 and Brentwood became part of a further
enlarged Brentwood district, which in 1993 gained borough status.
Brentwood was the location of Warley Hospital from 1853 to 2001. A British East
India Company elephant training school was based in Brentwood. |
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