Basildon Council - Billericay Conservation Area Character Appraisal
Transcription
Basildon Council - Billericay Conservation Area Character Appraisal
W W W. B A S I L D O N . G O V. U K BILLERICAY CONSERVATION AREA CHARACTER APPRAISAL November 2011 CONTENTS Introduction 1 Planning Policy Context 4 Location and Setting 6 History and Archaeology 8 Spatial Analysis 14 Character 27 Key Characteristics 44 Summary of Issues 45 Townscape Appraisal Map 49 References 51 Appendices Listed Buildings 53 Properties Removed from the Conservation Area (September 2011) 61 Contacts 63 Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 13 17 CRESCENT BM 91.73m CR 22 The Gatehouse 29 16 9 11 19 7a 17 CR 3 ET HIGH STRE 4 1 11 2 m 1 BM 2 3 21 7 9 46 13 21 19 29 39 13 95 1 51 97 99 49 2 7 R HIGH CLOISTE R 81 83 87 3 15 51b 1 Shelt er 7 73 75 2 10 Shelt er ISTER ER CLO LOW 2 41 Shelt er 6 3 to ISTER Sheraday Centre El Sub Sta 6 32 to 36 S 94.8m Crescent Court 11 MEW 1 y ca ist leri od Bil eth rch M hu C 5 86.0m STRE ET 33 47 TE 26 ES 28 W RN a 15 2 Bank 1 24 6 10 0 7m 2 CO XB RID GE CO UR T S 11a MEW 12 ES 22 JAM LB BM 85.8 HIGH 35 37 PH Surgery ST 11 87.5m 41 43 37b 41 1 82 2 Sub Sta El Sub Sta CLO 19 Bdy WESTE 78 86 88 10 CROWN ROAD El 1 91.4m 88.4m CR Ward AD RN RO 12 Westgate Court 8 19 89.6m 66 4 to 8 10 Posts 56 72 13 Alexander Mews 17 36 9 to WEST 31 13 25 1 1 38 90.8m 8a 42 48 60 4 22 6 2 24c 24d 24a 24b 32 52 Public Gardens AD RN RO WESTE 14 3 11 6 12 Posts 28 91.42 2 91.4m 4 5 1 2 6 10 43 7 6 Wks 5 ALE ERD SUMM El Sub Sta RO BM 89.27m 47 El Sub 10 11 EY RS NO 88.7m 12 19a DRIVE 20 Ward Bdy TANFIELD DRIVE 10 PARK AD PH 12 24 BILLERICAY 86.3m Club 12a 12 WEST Issues 89.9m (PH) 12b 53 17 19 Railway Hotel 12c 20 2 7 5 36 Sinks 14 32 11 Not to Scale MP .5 5 10 6 51a 10 9 55a 24 11 57 2 1 53 1 2 55 10 15 17 7 44 9 11 UE Uplands PH 2 EN 25 11 16 War Meml CHANDLERS CHASE AV Hall 42 1 Car Park RY'S 17 14 MA 5 40 1 ST 1 38 11 1 MIDDLE CLOISTE WEST PARK Issues Sta SL 2 S 39 MEADOW 11 HOME Post 12 4 63 1 3 1 67 3 65 69 96.69 m E 22 BM 46 24 50 14 Sta 81.2m 26 52 77 44 1 to 15 CHAN TRY 54 Sh 10 WAL K 2 CLOSE elte r 87 RS 31 EA VE W 89 REE T 24 to 26 69 17 80 16 23 97 37 to 47 95 76 78 23 12 13 22 ST HIG H 20 to 22 12 6 91 1 45 74 96.6m FF SA 6 Museum 93 N RO 68 21 37 14 85 20 10 33 66 NE Holly Cottage Y 39 Lichgate House 1 to 16 Vicarage Court PO N LA 64 LIO El Sub Sta 62 15 Bank Car Park El Sub Sta 20 WA 1 CHAPEL STREET 58 9 E NU AVE LA NE 28 1 to 4 Rectory House 31 IN RO SE 56 KL AN 16 26 86.9m El Sub 22a LB 17 48 12 11 13 NU 96.5m 15 25 AVE a 39 D SH 4 7 FIEL 5 11 90.6m 48 15 96.3m 47 4 6 BM 94.44m Bank Garage 57 AKE Willow Cottage 11 5 St Mary Magdalen Church 11 9 54 W 7 59 22 Shelter 29 19 99 10 3 36 7 3 32 111 1 1 PH 43 41a 41 SID HILL 31 2 NE 38 100 119 2 30 CHAPEL STREET 62 64 Chapel Heights 10 89 91 18 139 85 87 130 28 52 14 96.0m Builder's Yard 42 60 32 143 30 151 1 2 1 76 84 147 6 4 3 5 2 1 BURGHSTEAD CLOSE Rose Hall Pond ) Path 39 1a (um 105 Police Station 29 Magistrates' Court LONDON United Reformed Church BM 97.84m 1 Billericay Rose Cottage T 85.9m Claremont 3 HILLARY MOUN 140 6 4 11 Stanley Terrace MALLORY WAY 97 El Sub Sta PH 12 Collects Surgery 93 CHAPEL STREET 134 Telephone Exchange HPO TCBs Burghstead Court 17 CLOSE Church 12 52 64 135 137 Mayflower House The Walk Library .3m 24 52 54 56 58 14 to 19 129 1 TENSING GARDENS 128a 56 4 128 GARDENS 85.5m 13 GH OU OR SB 1 to 4 HIGH STREET 71 65 Bank 8 40 9 to 13 22 IN GA 20 Pond 81 IRVINE WAY Pilgrim House 57 89.3m 12 121 to 125 50 8 127 12 7 8 16 1 2 20 2 71 El Sub LB 29 55 1 St Edith's Court El Sub Sta 41 El Sub Sta The Gables Hall 2 El Sub Sta 112 to 118 BM 91.68m Essendene Mayflower Sta 20 to 27 ROAD 28 1 Burial Ground MEAD 93.1m ST EDITH'S COURT TENSING 7 32 50 117 115 OSE 104 d 71 104 a 57 21 E HILLSID 106 a 106 c 106b King George Court 95.7m HUNTS 19 13 Old Barn Ctt 106 El Sub Sta LANE 61 to 65 Hall ST EDITHS 43 40 25 104 1 E CL 62 3 3 113 Garage 55 96.0m ROAD 148 150 96.0m Ward Bdy 17 13 7 Garage 19 De f ET SUN STRE CR Shelter Mill Meadows Def 12 El Sub Sta 1 to 47 Albion Court The Rising Sun (PH) FAIRVIEW 7 2 1 IEW FAIRV BM 96.54m (um 1 4 ) Shelter 2 Path 3 11 Water Tower 15 17 Drain WYN Pond HEND SOUT 14 WEIR WYND 13 AD RO Fire Station Ambulance Station Emmanual C of E ge y rd Bd CR WEIR Hall Fire Tower Quilters County Junior School School Wa D Hall 21 LAINDON ROAD Play Area 97.8m 3 96.0m Infants School 1 2 The Holy Redeemer Church Quilters County Lod Lockers 31 Pond TCB Car Park Abbeyfield Archer House 8 Halls Millers 37 Hall 9 El Sub Sta Church View BM 97.84m South 43 39 WEST 40 Lodge Rectory E RIDG 25 W 2 38 8 16 ar CR 24 19 d Bd y 28 15 11 Friends Meeting House SCHOOL ROAD 11a 42 26 SCHOOL ROAD LB Shelter 1 7 15 Gas Valve Compound CR 23 35 33 RIDGE 13 14 19 1 2 43 77 WEST 47 1 Bd d ar W ge ve n Und nt Hill Mou Mill Ha Red Cotta Ridge 7 8 29 63 Cable Mount osts El Sub Sta rth o lw Lu Iona 65 10 11 BM 96.79m Windy 2 56 9 9a 11 Clinic 10 12 15 14 13 11 15 16 3 Underpass 59 2 1 30 23 24 Hall ARCHERS CLOSE 89 17 Holly Mount Roman Way WA Y 55 21 22 m N 12 17 19 BM 97.11m y ROMA 79 25 Billericay School 2 28 2 1 FAIRFIELD RISE ERS DRIVE 69 8 66 4 AY GEW RID 2 QUILT 11 1 1 m 15 73 12 SE LO LC HIL 1 19 75 6 2 4 EN 72 GRE 9 79 2 RM 31 H FA EIG 91 LL BE FOXL LL BE 25 N 85 99 8 12 41 42 10 6 10 81 Billericay School El Sub Sta 15 89 1 91 9 FO X 12 93 2 2 7 LO Tennis Courts 97 A 176 E CLOS 4 14 6 2 CR H IG AD ON RO LAIND LE GREENFIELDS E 4 Tennis Courts Conservation Area Boundary with Listed Buildings shown hatched Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal This map is based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. (10018871) (2010). 41 10 3a 10 3b 10 3c 10 2 4 5 14 16 36 13 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 34 55 N LA H El Sub Sta ALMA LINK PH 98 LIO 38 40 53 The Loft Post 65 CHESTNUT AVENUE 46 48 The Stable 96 TCB BM 97.03m 61 37 Issues 22 24 39 28 Crown Yard 92a Garage Ba nk UE UE PH 94 AVEN 92 Lion Lodge AVEN TNUT CHAPEL COURT 11 urt 26 Co 53 to 49 6 CH ES TN UT 27 CHES 96.5m 8 lly 86 Ho 32 8 Surgery 51 El Sub Sta INTRODUCTION Billericay Conservation Area was first designated in September 1969. This initial designation confined the boundaries to include the whole of High Street, parts of the west side of Chapel Street and the west end of Sun Street. In September 1983, the boundaries of the Conservation Area were reviewed and extended, northwards towards the railway cutting at Crown Road, west and south-west along Western Road, south to include all of Chapel Street, Sun Street and the west side of Laindon Road to the former Quilters Junior School. The present Conservation Area thus comprises much of the town centre and its commercial core. Its two principal streets, High Street and Chapel Street, run almost parallel northwards and converge at the top of the hill where High Street then meets Norsey Road and Western Road. This busy junction is within the Conservation Area, which then extends northwards to Crown Road and north-east to include the visually attractive terraces in Norsey Road and the Festival Gardens in Crown Road. The properties on the south-east side of Western Road are also included, together with the backland behind the High Street. At the bottom of the hill, lies Sun Street, also a busy thoroughfare, where the Conservation Area continues southwards along the west side of Laindon Road from the playing field at Sun Corner down to the former Quilters County Junior School. The Conservation Area in Billericay is the largest in Basildon Borough. Its varied buildings include over forty which are listed as being of special architectural or historic interest and there are others which are of significant local historic interest and make a positive contribution to the street scene. Although all efforts have been made to ensure that this document provides as full and as complete an account of the character and appearance of the Billericay Conservation Area, no appraisal can ever be completely comprehensive. The omission of any particular building, feature or space should not, therefore, be taken to imply that it is of no interest. Consultation This document and the accompanying Management Plan aim to fulfil Basildon Council’s duty to ‘draw up and publish proposals for the preservation and enhancement’ of the area as required by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The survey was undertaken in February and March 2010. The draft Character Appraisal and Management Plan were approved for consultation in August 2010. The consultation period ran from the 13th September to 22nd October 2010, and included: A staffed consultation exhibition in Billericay Library on Thursday 23rd September and Friday 24th September; An unstaffed consultation exhibition in Billericay Library from Monday 13th September until Sunday 25th September; A consultation leaflet which included a questionnaire feedback form. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 1 Respondents were given the option of posting their completed feedback forms at the exhibition, returning them by post, or completing them online; A webpage on the Council’s website which included details of the exhibition, and enabled copies of the Appraisal and Management Plan to be downloaded; The Appraisal and Management Plan were presented using the online consultation tool Limehouse through the Council’s webpage. This enabled people to comment on any aspect or section of the documents online; A webpage on the Billericay Town Council’s website which included details of the exhibition, and enabled copies of the Appraisal and Management Plan to be downloaded; Articles in the local press including the Billericay and Wickford Gazette and The Echo; Hard copies of the Appraisal and Management Plan were made available to the public at the exhibition, at Billericay Library, at Billericay Town Council Offices and at the reception of The Basildon Centre; and Written comments were also invited either via email or post. In addition to the above, meetings were held with Basildon Borough Council and Billericay Town Council. The organizations and amenity groups that were consulted on the documents are: Basildon Renaissance Partnership Billericay Archaeological and Historical Society Billericay Chamber of Commerce Billericay Design Statement Association Billericay District Residents Association Billericay Town Council English Heritage Essex County Council Archaeological Section Essex County Council Highways and Transportation Service Essex County Council Historic Buildings and Conservation Team RIBA The Billericay Society Ward Councillors Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 2 Summary of the Character and Special Interest Billericay is a town of archaeological and historical importance, comprising a small Roman town and a medieval and post-medieval market town. The surviving street layout originates from the development of the town in the medieval period and is therefore of great importance. Billericay is a bustling and lively and prosperous shopping area. The town occupies a ridge and land falls away steeply either side of the High Street. The long High Street is lined mostly with shops and commercial premises, close together without significant gaps. Lanes and yards lead off the High Street often to small courtyards. Traditional buildings are small and low, contrasting sharply with twentieth century infilling, which frequently detracts. Early buildings often are timber framed with cross wings, sometimes jettied, which are gable end on to the road and most are listed buildings. Eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings are usually flat-fronted (without projections) and of red brick (and some grey brick) with plain tile roofs or natural slate. The brickwork is in Flemish bond and hung sash windows are set in reveals. The church of St. Mary Magdalen is an important landmark and the area to the north, including the north end of Chapel Street comprises a continuous group of listed buildings, many weatherboarded in the Essex style. Chapel Street is less densely built up, but the presence of a car park and rear servicing is eroding its character. Sun Street is a busy through route with imposing early nineteenth century terraces clad in pebbledash or cockle shell harling with slate roofs. Norsey Road has terraces of brick and weatherboard cottages on the roadside, many of which are listed and form an attractive group. Away from the High Street, trees soften the built area and there are fine views out of the town from open spaces at the Festival Gardens, Mill Meadows and Sun Corner. Gable end on cross-wings of early buildings along High Street Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 3 PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT Conservation Areas Conservation Areas are defined as ‘areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’ (Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990). When a Conservation Area has been designated it increases the planning controls, with planning applications judged by their impact on the character and appearance of the area. Greater controls over the demolition of buildings and structures are imposed whilst the rights that owners have to do works to their properties without the need to obtain planning permission (known as ‘permitted development rights’) are reduced or can be taken away. There are also benefits to those who reside in Conservation Areas, and their neighbours, such as raised property values (see Management Plan for further details). Stricter controls are also exercised over the design of new buildings, and owners must give the Council six weeks’ notice of their intention to carry out works to trees. Planning applications affecting a Conservation Area must be advertised on site and in the local press to give people the opportunity to comment. ‘Special Architectural or Historic Interest’ Billericay’s special interest derives from a combination of elements that together form the town’s well established character and appearance. These elements include the topography, historical development, density, massing and built development, prevalent building materials, character and hierarchy of spaces, quality and relationship of buildings in the area, and trees, and other green features. Architectural features, such as distinctive windows, doors and fanlights or other characteristic details are also very important to Billericay’s distinctive historic character. It is important that these elements are protected to ensure that the qualities that make the Billericay Conservation Area appealing are preserved and enhanced, helping to encourage investment in the town and thus, benefitting the local economy. Conservation Area Appraisals There is a duty on the Local Planning Authority to determine what parts of their district are areas of special architectural or historic interest and then to designate them as Conservation Areas. Having established a Conservation Area they are also required to regularly review the designation and boundaries of the area. This is to ensure that the area is still considered to be of value and to consider whether any areas have been overlooked or changes have occurred which require the boundaries to be redrawn. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 4 Any pressures for change can be identified and enhancement opportunities highlighted. These will form the basis of the Conservation Area Management Plan which sets out a strategy to manage change in the Conservation Area. This appraisal sets out the historical and economic context for the locality and identifies what it is that makes the Conservation Area of special interest. It serves to provide clear guidance on what should be conserved in the area to enhance the character and appearance of the area. Planning Policy Framework National planning policy guidance on Conservation Areas is contained within Planning Policy Statement 5 (PPS 5): Planning for the Historic Environment (March 2010) which groups together all the parts of the historic environment considered to have historic, archaeological, architectural or artistic interest, and calls them ‘heritage assets’. A Conservation Area is therefore a ‘heritage asset’ and the Development Management Policies (HE6 – HE12) of PPS 5 sets out the Government’s requirements for applicants when submitting planning applications affecting a heritage asset. PPS 5 is supported by the ‘Historic Environment Planning Practice Guide’ which provides further detail on how to implement the requirements of the policies. Regional planning policy guidance on Conservation Areas is currently contained within The East of England Plan (May 2008) which is the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS 14) for the Eastern Region. Of particular relevance is Policy ENV 6: The Historic Environment which states that local planning authorities should identify, protect, conserve and, where appropriate, enhance the historic environment of the region. The Basildon District Local Plan Saved Policies document (as approved by the Secretary of State through a Direction issued on 20th September 2007) sets out the local planning policy background against which development within the Billericay Conservation Area will be assessed. Saved Policies are policies that were originally part of the Basildon District Local Plan, adopted on March 1998, with Alterations in September 1999. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 5 LOCATION AND SETTING Location, Character and Form Billericay is an Essex town of around 40,000 people, situated some 25 miles east of central London and 8 miles south of Chelmsford. It is located at the junction of the roads from London to Rayleigh/Southend (A129) and Chelmsford to Basildon (B1007); the latter being an historic route south to the Tilbury ferry across the River Thames (13 miles away). The railway from London Liverpool Street to Southend has a station in a cutting at the northern end of the town centre, with frequent trains to the capital. Billericay is located only fifteen minutes away from the M25 and this position, together with the frequency of trains, has encouraged the expansion of this former market town, with the development of large housing estates on its Billericay Conservation Area N Borough Map Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 6 This map is based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. (10018871) (2010). Not to Scale Railway Station View north along High Street periphery and a demand for light industrial premises. Parks and woodland enhance the setting of the town, which retains a strong sense of place, particularly in its centre, which forms the core of the Conservation Area. The High Street is lively and busy. It has a range of shops from national retailers to local specialist stores, with banks, offices, public houses and restaurants adding to the mix. Through traffic and on-street parking contribute to the bustle, whilst just a short distance from all this are quieter lanes and residential streets. Geology and Topography The London basin lies between the chalklands of The Chilterns and the North Downs. It comprises the London clay of Eocene age which has been much used for brick making. In south-west Essex, overlying this clay are the Bagshot ‘Beds’ composed of sands with some clay. At Billericay, these sands cap the hill on which the town stands and the boundary between sand and clay provides a spring line which favoured settlement from early times. The ‘Wellfield’ lay to the rear of The Chequers, off Chapel Street and local supply of water was from shallow wells until after the Second World War. Thus Billericay stands at around 90 metres (300 feet) above sea level, overlooking the valleys of the Rivers Crouch and Thames, the views now much obscured by modern housing development, and in all directions the land falls away. There is a fall of around 30 metres (100 feet) to both east and west of the High Street within a short distance. On the east side of town, open space and woodland are close with nature reserves at Mill Meadows reaching the Conservation Area at the end of Sun Street and Norsey Wood lying just beyond the railway. The landscape is gently rolling. Mill Meadows nature reserve View west from Sun Corner Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 7 HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY Historical Development The very name of Billericay is controversial and its derivation is unclear. Over time it has been variously spelt, Byllyrica in 1291 and others include Billeryke, Billerykay and Billerica, which seems to have become standard from the seventeenth century until the letter ‘y’ was added at the start of the nineteenth. The informative leaflets on Billericay’s history by Wynford P Grant, which have been reproduced by the Billericay Society, include one on this subject (No.3). Archaeological evidence points to human occupation here from early times (see below), but Roman Billericay seems to have been an area of some local importance. The effects of Roman occupation on the form of the streets which comprise the Conservation Area are not known, but Saxon occupation eschewed the Roman settlement in preference for Great Burstead. This Saxon burgh, just a few miles south of Billericay, gave its name to the parish and in early medieval times was the more important place, with Billericay being simply within the manor of Burstead, owned by the Cistercian abbey of Stratford Langthorne (then Essex, but now Stratford in the London Borough of Newham). Indeed Billericay receives no direct mention in the Domesday Book and the only church in the parish for many centuries was at Great Burstead. However, the settlement was to grow during the medieval period and its position on the road to the Tilbury ferry was of importance, notably after the murder of Thomas a Becket in 1172, his subsequent canonisation and the development of the Canterbury shrine as a place of pilgrimage. High Street was (and still is) on one of the routes to the Thames crossing and pilgrims from places to the north would spend the night before the last leg of the journey to the ferry which would take them to Kent. Thus, from before 1220, the date of the translation of Becket’s remains to his shrine, until 1539, when the shrine was suppressed (largely destroyed), Billericay benefitted from the trade. (It was also on the route to the important medieval shrine at Walsingham in Norfolk). In 1342 a chantry chapel dedicated to St. John was built and was rebuilt in brick around 1490. This became a chapel of ease to Great Burstead church. Marriages, baptisms, churching and burials were held at the main church at Great Burstead, which is why the present church in Billericay has no churchyard. Parochial status was not achieved until 1844 and in 1937 all the civil parishes in the Billericay Urban District were merged into one ‘Billericay’ parish. (The present civil parish of Billericay did not come into existence until 1997.) Fragments of medieval prosperity survive in the early timber framed houses and inns on the High Street, a prosperity which seems to have continued through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The manor of Great Burstead had been granted market rights in 1253 and it is possible that the wide street of Billericay was used for market purposes from an early date; the town’s prosperity owing much to the trade in wool, cloth and hides. In 1478 Billericay’s market charter was confirmed for a weekly market for swine, corn and other merchandise and the market was able to take advantage of passing traffic. The right to hold two fairs was also granted, to be held on the 2nd August and the 7th October; the autumn fair specialising in livestock. Billericay has something of a history of religious dissent. The town embraced the teaching of Wycliffe and his Lollards and was the scene of a battle in Norsey Wood, during the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. It is not then surprising to find Billericay also embracing the Reformation and by the seventeenth century, providing a meeting place for the Pilgrim Fathers before they set sail in the Mayflower in 1620 for America to escape religious persecution. It is said, though without Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 8 A Selection of Photographs Showing Billericay in the Early 20th Century West Side High Street View South along High Street from Junction with Western Road View South along High Street from in front of Old Reading Room *All images from ‘Billericay: A Pictorial History’ by Roger Green Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 9 View South along High Street from St. Mary Magdalen Church View North along High Street from St. Mary Magdalen Church Sun Street 1914 *All images from ‘Billericay: A Pictorial History’ by Roger Green Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 10 much historical evidence, that the meeting was held at Chantry House (Nos. 57-61 High Street) and certainly there were five people from Billericay who sailed in the Mayflower. The town of Billerica was founded subsequently in Massachusetts. From the seventeenth century onwards, the Puritan faith found expression in the establishment of meeting houses and chapels in the town. (A plaque outside No.91 High Street states that “This house was the original meeting place of the Billericay dissenters who were licenced to worship here on April 2nd 1672 with liberty of conscience”). Initially using private houses and barns, dissenters gradually began building their own churches. So, for example, the Congregationalists (now the United Reformed Church) demolished their barn in Chapel Street (used as a meeting since 1692) and built a new brick ‘Meeting House’ in 1726. A growing congregation outgrew this building and necessitated an extension in 1814. Finally, new premises were acquired by the 1830s. So the old Meeting House was replaced and demolished, leaving its burial ground as a quiet garden of peace to this day in Chapel Street. The new church was constructed to the south between 1837 and 1838 in grey gault brick, in an ‘early English’ style, to the design of James Fenston. Brick making assumed importance during the eighteenth century with the establishment of brickworks off Western Road, close to Lion Lane. New red brick Georgian houses with fine Flemish-bond brickwork and hung sash windows, set in four inch (100mm) reveals began to appear as country houses for London gentlemen. Then later in the century, as fashion changed, the fiery red brick was replaced with calmer grey. Trade in the town, received further impetus with the development of turnpike roads and the rise of stagecoaches. The Crown (in its original location on High Street with its brewery along Crown Yard and its ‘Tap’ on Chapel Street where now stands the Coach & Horses P.H.), the Red Lion (No.113 High St), the Sun and the Three Horseshoes (No.139 High St) were Billericay’s main coaching inns. Some of the lanes and courtyards off the High Street owe their origin to the coaching trade. The inns of Billericay were often used to billet soldiers; the town being conveniently located for the military. At the start of the nineteenth century, barracks were constructed in Sun Street in the grounds of Albion House and the terraces of brick, now pebbledashed (some with cockle shell harling) form the south-eastern end of the Conservation Area. The construction of the Great Eastern railway in 1884 marked the demise of the stagecoaches. In 1889 the line became open for passenger traffic. Yet initially its arrival had little impact on the growth of the town whose population remained fairly static during the century. Estimated at 1,200 in the fourteenth century, the population was 1,472 by the time of the first national census of 1801 and was 1,418 in 1882. Indeed, the mid-nineteenth century marked a period of decline, with Kelly’s Directory of 1874 describing Billericay as “a small decayed town”. The 1882 Directory notes that the town “is lighted with gas” and “…that a small market is held on Tuesdays, chiefly for pigs.” The market gradually declined, the last being held in 1939, a private market, on what became the Festival Gardens on Crown Road. So it was the twentieth century which marked the rapid growth of the town, particularly in the post-war years. London overspill population, which gave rise to new towns such as Basildon also saw the development of housing estates and town centre redevelopment in Billericay. The new shops and offices built in the town centre, in the heart of the present Conservation Area, were ‘modern’ in design, of steel, glass, stretcher-bond brick and concrete, square or Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 11 61 T 59 AD 19 59 37 12 57a 57 14 40 35 16 53 38a 37 49 Not to Scale 40a SYL VA N TRY ST KN IGH SE 38 10 12 a RO 12 CHA a 17 CE 14 th 35 18 (Recreation Ground) 52 RA 10a Pa 20 Boat House Lake Meadows 7m 92. Pavilion 30 38 51 124 ATR IDGE 15 HO 13 Boating Lake Boating Lake 44b 44d 37 20 a Landing Stage Overflow Pond Issues 49 36 29 49a 25 54 47A 55 108 67 30a Dr EY 13 Tennis Courts 28 FB NO 37a 26a 26 69 18 91 BM 37 LB 98 75 2 m .76 D Fn 24 Lake Meadows 72 74 RO RS FB Bowling Green Path AD 30 W AL K St John's School ain Dr ain 39 8 FB FB Bowling Green El Sub Sta 41 Pavilion RID GE 45 32 43 51 34 65 Tennis Courts FB Pavilion 102 58 .6m 93 Miniature Golf Course 112 61 62 114 91.7m Pavilion Pavilion Boating Lake TB 47 34a Playing Field KN IGH 120 36 Miniature Golf Course 21 Lake Meadows (Recreation Ground) (Recreation Ground) 96a 92.0m 77 94.2m 96 7 33 45 a Stone Sinks 45 PCs rk r Pa Ca 31 43 3 1 32 3 38 92.4m Su AV b Sta 1 37 7 She 25a 29 89 'S ROAD 4 22 86 ST JOHN 12 UE 31 25 a 60 TO N CLO SE 8 25 81 BM 95.67m 8a 16 33 23 Co 7 w CL 41 19 29 25 ED 2 S W M HA 1 NE 6 RO EY NO IVE RS 7 8 25 1 S DR 2 13 15 26 11 17 2 Tank NO RSE Y CLO SE AD EW 8 AVE NUE DR Long Meadow 10 OS El Sub Sta AN 3 Works E 3 R ME 24 2to en) (ev ST CRO MW ELL 4 m Works TE UL CO Garage Works 32 7 3 1 14 15 1 13 39 42 33 36 12 5 9 16 34 6 4 20 2 40 6a 6 5 NS LA 24 12 15 18 28 25 12 22 19 RADFORD COURT 40 37 31 34 23 29 20 26 27 30 21 24 ) 17 11 9 3 7 SO 2 1 14 RA 22 31 30 30 32 33 32 GR EY 36 37 24 1430 AC E PL LA DY 42 40 ROA D CR FB STO CK 7 HIGH STREET 11 1 27 3 11 35 27 13 39 WES MIDDLE CLOISTER 1 1 13 11 24 1 10 1 32 2 SE CLO IMS GR PIL 8 3 2 8 2 4 26 28 33 29 8 30 8 15 29 23 21 27 10 1 12 5 2 14 15 K AR YL SK CHAPEL STREET 21 35 8 11 1 SE CLO 12 CHAR 12 14 H CRESCEN 26 40 52 64 4 2 8 18 28 52 42 60 32 143 FINC 93 CHAPEL STREET 134 10 10 89 91 Collects Surgery 1 22 54 56 51 47 6 20 2 38 58 95 CLOSE 93 E 62 AC 64 R PL 135 23 2 50 12 17 129 39 2 c 103 8 52 41 103 a 103 b 111 PH 117 115 12 91 EA 137 11 32 4 79 32 38 50 121 to 125 16 24 15 119 28 20 11 AT 4 HE El Sub Sta 85 87 130 139 6 W 43 33 31 20 BM 73.64m 30 7 151 1 84 147 6 4 3 5 2 1 2 76 Pond ) Path 105 39 1a 23 1 BM 97.84m BURGHSTEAD CLOSE 26 GO 22 United Reformed Church (um 29 Magistrates' Court ROAD 19 17 13 7 Garage 148 150 96.0m Ward Bdy 1 LONDON L Billericay Rose Hall Police Station GILMOU R RISE BM 83.26m 12 Claremont 3 1 85.9m 3m 140 6 4 11 HILLARY MOUNT 83.3m El Sub Sta PH 12 Rose Cottage 13 31 MALLORY WAY T Burghstead Court 17 Stanley Terrace 22 97 24 Builder's Yard Def SUN STREET CR 1 Shelter 1a Mill Meadows Nature Reserve Def 12 El Sub Sta 1 to 47 Albion Court The Rising Sun (PH) FAIRVIEW 7 2 1 VIEW FAIR BM 96.54m (um) 1 4 Shelter 2 Path 3 11 Water Tower 15 17 Drain Mill Meadows Nature Reserve Pond d Bdy CR War WEI Hall 14 THE 13 ROA D Fire Station ND Quilters County Junior School Pond SOU WEIR WYND Fire Tower Ambulance Station Emmanual C of E e Path (um) D R WYN Hall 21 LAINDON ROAD Play Area 97.8m 3 96.0m Infants School 1 2 The Holy Redeemer Church Quilters County ol Lodg Scho Lockers 31 Pond TCB Car Park 8 Halls Abbeyfield Archer House Millers 37 Ward Hall Bdy CP 9 ) Path (um El Sub Sta Church View Path (um) BM 97.84m Path (um) South 43 Path 39 Rectory 40 Lodge RIDGE (um WEST ) 25 Wa rd 2 38 67 BM 82.86m 8 16 CR 24 19 82.9m 15 11a Pa Bd y th (um ) 28 Path (um) Friends Meeting House SCHOOL ROAD 11 Path 42 26 SCHOOL ROAD LB 1 Gas Valve Compound 77 WES ) Shelter 7 35 T RIDG 47 E 1 h (um CP Mill Meadows Nature Reserve 15 23 33 Mill Meadows Nature Reserve 13 4 14 19 El Sub Sta Bd rd Wa Red Cottage Ridge ven unt Windy Und Hill Mil l Ha 7 8 Cable Mount Posts h ort lw Lu a Ion 65 10 11 BM 96.79m Mo 2 56 9a Clinic 9 11 15 12 11 10 14 13 29 s 63 1 Underpas 59 3 15 16 55 2 ARCHERS CLOSE 89 64 Holly Mount Roman Way WAY Hall 23 24 BM 97.11m 12 21 22 17 30 AN ROM 79 25 17 19 82.5m y 1 2 43 50 Pat CR Billericay School 2 28 2 Mill House 11 RISE 2 UT HE E ND OS 15 LL RO CL HI Gatwick House AD Be LL 2 ll Hi ll Spring GR 19 79 6 2 4 N 72 Issues Spring EE 9 83.5m 5 RM 31 H FA LEIG 91 75 BE BE FOX LL 1 FAIRFIELD SO 12 73 72 DRIV QUIL 1 TERS 69 E 8 1 AY GEW RID 2 1 66 4 1 82.1m Billericay School 81 18 41 42 10 6 10 9 127 25 Issues 85 El Sub Sta 8 99 82 12 Issues El Sub Sta 15 89 2 135 1 80.6m 10 9 FO X 12 NG 93 LO Pond Tennis Courts Spring 2 110 2 2 108 104 4 14 97 A 176 D ROA 7 SE CLO 6 2 E RIS CR H DON LAIN IG LE GREENFIELDS 2 BM 80.97m 1 El Sub Sta 91 B RISE SCRU LIN KDA LE 1 CLOSE 4 Tennis Courts 101 IE 8 LD 11 S 6 ENF GRE El Sub Sta LEA 5 3 10 2 14 PLE MA 24 Y WA 11 7 107 11 15 (u ME AD 6 ) m 26 2 th Pa 34 46 19 36 8 1 74 BM .31 m 70.4m 72.5m 56 GAT WIC 14 79 33 K VIEW 35 10 Scarletlands 8 39 MA 20 115 2 64.1m SO PL 41 CRAY S VIEW UT 25 7 E ME HE ND AD RO ST 13 AD 69 ON 110 T RO 65.7m HA 28 104 CENT 78.0 1 CRES m .89 65 HAM AD BM BM 1 LB 47 EC MS (def) 68.0m 108 LANG TCB 32 0m 2 Brays 85 30 1 81 32 94 2 2 WINDMILL HEIGHTS 59 18 77 GHA N M CRE SCEN T 10 49 23 17 11 15 5 8 1 6 3 LANGHAM CRESCENT LAN 3 Dr 6 67 ain 68 4 2 61.6m 59 14 7 BM 92.66m WELL Mawney MEAD in ) (um 16 Mawney BM 11 Dra 62. 80m 13 55 Path 23 Hall 53 18 El Sub Sta M HA NG LA 17 7 NT 84 CE ES CR Playground 13 EN UE 45 HU NT 20 ER 1 S AV Drain D BM 76 .38 m 22 2 74 26 T EN Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 12 L MEA 8 33 Conservation Area boundary with areas of archaeological finds shown hatched WEL 21 ESC CR ( This map is based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. (10018871) (2010). 10 LK WA CLOSE S ER AV WE 20 to 22 31 40 32 1 16 20 3 1 127 15 13 6 5 4 3 2 1 113 7 9 6 5 7 Pilgrims Walk 2 9 Sta El Sub 37 elt Sh RE ST 91 93 2 14 5 13 87 er 2 4 41 1 to 7 5 1 55 57 63 67 65 69 96.6 9m BM LB 85 36 14 16 36 7 8 6 Shel 55a 34 105 38 40 13 33 14 to 19 42 9 9 16 23 95 99 7 103 28 22 24 46 48 19 9 to 13 10 18 1 2 5 12 89 ET 22 39 26 65 7 12 20 24 to 26 17 33 1 6 12 HIGH 13 25 52 3 97 15 15 53 12 10 33 22 13a 1 12 22 22a 24 77 39 25 1 47 9 12 4 26 6 13 13 6 17 11 21 7 1 WAY 23 2 H UG RO BO INS 1 to 4 128a 56 128 Telephone Exchange HPO TCBs E TIN CLOS MAR GA 20 Pond Chapel Heights 96.0m Library 29 5 1 11 2 57 47 31 13 1 5 10 15 3 25 ORE 19 8 TH RIDG SOU Church The Walk 85.5m 4 99 9 10 9 11 11 97 2 11 4 7 1 95 51 11 41 Shel ter 7 87 16 2 25 GEM 28 21 14 E 81 HIGH STREET Mayflower House 6 81 83 1 6 17 5 GE 48 2 71 112 to 118 4 1 4 6 STER T CLOI 2 3 36 H RID UT SO 38 40 44 1 2 Bank TENSING GARDENS 8 3 2 5 53 1 LAN CLO 16 3 OW AD H ME HIG 15 11 SE WER PRO El Sub Sta The Gables G TIN BUN E LAN 11 30 SE 1 71 65 89.3m GARDENS 1 to 7 20 19 ter 4 73 75 10 She lter 9 31 47 49 4 19 43 3 to 1 5 13 16 3 7 T CROF 9 CLO 106a 106c 106b 55 17 King dom Hall 17 41 5 13 7 SIDE 61 to 65 104d 104a 106 Pilgrim House 57 41 TENSING E RID 3 3 WEST 14 16 Essendene 22 LB 29 12 11 21 19 39 TS MEADOW 38 Y 1 HILL 2 Hall El Sub Sta 5 BO AB H 1 E WA WEST T CROF 25 IRVINE WAY 15 1 to 47 7a 13 3 HIG 11 24 4 12 55 104 IDE ROAD Mayflower El Sub Sta 11 12 49 10 1 21 25 2 9 11 18 17 20 CR 15a 5 25 7 29 15 Sta 19a 11 1 9 47 43 EET 13a 33 13 HIG H STR 11 9a 2 10 1 1 SID OR GEM ROA HILL 21 HILLS Burial Ground H RID UT SO E RK PA 18 LAN 55 19 13 7 Old Barn Ct King George Court 95.7m BM 91.68m 8 AD 12 2 9 THE AVENU 19 3 2 5 17 E 12 53 13 RO 8 29 El Sub 5 20 1 ON WS NK 7 53 to 49 Sinks D 25 El Sub Sta St Edith's Court ME R BA 1 45 37 to 47 ROA 67 SIDE 53 43 41a 100 El Sub Sta LANE 9 HE 66 80 LEY VAL 41 98 Hall ST EDITHS 20 to 27 NS AT 1 1 39 64 GE D El Sub Sta Garage 31 E 10 22 30 The Loft MEAD 93.1m ST EDITH'S COURT HE CHAPEL STREET 62 78 The Stable 96 62 1 71 Sta Sub El 16 Crown Yard 92a AS E CH TH TCB Issues ALMA LINK 96.0m E 13 14 LB 76 94 NUE AVE 3 57 12 20 m 63.1m 14 69 59 Post 29 HUNTS 65.72 29 BM 97.03m LAN 43 15 58 68 12 CHAPEL COURT Garage TCB nk PH LION 11 10 16 2 BM El Sub Sta 19 92 PH Ba 65 27 13 2 56 6 FRO SAF 66.7m 61 RO VA 10 N 1 to 16 86 Lion Lodge UT CHESTNUT AVENUE AD EY LL 75.3m 69.2m 11 37 4 6 WAY 96.5m 8 2c NTRY BM 77.97m 74 23 TN 6 CHA 54 15 ES 2b 9 52 9 UE EN AV 6 CH NUE 56m 10 5 17 50 14 81.2m 2 2a 1 83 27 UT AVE DAVID'S WALK 6 1 11 13 48 26 44 Lichgate House Shelter 8 urt Chri 61. RO CK RLO HU 86.9m 1 to 4 Rectory House 6 96.6m 12 Co e Plac Mar stop BM 10 54 7 15 1 to 15 El Sub Sta Museum lly KSO 59 AD AD 2 10 STN RO 10 MAYFLOWER ROAD 48 Vicarage Court PO N LAN Ho ES 42 Uplands 90.6m 46 IN KL AN SH Bank LIO Surgery 5 The Mayflower (PH) her 1 5 21 19 13 IN DA 5 40 1 UE EN AV 96.3m 96.5m LA NE El Sub Sta 51 CHE HU tin 44 2 3 LD FIE KE WA 5 RO SE Car Park Holly Cottage RL 2 15 38 Hall PH BM 94.44m 15 E El Sub Sta VED JAC 53 13 36 1 War Meml Post 28 15 Cou dow AD K RO OC 1 2 32 to CLOIST 18 St Mary Magdalen Church Bank m 13 KEL NE rt 8 26 7 11 1 Willow Cottage 20 7 29 7 LA Ganley Close Mea HIGH Garage 11a 13 NS CLOIST ER CHANDLERS CHASE 11 9 11 CLO ER LOWER 10 Sheraday Centre 28 3 15 51b 14 7 SE ON VED KEL 1 2 15 24 94.8m 1 ay ric dist lle Bi etho ch M ur Ch 6 11 11a 12 Bank 1 Crescent Court El Sub Sta ME 7 10 SO 1 22 UR Car Park AVE NUE CK 8 12 41 1 CO 11 51a MAR Y'S JA 4 to 8 10 19 4 GE T ST 1 8a 17 8 XB RID 1 th 37a 2 CO ER WS 5 1 68.9m Pa PH ME WS 84.4m CROWN ROAD El Sub Sta 6 11 12 6 46 13 37b ES 86.0m 34 3 9 to El Sub Sta JAM ST N Sta El Sub 14 24 Alexander Mews Westgate Court Surgery ST 2 WE FEERIN 2 4 6 10 10a 20 4 2 10 ROAD 102 106 110 2 2 2 6 16 ERN 82 87.5m 60 1 Bdy WEST 78 86 88 26 42 ROAD CR 10 12 10 4 20 22 90.8m 36 89.6m LB m 22 28 38 91.4 G ROAD ERN WEST Posts 91.4m BM 85.87 m BM 78.32 6 12 22a 24c 24d 24a 24b 18 76.5m Public Gardens 2m BM 91.4m 12 42 MP .75 12 5 1 2 48 RO BM 89.27m 88.7m Wks 6 88.4m 4 11 Bdy TANFIELD DRIVE E K DRIV 10 T PAR 26 EY RS NO 56 8 7 Ward 12 WES AD PH 32 52 5 BILLERICAY 86.3m Club 12a 14 Ward 89.9m (PH) 12b 10 66 E 12c Issues Posts 72 D CLOS Sinks 21 17 3 41 10 WOO BRITANNIA CLOSE El Sub Sta 4 KINGS 4 8 MP .5 Railway Hotel 1 45 35 1 43 2 4 THE AVENU E 11 12 83.5m 4a 41 Holley Gardens E 1 29 24 OV 39 27 17 18 23 7 GR 37 E 13 14 19 20 5 ND BM 91.73m The Gatehouse 16 36 24 11a 33 SL ALE 8 3 LA Bdy CR 22 MERD 11 1 E GH GREY LADY PLACE Langthornes NS KSO JAC LANE Ward Billericay Station 6 SUM 24 GR HI 1 to 30 84.7m 22 AVE CRESCEN ND 24 PARK 38 n HLA OV E BM 85.1 0m Statio HIG 93.6m 24 a 2c WEST 40 icay PL AC Langthornes Biller 26 DY 81.4m TCB 10 LA 29 EY 19 CR Bdy 14 14 32 N ROAD 34 m GR 1 Hou se 2 24 STATIO .80 BM 80.47m Ward 16 Issues 24a 2 90 2b King dom Hall 18 18a 20 T WEST PARK BM ford Billericay Station 22 28 40 17 Issues 21 S K CRE T PAR WES 44 Oakwood 32 46 13 WS 7m ns 48 Rad LB TCB Sinks 11 MEADO 13 33 AVENUE El Sub Sta 1 HOME 92. Charles House 15 17 2a 2 rde 4 y Ga Y SL 6 12 lle 11 18 14 WEST PARK D WA 10 20 FOR Garage Mast 1 to RAD Ferndale 24 Ho DS 89.9m to TCB El Sub Sta 36 38 El Sub Sta 36 40 42 40 TO CK S 13 NE 4 16 CK to6 42 en (ev 10 44 46 14 7 to4 d) 25 (od E JA 1 52 OS CL 5 6 8 EY 1 LB 95.1m 2 13 RS NO TCB 48 50 38 41 32 35 St Su E 9 Hamelin House 5 1 77.4m 11 El 94.5m 52 OS 1 Car Park 4 Bdy 15 ON WS DA 11 3 75.6m CR Ward S CL RN Works Works 5 Porters House BU WAY Station Court 56 THE AVENU 23 5 b WS ME Works Works a 7 9 75.3m LB 60 7 93.6m Works m bank Glyn House 5 BM 93.76 BM 69.51m BM 75.46 Deer The ANDS PARKL 21 13 Long 55 1 20 68 H I J 1 1a 7 1 24 67.7m RADF ORD Fox F 10 29a 29 3 1 11 Collects 15 11 34 70 12 17 7 Works El Sub Sta 10 19 94.5m Surgery 31 s Tat 32 STO CK 38 ME 2 Meado w WS N DO NG LA 30 El Sub Sta Works ton 19 34 RO AD 29b 13 7a 33 74 5 9 32 bu rro 26 E 4 The Billericay St Andrews Centre 2 AVENUE n Cef 31 d Bdy 29c CR War 14 12 11 69 23 31 48 ELL Goldsmiths 78 93.0m 3 MW Car Park AD 14 6 RO 29 UE CRO Works DE ER BA NK Health Centre Depot 1 73.8m ed D 19 The Laurels 2 AV Works ub Sta Collects Mid wo od 17 BEB ING 23 21 LA Court Works Alandale 12 10 19 EN eaux Cayman House 84 Works KE Molin D 8 BM 92.58m Works 3 Pat ROA 84a The Meadows 8 Works Works RA DF OR D CR ES CE NT Works 2 20 Works 94.5m 21 Works ) h (um El Sub Sta Factory Stocks DEERBANK 25 Works lter 40 KE EN 22 39 El LA Works 2 26 se 2a Hou 23 4 man 1a 14 CA TE R 90 Iss W OO D ue s Issues Path East 92 30 Me ado w 12 g FB NE N DE Works 16 SKI RU Lon Min ste d 87 1 16a FB 6 Car Park 31a Swimming Pool 18 Pat h rectangular, tall with flat roofs. Certainly ‘of their time’, they replaced buildings of local style, form and massing, diluting the historic pattern of the place and are visually uncomfortable. The population has risen from the nineteenth century ‘norm’ of around 1,500 to an estimated 40,000 today. The turn of the century offered hope. The new Waitrose supermarket, though tall, presents a more comfortable elevation to High Street. Completed in 1999, it reflects the gables of the traditional cross wings and it sits in sympathy with its neighbours. The newly completed (2010) courtyard behind No.22 High Street, Shereday Mews, includes a restored row of vernacular outbuildings and new buildings which complement and are sympathetic to the location. Archaeology Most towns claim a past which is ‘steeped in history’ and Billericay can claim random finds of artefacts from Palaeolithic times, but Norsey Wood was certainly well-occupied by the Bronze Age and into the Iron Age up to the Roman occupation. Indeed it is a Scheduled Monument and was once a medieval deer park (indicated by the presence of a bank with an internal ditch to stop deer escaping). When managed as woodland, the area was enclosed by a large system of banks with external ditches known as Deerbank which were designed to prevent the passage of deer and cattle over them. Indeed it is a Scheduled Monument and was once a medieval deer park (indicated by the presence of a bank with an internal ditch to stop deer escaping). When managed as woodland, the area was enclosed by a large system of banks with external ditches known as Deerbank which were designed to prevent the passage of deer and cattle over them. Fragments of the Deerbank survive at Norsey Wood and the system is also remembered in the local streetname Deerbank Road. But this is outside the Conservation Area, which has no Scheduled Monument within its boundaries. It does, however, contain broad areas of archaeological finds, notably of Roman date and the extent of finds is shown on the map (p12). There have been numerous excavations and watching-briefs in the area of the Roman Town at Billericay. The area of the Roman Town has been extensively ploughed in the past, and some is still in agricultural usage. There appears to be little in the way of surviving stratigraphic layers, with the exception of metalling for the road and gravel/cobble spreads, although cut features survive well. The area has suffered quarrying in the past, but this seems to have taken the form of haphazard localised disturbance. Fieldwork undertaken within the medieval town has largely proved disappointing, principally because the areas of development have led to a concentration of archaeological investigation in the backlands area on the periphery of the main focus of settlement rather than the street frontage. Some areas also appear to have suffered considerable disturbance from gravel and brickearth quarrying, although again this was of a haphazard and necessarily smallscale nature. Waterlogged deposits are only anticipated in deeper features such as wells and cess-pits. Soilconditions are not conducive to the preservation of faunal remains (except cremated bone) but ceramics, building materials and metal survive well. Billericay has a reasonable range of medieval and post-medieval documentary source material for a town of its size and importance. The High Street still retains enough of its historic buildings to preserve the appearance of a small market town of late medieval origin. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 13 SPATIAL ANALYSIS Layout & Street Pattern – Evolution of the Settlement Settlement of the urban area appears to have originated as a ditched enclosure of Late Iron Age date, growing into a small town in the Roman period. There is no evidence for occupation of the area during the Saxon period. The area was re-occupied in the thirteenth century, based on the road-side market-place. A chapel was built to serve the new inhabitants in the midfourteenth century. The town is typical of the type of medieval new town that grew in an organic manner due to the stimulus of trade, rather than because of official patronage. The postmedieval town expanded in the form of ribbon development along the existing medieval street structure. It was not until the 20th century that the town took its present form. Andre & Chapman 1777 Map Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 14 County: ESSEX Scale:1:2,500 Date: 1875 © Crown copyright and Landmark Information Group Limited 2006. All rights reserved. This map may not be reproduced without permission. 45377_29994 1874 Ordnance Survey Map The principal street in the Conservation Area is High Street which runs with a gentle curve north to south, approximately 800 metres long (about half a mile) or a ten minute stroll. It provides a continuous linear town centre. Buildings are close together with few gaps and lanes or small courts lead off it. At its northernmost end, it is crossed by the railway line, which lies in a cutting. Crown Road runs parallel to the line, its south-eastwards extension being constructed in the 1930s. Prior to this, it was simply a link between High Street and Norsey Road. To the south, High Street is crossed by Norsey Road and Western Road, both originally narrow streets. The latter, known as Back Lane until the twentieth century, has been widened at the junction, whilst Norsey Road retains its original width and close terraces. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 15 County: ESSEX Scale:1:2,500 Date: 1896 © Crown copyright and Landmark Information Group Limited 2006. All rights reserved. This map may not be reproduced without permission. 45379_29996 County: ESSEX Scale:1:2,500 Date: 1896 © Crown copyright and Landmark Information Group Limited 2006. All rights reserved. This map may not be reproduced without permission. 45383_30000 1894 Ordnance Survey Map Next, Chapel Street leaves High Street on its eastern side, close to St. Mary Magdalen Church, forming an attractive, narrow urban space at the junction of the two. Buildings here are close together, but Chapel Street then runs south, diverging gradually from High Street, thus increasing the space between the two, and buildings become more widely spaced. It reaches Sun Street, the main road to Southend, which then also joins the southern end of High Street a little further to the west. This street pattern and linear form was established early on and survived more or less intact until the late nineteenth century. (The early nineteenth century terraces on Sun Street were built on the site of Albion House, probably as barracks during the Napoleonic War). Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 16 County: ESSEX Scale:1:2,500 Date: 1922 © Crown copyright and Landmark Information Group Limited 2006. All rights reserved. This map may not be reproduced without permission. 45385_30002 1922 Ordnance Survey Map The Conservation Area extends southwards into Laindon Road, almost open countryside still in the nineteenth century, where a gravel pit (now Sun Corner open space), foundry, gas works and school were located. The arrival of the railway in 1889 (passenger trains; freight trains started in 1888) initially had little impact on the form and street pattern of Billericay as the 1896 Ordnance Survey map shows. The town started its main expansion in the twentieth century; westwards from Lion Lane into Western Road and the site of the former brickworks. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 17 County: ESSEX Scale:1:2,500 Date: 1937 © Crown copyright and Landmark Information Group Limited 2006. All rights reserved. This map may not be reproduced without permission. 45381_29998 County: ESSEX Scale:1:2,500 Date: 1937 © Crown copyright and Landmark Information Group Limited 2006. All rights reserved. This map may not be reproduced without permission. 45386_30003 1937 Ordnance Survey Map The construction of Crown Road ultimately ‘opened-up’ the land east of High Street for residential development, whilst development west of High Street and Western Road continued in the form of culs de sac. Council housing, built in the inter-war years at School Road, between Laindon Road and Southend Road encouraged development to the south of the town. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 18 Open Spaces, Trees and Landscape Although Billericay is a town well-blessed with open spaces, the Conservation Area contains only the eastern side of the green at Sun Corner and the Festival Gardens on Crown Road. The former was a former gravel pit, whilst the latter was an anonymous donation to the town in 1951 to commemorate the Festival of Britain. The parish church, formerly a chapel of ease to Great Burstead, has no churchyard of its own, but only a small area of tarmac to the north and the war memorial adjacent with two lime trees, providing welcome greenery rather than open space. Similarly, the trees and planting at the end of Western Road, in gratitude to the work of Jim Shields, is on the site of a former building and is more incidental than planned. Indeed, there are few trees in the High Street, though several form important visual stops or soften views outwards (eg the lane alongside The Chequers with the view to a walnut tree, or the car park on the west side of the street). Sun Corner Festival Gardens Planting at end of Western Road War Memorial, High Street View down lane next to The Chequers PH Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 19 Exceptions include the yews and holm oak at Burghstead Lodge. 17 SL 2 WEST PARK Issues CRESCENT BM 91.73m CR 22 The Gatehouse 29 9 11 19 CR 3 4 11 2 m 1 2 21 9 46 13 8a 19 29 STRE ET 33 HIGH 35 43 47 39 13 ISTER 41 6 87 Shelt er 7 Shelt er 81 83 3 to Shelt er 73 75 2 95 10 1 51 97 99 49 2 36 7 15 51b R 5 5 10 6 HIGH CLOISTE R 19 21 41 ISTER ER CLO LOW 1 3 6 32 to S Sheraday Centre 26 1 MEW 28 11 15 24 94.8m El Sub Sta TE ay t ric is le od Bil eth rch M hu C 86.0m Bank 1 Crescent Court ES 11a S 7m 11 2 MEW 12 ES 22 JAM 2 W RN a 2 13 41 ST LB Sub Sta El Sub Sta 37b 37 PH Surgery 2 6 10 0 11 BM 85.8 1 Bdy 1 10 4 8 Ward AD RN RO WESTE 87.5m 51a 9 10 55a 55 57 15 17 7 Uplands 10 11 9 UE 44 2 EN Hall PH CHANDLERS CHASE AV 24 11 2 1 53 1 2 War Meml Car Park RY'S 25 11 16 1 MA 17 14 42 1 ST 5 40 1 1 38 11 84.4m CROWN ROAD El 12 Westgate Court 91.4m 88.4m CR 66 72 78 4 to 8 10 19 89.6m 82 13 Alexander Mews 17 36 Posts 86 34 3 9 to CLO 31 11 25 7 90.8m 56 88 60 1 1 22 6 38 4 2 42 48 Public Gardens 2 6 24c 24d 24a 24b 28 32 52 91.42 WEST 5 1 BM 91.4m AD RN RO WESTE 14 3 7 6 12 1 2 6 10 12 Posts El Sub Sta 4 24 HIGH STRE ET BM 89.27m ALE MERD SUM 32 R RSE NO 88.7m Wks 5 47 IVE 11 Y PH D OA 43 El Sub 10 17 TANFIELD DRIVE RK DR 10 24a 20 BILLERICAY 86.3m Club Ward Bdy 12 PA WEST 26 Issues 14 89.9m (PH) 12b 12a 12 19a 7a 12c 20 17 19 Railway Hotel 53 2 7 5 MP .5 Sinks 24 OAD Not to Scale 16 36 Sta y Station 40 13 S MIDDLE CLOISTE 11 MEADOW 11 HOME 39 4 However, there are trees beyond the High Street in the backland to the east and west and Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) have been served as development of these spaces and yards has proceeded. Post 12 4 63 1 3 1 3 67 65 69 96.69 m E BM 22 24 50 26 77 Sta 44 14 81.2m 52 1 to 15 CHAN TRY Sh 2 10 K WAL elte r 87 ET 24 to 26 69 17 80 16 23 97 37 to 47 95 76 78 23 12 13 22 89 H ST RE CLOSE RS VE EA W 31 20 to 22 12 6 HIG 1 45 91 FF SA 6 74 93 37 14 85 20 10 68 21 N RO 1 to 16 Museum 96.6m BM 39 66 NE Holly Cottage 33 Lichgate House Vicarage Court PO N LA 64 15 El Sub Sta 20 LIO El Sub Sta 62 Bank 1 CHAPEL STREET UE 28 1 to 4 Rectory House 58 9 EN AV LA NE 31 56 IN KL RO SE WA Y 54 AN 16 26 86.9m El Sub 22a LB 17 48 12 46 SH 4 11 13 NU 96.5m 15 25 AVE 48 15 96.3m 47 D Bank Garage a 39 EL 5 11 32 1 12 4 FI Willow Cottage 11 7 St Mary Magdalen Church 11 9 90.6m 57 AKE 6 BM 94.44m 5 54 W 7 59 22 Shelter 29 19 99 10 3 36 5 3 32 11 1 55 1 1 PH 43 41a 41 31 2 38 117 115 119 121 to 125 50 8 2 52 30 54 52 64 CHAPEL STREET 135 62 64 10 89 91 18 139 85 87 130 28 52 14 96.0m Builder's Yard 42 60 32 143 30 4 1 151 1 2 BURGHSTEAD CLOSE 76 Billericay 84 147 6 2 3 1 Rose Hall Pond ) Path Police Station 1a 39 (um 29 Magistrates' Court LONDON United Reformed Church 105 85.9m Claremont 3 HILLARY MOUNT 140 6 4 11 BM 97.84m 1 5 PH 12 Rose Cottage 17 Stanley Terrace MALLORY WAY 97 El Sub Sta Collects Surgery 93 CHAPEL STREET 134 Telephone Exchange HPO TCBs Burghstead Court CLOSE 40 9 to 13 56 58 14 to 19 129 Chapel Heights Church 12 137 8 1 to 4 Mayflower House The Walk Library 83.3m H UG ORO SB IN GA 20 Pond 81 1 TENSING GARDENS 128a 56 4 128 GARDENS 85.5m 13 24 127 12 22 Bank HIGH STREET 71 65 89.3m 12 50 7 8 16 1 2 20 2 71 IRVINE WAY Pilgrim House 57 55 El Sub Sta The Gables 1 2 El Sub LB 29 41 Essendene Mayflower Hall El Sub Sta TENSING ROAD 28 1 St Edith's Court 112 to 118 BM 91.68m 32 d El Sub Sta MEAD 93.1m ST EDITH'S COURT 21 HILLSIDE 106 a 106 c 106b Burial Ground Sta 20 to 27 40 E 104 a 71 104 King George Court 95.7m 57 19 13 7 Old Barn Ctt 106 El Sub Sta LANE 61 to 65 Hall ST EDITHS CLOS 25 104 1 HUNTS IDE 100 62 3 43 3 HILLS 113 Garage 55 96.0m NE ROAD Garage 148 150 96.0m Ward Bdy 17 13 7 19 De f T SUN STREE CR Shelter Mill Meadows Nat Def 12 El Sub Sta 1 to 47 Albion Court The Rising Sun (PH) FAIRVIEW 7 2 1 IEW FAIRV BM 96.54m (um 1 4 ) Shelter 2 Path 3 11 Water Tower 15 17 Drain Po The Holy Redeemer Church 97.8m y rd Bd CR 96.0m Hall Hall AD RO Fire Tower Quilters County Junior School Pond HEND SOUT 14 Play Area 21 LAINDON ROAD Infants School Wa Quilters County Fire Station Ambulance Station Emmanual C of E ge School Lod Lockers 31 Pond TCB Car Park Halls Abbeyfield Archer House Millers 37 Hall 9 El Sub Sta Church View BM 97.84m South 43 39 Rectory 40 Lodge WEST E RIDG 25 W 2 38 67 8 16 CR 24 19 ar d Bd y 28 15 11 Friends Meeting House SCHOOL ROAD 11a 42 26 SCHOOL ROAD LB Shelter 1 7 15 23 13 77 CR 33 Gas Valve Compound CP 14 19 Bd d ar W El Sub Sta n Und Hill Mou nt ve Ha Mill 7 8 ge e Red Cotta y Ridg Clinic 29 Cable Mount Posts th or lw Lu Iona 65 10 11 BM 96.79m Wind 2 56 9a 15 9 11 11 12 3 10 13 63 1 Underpass 59 2 64 14 Hall ARCHERS CLOSE 89 17 15 16 55 21 22 82.5m Holly Mount Roman Way WA Y 23 24 12 17 19 BM 97.11m 30 AN ROM 79 25 y 1 2 43 35 47 RIDGE WEST 1 Billericay School 2 28 2 1 1 4 66 82.1m Y DRIVE 2 11 FAIRFIELD RISE ERS QUILT SO UTH 1 8 69 GEWA RID 15 73 12 SE LO LC HIL 19 LL BE 75 N FA 2 6 2 4 EN 72 GRE 79 9 25 Billericay School 81 12 41 42 10 6 10 5 RM 31 H EIG 91 83.5m 85 El Sub Sta 8 99 82 1 FOXL LL BE 15 89 1 0.6m 9 91 80.97m FO X 12 20 LO Tennis Courts A 17 2 2 4 Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal NG 93 7 E CLOS Trees protected by Tree Preservation Orders (as at September 2011) RISE CR H AD ON RO LAIND IG LE GREENFIELDS This map is based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. (10018871) (2010). 7 41 10 3a 10 3b 10 3c 10 2 4 10 14 16 36 El Sub Sta ALMA LINK PH N LA 98 LIO 34 13 6 5 4 3 2 1 Post 65 IDE HILLS 53 The Loft BM 97.03m CHESTNUT AVENUE 67 38 40 The Stable 96 TCB 61 37 Issues Garage Ba nk 46 48 Crown Yard 92a 22 24 39 28 PH 94 UE 26 Lion Lodge ENUE AVEN CHAPEL COURT 11 rt AV TNUT 53 to 49 ou 92 CH ES TN UT 27 CHES 96.5m 8 ly C 86 Hol 6 32 8 Surgery 51 El Sub Sta Focal Points and Views The Conservation Area has few focal points. It possesses no market place or square and has few landmark buildings which can be viewed from a distance. The church of St. Mary Magdalen is the predominant landmark with its brick tower and projecting clock. The widened pavement and area next to it, around the war memorial at the junction of High and Chapel Streets, creates a very attractive space, enclosed by a fine group of listed buildings. The former Town Hall (No.94 High St) is a large building, creating a focal point in the middle of the High Street, whilst Nos. 127-129 across the road, is dominant because of its size, height and harsh appearance. Unlike the Town Hall it is not an asset to the street scene, and replaced an eminently more attractive Victorian gothic building known as St. Ediths. Church of St. Mary Magdalen, High Street Former Town Hall, High Street Nos. 127-129 High Street Police Station, High Street The Rising Sun PH, south end of High Street Three storey terrace at corner of Chapel and Sun Streets Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 21 The Police Station terminates the west side of High Street. Set back from the roadside, it becomes a focal building when viewed from the east along Sun Street. The Rising Sun public house terminates the view down the High Street. And at the east end of Sun Street the three storey terrace at the corner of Chapel Street terminates the view along Southend Road. There are a number of important views in the Conservation Area and also some which detract. The most important views are: Eastwards down Norsey Road (and westwards up Norsey Road) with the terraces on either side of the road being prominent. Eastwards from the Festival Gardens looking at the distant view outside of the Conservation Area. Views of the church both north and south along High Street. The view eastwards looking out of the Conservation Area along the lane next to the Chequers. Here the walnut tree is visually important and the view is only marred by the triple lines painted on the road and the tall pole at the end of the street (though this is partially obscured by the tree when in leaf). Southwards from High Street down Chapel Street; the narrow lane between the church and the row of listed buildings. Northwards along High Street from Burghstead House. Northwards from Southend Road to Sun Street/ Chapel Street. The view is marred by highway paraphernalia but the three storey terrace is imposing (as is the cedar tree on Southend Road, but outside the Conservation Area). Eastwards across Mill Meadow, looking across grassland to distant trees as the land falls away. Westwards across the playing field at Sun Corner. Again the view is distant, looking out of town to the countryside beyond. There are other fine views looking into courtyards and down narrow lanes though these provide glimpses rather than full views. An example is the glimpse of Crescent House through the archway. No.51 High Street, Crescent House Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 22 Views which detract are: Westwards from Norsey Road to Western Road. The view is across an expanse of tarmac to blocks of mid-twentieth century shops. This is also seen from the traffic lights as one approaches or leaves the town. Northwards from High Street to the railway bridge. The view out of town (and out of the Conservation Area) is marred by the bridge and particularly the pedestrian walkway. Then beyond to modern buildings in Radford Way and beside the mini-roundabout. This is ‘anywhere architecture’ which has no sense of place. Southwards and northwards in the High Street looking towards Nos. 127-129 at the curve in the road. This building looms above its surroundings and creates an unwanted landmark in the street scene by virtue of its height, form, bulk and materials. Northwards from Sun Corner to the four storey modern building and radio mast beside the Police Station. Southwards and northwards along Laindon Road to the gas compound site. This is simply an eyesore. Though vegetation obscures it to some extent when bushes are in leaf, the galvanised metal fencing and wire mesh are unattractive. The compound comprises a gas pressure reduction station with hazardous overground and underground gas equipment. Westwards down Crown Yard from Chapel Street. The view here is the backside of commercial buildings and pot holes in a poorly surfaced street/yard which has lost its form. (There is a similar view alongside the car park down Alma Link). Eastwards from Waitrose car park to the garage in Chapel Street. This is a view to a gap in the street frontage where enclosure has been lost. Southwards down Chapel Street from Vicarage Court (and northwards from Mayflower Hall). The street suddenly loses its sense of enclosure and the view is of cars entering and leaving a main car park and the garage site opposite the car park entrance. Westwards from Rectory Court in Chapel Street. The view is of the west side of the northern end of the street where service yards to commercial premises on High Street are exposed. Burghstead Lodge gate and railings, No.143 High Street No.133 High Street Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 23 Wallinhurst Garage, Chapel Street Edwardian villas at south end of Chapel Street Boundaries Property boundaries do not form visually important features in the Conservation Area. There are no high walls and few fine railings. Generally properties are situated on the road or pavement edge without enclosure. Burghstead Lodge (The Library) is an exception to this, set back from High Street in a driveway behind a substantial brick wall with iron railings and gate and fine trees. Crescent House, No.51 High Street, is also set well back, this time through an archway. The separation of private land from public highway in the High Street is delineated by changes in the brick weave paving, creating visually a wider pavement, but until probably as late as the 1960s, many buildings in High Street had low walls (and some railings), creating small front gardens. Some still exist, as at Nos. 24, 41-43, 98-102 and 133 High Street. The southern end of Chapel Street has Edwardian villas and earlier property set back from the road, behind low walls in varying states of preservation. The loss of walls and hedging has detracted here from the street scene, particularly the lack of greenery to soften the Waitrose car park and the lack of enclosure of the garage site opposite. This is also true of Western Road at the western extremity of the Conservation Area. Laindon Road has shrubs and walls enclosing property at the southern end of the Conservation Area, though the use of mesh and metal fencing in front of the gas compound gives a stark appearance. Gas compound, Laindon Road Public Realm In 2004, the High Street was repaved using buff brick paving set in a herringbone pattern and the street furniture was redesigned with new bollards, barriers and black painted poles for road signs and lights. Since then additional signs have been added, but on their own poles, rather than sharing posts with existing signs and reducing highway clutter (car parking information signs for example). Some items of street furniture have become redundant and need to be removed. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 24 Pair of telephone kiosks and pillar box Street clutter and bus shelter on High Street near St. Mary Magdalen Church Crown Yard, off High Street Sheraday Mews, off High Street Shops at junction of High Street and Western Road View east along Crown Road Particular mention should be made of the telephone kiosks, including the grade II listed K6 telephone box beside the old town hall (or the old police station). The pair of kiosks and the ‘double’ pillar box outside the old post office are attractive pieces of street furniture. The roads and courts leading off High Street have not all been paved and some have road and pavement surfaces in poor condition. An example of this would be Crown Yard’. (Alma Link was until recently in a poor condition, but was resurfaced in March 2010). More recent courtyards, developed privately, have been paved using setts, as at Alexander Mews, Shereday Mews and Cookshop Yard. The ‘aprons’ of other road junctions with High Street could be similarly paved, Lion Lane for example. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 25 Away from High Street, other roads are all tarmac of varying quality and there is a particularly wide expanse of it at the east end of Sun Street, where it joins the Southend Road. (This area of tarmac arose as a result of the mini-roundabout works when provision was made for 2-way traffic in Sun Street, which was never implemented.) This area has additional visual intrusion in the form of galvanised crash barriers and tall highway street lights. Elsewhere street lights are less intrusive, even though they lack the charm of the lanterns they have replaced. The Norsey Road/ Western Road/ High Street crossroads presents another wide expanse of tarmac. The parade of shops at the top of Western Road is outside the Conservation Area, the boundary running along the pavement in front. Here are rows of bollards behind black painted barriers with an uncomfortable wide expanse of pavement, and across the road is a scruffy area of greenery next to The Crown. Even the little garden at the end of Western Road has concrete planters. The whole area here could be redesigned to create a more pleasing environment, reducing highway clutter and introducing a softer landscape, though in the longer term, redevelopment of the 1960s shops could improve the appearance at this important entrance to the town centre. Some streets away from High Street lack definition at the pavement edge. The western section of Crown Road has become an access for The Crown and the adjacent restaurant with car parking on one side and a particularly intrusive wire mesh fence on the railway side, especially visible when there are no leaves on the trees. The loss of garden walls on Chapel Street and Western Road, (in the case of the former to create off street car parking), has reduced the sense of enclosure in places to the detriment of the street scene. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 26 CHARACTER Building Types Listed terrace along Chapel Street Historic and more recent shops along High Street As the Conservation Area comprises the heart of Billericay, its commercial core, it is unsurprising that there are numerous shops, offices and places of work, especially along the High Street. There are a few detached residences mixed in and semi-detached housing occurs especially at the southern end of Chapel Street. Many present cross wing gables to the road and a number are jettied (upper floors projecting over the lower floor). There are terraces of houses, some striking, on Sun Street, Norsey Road, Western Road and at the northern end of Chapel Street. Elsewhere chapels and meeting halls occur, but it is the shops which dominate. Some occupy older buildings with varying degrees of success. Some present very attractive shopfronts to the High Street, but alas there are others with over-large fascias and signs which detract from the appearance of the street. Modern shop parades and offices are often simply too high, too bulky, too rectangular in form with flat or false pitched roofs. They simply detract and dilute the otherwise attractive miscellany of buildings, with their gables, jetties and varying roof lines – all in scale. Listed Buildings There are around 40 buildings within the Conservation Area listed for their special architectural or historic interest. With the exceptions of No.6 Norsey Road, which is grade II* (two star), all are listed grade II. The full list with abridged descriptions is given in Appendix A to this Appraisal. THe Sheredays, No.22 High Street The Chequers, Nos.42-44 High Street Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 27 Nos. 57-61 (odds) High Street The Red Lion PH, No.113 High Street The list includes buildings of the sixteenth and seventeenth century which are timber framed and originally plastered. Sometimes the plaster may have been replaced with other material - brick, pebbledash or weatherboarding. Many present cross wings gable to the road and a number are jettied with upper floors projecting over the lower floor. Some jetties have been underbuilt and are no longer visible. These ‘listed’ survivals are part of a rich heritage of timber framed houses with cross wings along Billericay High Street, many now sadly replaced. Earlier, medieval buildings, include the now much altered Red Lion, dating from the fifteenth century and the remarkable Nos. 6-10 Norsey Road, which despite its weatherboarded exterior, has a complete late fourteenth century interior – an open hall house with an unusual roof structure. The church of St. Mary Magdalen has an early brick tower of fifteenth century date with a rebuilt church of the eighteenth century, also in red brick, attached. Former Three Horseshoes PH, High Street Later buildings of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are mostly also of brick. Red brick was favoured to begin with, then a grey/buff brick as fashion changed. Brickwork of this date is in a Flemish bond of alternate headers and stretchers, contrasting sharply with twentieth century brickwork which is invariably in a bland stretcher bond. St Mary Magdalen Church Regis House, No.98 High Street Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 28 Unlisted Buildings There are, in addition to the listed buildings, a number of properties which are considered to be ‘buildings of local interest’ which should form a local list and be given protection from unsympathetic extension, alteration or demolition. These are set out below. Buildings of Local Interest Designating Buildings of Local Interest (BLIs) furthers Basildon Council’s objective of preserving and enhancing the historic fabric and special character of the Borough. Whilst BLI status does not provide statutory protection, in the manner of nationally listed buildings, it indicates that these buildings are of special local interest and should be given protection from unsympathetic alterations and extensions. Their position within the Conservation Area affords them protection from demolition without authorization, but the aim of the Local List is to safeguard the buildings and to ensure that repairs, alterations and extensions are sympathetic to their character. BLIs are considered to be ‘heritage assets’ as defined and protected by Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning and the Historic Environment which is the Government’s national policy on the conservation of the historic environment. BLI status therefore ensures that the positive contribution of such heritage assets to local character and sense of place is recognised and valued and is a material consideration which must be taken into account in development management decisions. BLIs make a contribution to the Borough because of their architectural merit and, in some cases, their historical associations. They may contribute to and help to define the character of the townscape of an area, or be significant in the historical and architectural development of a settlement. Many alterations and developments require planning permission and proposals relating to these buildings should pay special attention to preserving features that contribute to their character, maintaining proportions, preserving the setting and using appropriate materials. Chapel Street No.15 This single storey red brick building with a slate roof was the town’s fire engine shed, built to house the fire tender and of historic interest. Fire Engine Shed, No.15 Chapel Street Rose Hall, Chapel Street Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 29 The Old Meeting Burial Ground The site of the Congregationalists’ Old Meeting and the place where Roman interments were discovered. It contains a number of memorials and gravestones which are of historic interest, including the Mabbs family vault. Mayflower Hall Built c1920s it is a large 2-storey whiterendered building with a half hipped roof. It sits gable end on to Chapel Street on the corner of Hillside Road. It has metal-framed multi-paned windows with double doors in the centre of the Chapel Street elevation. It is an imposing building and commemorates Billericay’s Mayflower connection. United Reformed Church United Reformed Church, Chapel Street Built as the Congregational Church to replace the old ‘meeting house’ in 1838 of grey brick with limestone dressings and a slate roof in the Early English revival style to a design by James Fenston. Rose Hall Built in 1858 of grey brick now with a composite slate roof and timber windows. The site was purchased by the Mabbs Charity to erect a British School (a free school based on non-sectarian principles). It was later used as a Sunday school and renamed the Rose Hall, before becoming the headquarters of the local British Legion High Street (east side) Buildings to the rear of No.18 High Street These former stables and outbuildings to Shereday House have been renovated as part of the Shereday Mews development. They comprise timber framed and painted weatherboarded buildings in a row, with pantiled roofs of differing pitches including mansards. They form an attractive group and are arguably within the historic curtilage of No.22, Shereday House. No.94 former Council Chamber (Town Hall) or Old Police Station (now Brasserie Gerard) Cement rendered with a slate roof, gable to the road and of 5 bays, with three central tall windows to each floor and doors either side. Above the doors are blank round arched niches and above these a central niche within the pediment which used to contain the arms of the county of Essex. Built Stables and outbuildings to rear of Sheraday House Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 30 in 1830 as the Market House with grammar school and assembly room. Used as a town hall from 1862 with part of the ground floor used as a police station until 1938. Then used by the Billericay Urban District Council, it was converted to a restaurant in 2000. No.136 former Post Office Red brick with a hipped plain tile roof and round headed windows divided into small panes. It was built in 1938. Pair of telephone boxes outside Royal Mail The Reading Room, No.73 High Street sorting office These traditional items of street furniture are attractive and increasingly rare elements in the streetscene. High Street (west side) No.73 The Reading Room Built in 1886 of red brick with a plain tile roof. Gable to the road with a half hipped roof and gablet and a large three light window at first floor with two hung sash windows, either side of a central canopied door, above which is a frieze with the words “Reading Room 1886” in moulded brick. Used as a reading room, library and billiard room until 1952 when it became a recreation hall. The Police Station Built c1930, the current police station is typical of civic buildings of its era, built in a neoGeorgian style with a restrained facade of brown brick and a simple gabled roof with substantial ridge stacks. It is a substantial building positioned at an important junction in the town which lends it townscape significance despite its set back position in the street. Laindon Road Nos. 2 and 4 A pair of cottages altered and extended in recent times, provide an attractive group on the edge of the playing field. No.2 is rendered with a plain tile roof, single storey with attic. L-shaped, it has the date 1703 on its north gable. No.4 is of red brick in Flemish bond with a slate roof and a single stack on its north gable. It has 8 over 8 pane sash windows and an archway at its southern end. No.2 Laindon Road No.56 Scout Hut A red brick single storey roadside building with a slate roof. It was built as a school and appears on the 1875 Ordnance Survey map as such. On the 1896 edition, it is listed as a Sunday school. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 31 No.4 Laindon Road Scout Hut, No.56 Laindon Road Former Quilters School, Laindon Road Quilters School Now converted to an arts centre, offices and an entertainment venue, this is the former Board School built in 1878 of red brick with a plain tile roof. Norsey Road Nos. 2 and 4; 12-18 (even) Two groups of weatherboarded houses which are visually very important to the street scene and complement the setting of Nos. 6-10, listed grade II*. Nos. 2-18 (evens) Norsey Road Sun Street Nos. 7-17 (odds) Stanley Terrace, off Sun Street Nos. 7-17; 19-27; 29-39 and Stanley Terrace These groups of terraced houses were built in the early 19th century and used as barracks during the Napoleonic Wars. Pebble dashed with slate roofs, Nos. 7-17, 1927 and Stanley Terrace are two storeys, whilst Nos. 29-39 are three storeys high and visually impressive with cockle shell harling covering the walls and, where they survive 6 over 6 pane hung sash windows. This terrace turns the corner into Chapel Street with a graceful curve. No.2, The Rising Sun PH A large rendered public house of two ranges. The main range is of 2 storeys with attics and is probably 18th century in origin. It has modern casement windows at ground floor, multi-paned sash windows at first floor, and 2 flat-topped dormers in the slate roof. Parapet gables and end stacks. The western range is later, probably 19th century, and lower, of only 2 storeys with a 2-storey bay window. It also has a slate roof, but is hipped at the west end. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 32 Albion Court Water Tower This early 20th century structure is something of a landmark in Billericay with its crisp white lines. It is circular in shape with a solid base and top containing the water tank. The parapets at lower and upper levels lend this functional structure architectural interest. In addition to the listed and locally listed buildings, there are a large number of unlisted historic buildings in the Conservation Area which make a positive contribution to its character. These are identified on the map and are too numerous to list. Building Styles and Materials The earliest surviving buildings in the Conservation Area are timber framed and originally plastered. (The exception is the church tower of 1490, which is in red brick). These timber framed buildings often survive as fragments, but a common form had cross wings at either end of a hall. The cross wings were frequently jettied and some survive, though some jetties have since been underbuilt. Roofs are of plain, reddish tile and the cross wings present themselves gable end on to the road along the High Street in particular. Heights are modest, one and a half or two storeys high are usual, making use of attic spaces, and quite narrow in depth, usually with lower outbuildings to the rear. Some have later fronts, clad in pebbledash, render or weatherboarding and many have been altered on the ground floor to accommodate inns or other commercial premises. Weatherboard, often painted white, has become a distinctive feature of vernacular buildings in Essex and Billericay has some pleasing examples, as along Norsey Road. Timber framing seems to have prevailed until the eighteenth century when country houses for gentlemen were built of fashionable red brick. These houses are taller with more Cockle shell harling on Sun Street terrace The Old Vicarage, No.50 Chapel Street Fishscale slates on porch of No.75 Chapel Street Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 33 The Blue Boar, No.39 High Street Waitrose, No.112 High Street No.140 High Street Sheradays Mews, off High Street generous ceiling heights, but still mostly two storeys and roof spaces are sometimes lit by dormer windows. The form is Classical and ordered with a pleasing proportion of window to masonry. The brickwork is of fine quality; narrow jointed with bricks laid in Flemish bond (rows of alternating headers and stretchers) and gauged brickwork above windows and doors. Occasionally brickwork projects forwards to create rusticated quoins as at Crescent House. Some brickwork was colour washed (or ruddled) to maintain a more even appearance. Several of the older timber framed buildings were given red brick Georgian frontages during this period in order to update their appearance, as at No.63 High Street. Windows are set back from the façade, in four inch (100mm) reveals above window cills. They are made of timber and are usually hung sash types on cords with small panes of glass between narrow moulded glazing bars. The commonest pattern of window panes is six over six (giving twelve panes per window) or eight over eight. Some of the earlier timber framed houses received their ‘Georgian refit’ and now sport hung sash windows, as at the Red Lion. Front doors are also elegant, often with fanlights above the door, which is set in a doorcase. To the front were low walls with wrought iron railings and gates. Some of these survive (or have been renewed), though many are now lost. Roofs are often of plain tile, but as the century progressed, roof pitches became less steep and were clad in slates (brought in, thanks to improved transport, from Wales and elsewhere), hidden behind brick parapets. Also as the century progressed a more fashionable grey or buff brick was used, often just for the main front elevation; side walls and the rear being of red brick. This can be seen at the Old Vicarage in Chapel Street, wholly of pale brick, or at Hill Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 34 Typical Jettied Timber Frame House, No.24 High Street, which has red bricks to the side. The Classical style continued into the early nineteenth century, where even more modest terraces conformed. The terraces on Sun Street have (or had) hung sashes set in reveals and are roofed in slate. Pebbledash has been used here to clad the masonry and at the Chapel Street end a course material of small stones and cockle shells has been used in a harling mix. These terraces are usually relatively low, of two storeys, but at Sun Street, the eastern end is three storeys, creating an imposing entrance to the town when approached along the Southend Road. The Victorian period saw the development of banks, Typical Jettied Timber Frame meeting places and institutional buildings and a more eclectic style evolved. Yet the buildings remained in scale and proportion. Where brick was favoured, it was in a Flemish bond and generally windows were set in reveals. Some large windows were installed, as at The Reading Room in High Street, but they were of timber and the sash style was still preferred. Villas of red brick were built and the style continued into the early twentieth century as at the row of semi-detached houses at the south end of Chapel Street, built in an Arts and Crafts style and some still sport their porches roofed in fish scale shaped slates. The mid-twentieth century arrived on the back of new town development and town centre redevelopment which was to scar many historic Rear of 63 High Street (1947) towns across the country. Billericay did not fare well. Buildings of modest scale and size, some of historic interest, were demolished and replaced with steel framed structures with modern cladding materials, including concrete. Where brickwork has been used as a cladding, it is invariably in a stretcher bond (rows of bricks all laid longways on), which gives no visual variety and is quite simply dull. These replacement buildings were usually out of scale, out of proportion and out of sympathy with the place. Collectively they remain the greatest scar on the face of Billericay and have severely diluted the modest country town appearance. The twenty-first century is faring better. The Waitrose development presents a kinder elevation to High Street, acknowledging the tradition of gabled, plastered cross wings. It is still large and inevitably bulky and its car park does nothing for the street scene in Chapel Street. Elsewhere the shops at No.140 High Street with a date on the front of 2004 are in scale and fit in well, whilst Shereday Mews reflects the mansard roofs of Shereday House’s stables and coach houses, creating a pleasant courtyard. Mansard roofs are a traditional feature of Billericay, but contemporary buildings are often too wide to accommodate mansards comfortably with the result that they appear inappropriately bulky. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 35 Character Areas – Street by Street Analysis y Station 40 SL 2 BM 91.73m CR 3 HIGH STRE ET 11 2 1 21 13 19 29 33 HIGH 35 41 39 13 CLO ISTER 7 95 51 97 99 6 1 1 53 17 16 55a 18 55 2 24 57 25 10 Post 1 11 15 17 12 63 5 MIDDLE CLOISTE 87 5 7 2 10 UE 44 EN Uplands PH CHANDLERS CHASE AV Hall 42 RY'S 5 40 War Meml Car Park MA 15 R CLOISTE 38 11 1 2 ST 11 2 WEST 41 Shelt er Shelt er 81 83 1 49 13 36 7 R HIGH 51a 14 Gan 1 2 32 to 3 15 51b 3 73 75 2 10 Shelt er LOW 4 19 47 6 ISTER ER CLO 10 3 to 15 26 1 ay t ric dis lle ho 6 11a Sheraday Centre El Sub Sta 11 MEW 9 11 13 43 11 94.8m Crescent Court 28 TE 1 39 STRE ET 47 43 25 1 Bank 1 12 CO URT 24 ES S a 22 2 CO XBR ID GE S RN 17 8 12 MEW 2 W 15a 4 to 8 10 41 37 PH JAM ES CROWN ROAD El Sub Sta El Sub Sta 37b Surgery ST 18 9 8a 19 Westgate Court Bdy 1 87.5m 13 15 5 1 7 46 17 89.6m 91.4m 88.4m 1 14 24 34 3 9 to Alexander Mews CR Ward AD RN RO WESTE Public Gardens 60 1 1 RN WESTE Posts 56 66 72 78 RO AD 2 STE 22 WE 90.8m 36 91.4m AD RN RO 6 2 24c 24d 24a 24b 28 32 38 88.7m 4 14 42 20 19 17 11 4 2 6 12 Posts 48 EY 6 10 52 91.42 RS 13a 7 6 AD RO N m BM RO BM 89.27m 12 DRIVE 12 Wks 1 2 El Sub Sta Y NO 5 ALE MERD SUM NO RSE OW 20 19a 7a TANFIELD DRIVE 10 PARK AD CR PH Not to Scale 53 17 19 Ward Bdy Club 12a 12 WEST 14 BILLERICAY 86.3m 12b Issues 89.9m (PH) 13 9 11 7 5 12c AD RO 11 29 16 Sinks 24 8 The Gatehouse MP .5 Railway Hotel 11 CRESCENT CR 22 11 WEST PARK Issues 12 4 Although very much the town centre, the Conservation Area provides marked contrasts between one street and another. These are now described in a little more detail. MAYFLOWER ROAD 1 99 6 5 2 10 1 10 K OS E 2 WAL S CL PILG RIM 14 8 RS VE EA W 31 20 to 22 2 30 58 64 8 12 8 12 10 64 52 14 42 60 32 143 4 3 151 1 76 84 147 6 2 1 5 Billericay Rose Hall United Reformed Church Pond 3 ) Path 39 1a (um 105 Police Station 29 ROAD Garage T SUN STREE CR 19 STREET SUN 148 150 96.0m Ward Bdy 17 13 7 Mill Meadows Nature Reserve Def 12 El Sub Sta De f 1 to 47 Albion Court The Rising Sun (PH) FAIRVIEW 7 2 1 IEW FAIRV BM 96.54m (um 1 4 ) Shelter 2 Path 3 11 y rd Bd CR ND ND WY THE 14 13 Lockers 31 8 Pond Millers 37 W Hall 9 Abbeyfield Archer House Halls SOU AD RO Ambulance Station TCB Car Park Pond HEND SOUT Fire Tower Fire Station Pond Wa WEIR Hall WEIR WYND Emmanual C of E ge Lod 97.8m 3 Hall 21 nty ol 1 2 The Holy Redeemer Church LAINDON ROAD Play Area School 17 96.0m LAINDON ROAD 15 nty ol AD RO Water Tower ) Path El Sub Sta Church View BM 97.84m (um South Rectory 43 39 WEST 40 Lodge E RIDG 25 W 2 38 8 16 ar CR 24 19 d Bd y 28 Friends Meeting House SCHOOL ROAD 42 26 Gas Valve Compound SCHOOL ROAD LB 47 ) Shelter 1 7 35 th (um Pa 15 CR 23 33 13 19 y d ar W ge e Wind y Ridg Red Cotta BM 96.79m High Street ve n Und Hill Mou nt Ha Mill 63 Cable Mount El Sub Sta th or lw Lu 10 65 Iona Chapel Street Billericay School 2 28 2 N Bd 1 2 7 8 9a 56 9 11 Clinic 12 15 10 13 11 14 29 3 Underpass 59 1 15 16 55 23 24 Y 2 ARCHERS CLOSE 17 Holly Mount Roman Way WA Hall 30 AN BM 97.11m 12 21 22 Mill Meadows Nature Res 43 KEY ROM 25 17 19 CP Mill House 1 66 4 2 DRIVE QUILT SO 11 1 Sun Street / Southend Road 15 73 12 UTH SE CLO EN D RO 1 ILL Gatwick H AD Be ll H ill 19 2 4 72 EN GRE 79 9 Norsey Road / Crown Road 5 RM BLI 31 H FA EIG LL 75 BE FOXL LH BEL 1 ERS 69 8 Billericay School 81 41 Western Road 18 El Sub Sta 8 85 El Sub Sta 12 42 10 6 10 9 25 15 89 10 Laindon Road 91 FO X NTS 2 12 1 CR 93 Character Areas Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 36 2 A 176 97 Tennis Courts 2 2 7 E CLOS AD ON RO LAIND H IG LE RISE NG LO Tennis Courts LIN KD ALE This map is based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. (10018871) (2010). 2 20 50 52 24 CLOSE 3c 11 1 PH 117 115 CHAPEL STREET 1 50 119 54 12 8 2 38 10 5 4 CHAPEL STREET 12 113 2 9 Sta CLOSE Sh elte r 24 to 26 93 95 97 32 36 16 56 17 62 15 3 1 121 to 125 28 7 37 T 85 87 RE H ST 91 HIG 2 4 13 6 5 4 3 10 14 16 36 23 2 1 127 34 20 11 Y 129 E WA 135 EMOR 137 40 32 1 LANG 33 31 139 15 14 to 19 38 40 2 89 ET TR EE HS 10 3 10 3a 10 3b HIG 28 22 24 46 48 42 11 19 9 to 13 52 9 23 97 Builder's Yard BM 97.84m BURGHSTEAD CLOSE 26 7 11 7 8 13 AY E CLOS 1 2 15 17 33 EW OR IDE 89 91 Collects Surgery Claremont Rose Cottage Stanley Terrace 2 6 13 3 EM 3 BM 73.64m 93 El Sub Sta PH 140 1 32 24 26 21 33 1 LANG 39 25 31 7 1 2 H UG ORO SB IN CHAPEL STREET 134 HPO Magistrates' Court Shelter N CLO MARTI Church Telephone Exchange 4 1 SE 16 85 87 130 Burghstead Court 6 2 25 GA 20 Pond Chapel Heights 96.0m TCBs ER CL PROW El Sub Sta The Gables Hall The Walk Library HILLS Mayflower House 128a 56 128 4 1 TENSING GARDENS OSE Essendene Mayflower 1 to 4 71 65 89.3m 14 16 22 Bank HIGH STREET 55 7 81 IRVINE WAY LB Pilgrim House D ROA HILLSIDE 71 112 to 118 El Sub 2 21 1 2 St Edith's Court Sinks AD 55 1 Burial Ground El Sub Sta 57 31 25 19 13 Sta El Sub Sta 43 41a 41 61 to 65 d 106 a 106 c 106b 93.1m ST EDITH'S COURT BM 91.68m 104 a King George Court 95.7m 55 100 Old Barn Ct 104 LANE 20 to 27 DE RO El Sub Sta Garage 98 96.0m NE 106 El Sub Sta ST EDITHS 71 67 HILLSI 53 The Loft 104 Hall 1 The Stable ALMA LINK PH N LA 1 PH Crown Yard 92a 96 62 1 1 ENUE LIO 3 45 94 AV TCB Post 65 Issues 66.7m BM 97.03m CHESTNUT AVENUE VALL 83 CHAPEL COURT Garage Ba nk 61 37 39 Lion Lodge 30 29 19 92 CH ES TN UT 22 14 69 59 Shelter 96.5m 53 to 49 urt 12 37 to 47 11 CHAPEL STREET 58 6 8 ly Co 86 Hol 1 69.2m El Sub Sta 76 8 75.3m FF SA 6 80 10 Surgery 51 BM 77.97m N Vicarage Court Museum 78 12 Holly Cottage WA RO 1 to 16 74 96.6m Pilgrims Walk 65 69 BM 22 22a LB El Sub 39 77 TRY 68 NE Lichgate House 66 PO N LA 64 El Sub Sta 20 LIO El Sub Sta 2 52 CHAN Y 62 Bank Car Park 9 50 14 81.2m 1 to 4 Rectory House 7 4 96.69 m 57 47 17 48 44 56 LA NE 28 LONDON 26 86.9m 1 to 15 54 RO SE 6 48 15 96.3m 96.5m 15 10 5 Garage a 1 46 11 11 13 11 54 Bank 7 Willow Cottage 5 St Mary Magdalen Church 11 90.6m 13 67 3 BM 94.44m High Street High Street is wide and busy, with local and through traffic, including lorries on their way to the Thurrock Container Port. It has always been the main artery of the place, whether taking pilgrims to and from the ancient ferry at Tilbury or motor traffic to Chelmsford. It is lined with shops on both sides and the Conservation Area includes the small lanes and yards leading off it and the backland beyond. The street contains small groups of buildings of sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth century date (and some which have an earlier origin); many of them are listed buildings, interspersed with later property. The Railway Inn, No.1 High Street View south to High Street from railway bridge No.21 High Street Nos. 45-47 High Street Alexander Mews, off High Street Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 37 No.101 High Street Holly Court, off High Street The Walk, off High Street Old Barn Court, off High Street Police Station, No.153 High Street Burghstead Lodge, No.143 High Street From the north, the street is entered over the railway bridge, which with its pedestrian walkway, is not pretty, and then between two imposing ‘gateway’ buildings, The Crown and The Railway public houses. It then rises towards the crest of the hill, meeting the junction with Norsey Road and Western Road. The view is across tarmac to the extended pavement and parade of shops at Western Road, whilst to the left is a scruffy area of greenery just beyond The Crown. This entrance is disappointing and not enhanced by the parlous state of Elizabeth Cottage (No.4 High Street) and the tatty appearance of No.21 High Street, occupied by three restaurants. From the crest of the hill, looking south, the view is much better; of the bustle of a busy shopping street. Modern buildings detract on the left, but the mix of old timber framing and Georgian red brick soon compensate and there are glimpses down courtyards on the left (east) and on the right to Crescent House, through an archway. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 38 Then the arrival at the triangle in front of the Church at the junction with Chapel Street and views alongside the Chequers to distant hills and also past timber framed buildings on the east side of Chapel Street. The character here is of an attractive, historic place, pleasing to the eye. The appearance of the pebble dashed shops at Nos. 45 and 47 is unfortunate. The render clearly obscures an attractive historic building as the parapet, tiled roof behind and the single eight over eight pane remaining sash window testify. High Street gently descends to the south towards a curve in the road. Despite the presence of a number of jarring twentieth century runs of shops, the overall appearance is of small scale buildings, gabled cross wings and variety in roof heights, but all modest. This changes dramatically at the curve in the road where the sheer scale of Nos. 127129 intrudes. It creates an unwelcome landmark and dwarfs the nearby historic buildings (contrasting markedly with the new Waitrose store opposite). Here too shopfront design is less attractive with some, e.g. Iceland, paying no respect to fenestration above. The lanes off are also variable. Lion Lane runs past the attractive public house, but the entrance to the central car park and the view down St. Edith’s Lane are not pleasing and the quality of the road surface in Crown Yard is poor. Holly Court is beginning to require maintenance, but Old Barn Yard and Cookshop Yard on the east side are pleasant and invite exploration. These yards and courts provide an intimacy appropriate to the form and scale of the Conservation Area. Even The Walk, with its shops between brick buttresses, leading to Waitrose car park has charm despite being behind modern buildings. The trees in front of Burstead Lodge provide greenery which is rare in the High Street. It is a pity that the view of this building is now marred by car parking and the entrance gate, now without its lantern, is uncared-for and permanently locked. South of here the view is towards the roundabout at the end of Sun Street, the Police Station and the green at Sun Corner. The Police Station is imposing because of its bulk, but views of parked cars and the tall, four-storey building behind Audit House jar, particularly when viewed from the south, looking up the High Street. Chapel Street View north along Chapel Street with Vicarage Court on the right Middle section of Chapel Street with Waitrose access No.3 Chapel Street Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 39 Chapel Street is narrow at its northern end and starts with an impressive row of listed buildings opposite the Church. Travelling southwards, downhill the street widens and buildings are less close together. The new apartment blocks on the east side loom and dwarf nearby buildings. Although an attempt has been made to provide variety to the street, the sheer bulk is out of keeping. The form of Chapel Street has been altered in recent years with the provision of a major car park and rear servicing for retail premises. This has significantly increased traffic along the road and the provision of traffic calming measures could be considered. This middle section of the street disappoints and the garage opposite Waitrose car park particularly detracts. The sense of enclosure has been lost. This occurs again on the eastern side, further south where front garden walls to semidetached houses have been removed to create off street car parking spaces. On the west side, the setting of the Old Vicarage (No.50) has been compromised by the hard landscaping around it in brick-weave paving. The Old Burial Ground provides a peaceful open space, but access to it is restricted through the gate and can only be reached from the car park side. The Telephone Exchange detracts from the appearance of the Conservation Area. If redeveloped the site could provide a courtyard style development, complementing those in High Street and Sun Street to the south, with pedestrian access to High Street. South of this are terraces leading to Rose Hall on the west side and spacious housing with mature trees and the fine United Reformed Church on the east. Telephone Exchange, Chapel Street Sun Street (including Southend Road) North side of Sun Street, view from Southend Road The Rising Sun PH, Sun Street Water Tower, Albion Court, off Sun Street Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 40 Entrance to Mill Meadow Fairview On the north side, Sun Street comprises terraces of varying height, the only gap in the frontage being the former garage. On the south side is the Rising Sun, then modern apartments around the Water Tower, which can still be seen through the archway at Albion Court. The east end is formed by the green and trees at Fairview, a small close of semi-detached houses built in 1958 on the site of allotments, which help frame the open view to the tall three storey terrace which turns gracefully into Chapel Street. The Conservation Area includes the trees and hedges alongside Mill Meadow and complete this pleasant entrance into the town. The only detraction is the excessive amount of tarmac and street furniture at the junction. Laindon Road Former Quilters School, Laindon Road Quilters Drive, off Laindon Road Emmanuel Church, Laindon Road Laindon Road leads south out of town. Its eastern side is of semi-detached houses, with the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Redeemer and the Fire Station, all outside the Conservation Area which is confined to the west side of the street only. So it includes the eastern edge of the open space at Sun Corner with its fine views out of town to the west and rows of trees. It includes two properties opposite the Rising Sun, one of which has the date 1703 in its gable. Then southwards there are few buildings. The new Emmanuel Church provides a landmark and beyond is the metal fencing of the gas compound, the Scout hut, clinic (a former school built in 1938) and the former Quilters School, Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 41 now converted to other uses. Behind this is a modern housing estate, Quilters Drive. Whilst there are individual buildings of interest, there is little here in townscape terms; the impression being suburban or edge of town. Western Road The Conservation Area encompasses the south side of this road and commences with two small terraces of pebbledashed two storey houses, then a modern office building View northeast along Western Road of brown brick, whose presence is softened by trees. The rear yard to the former Co-op shop on High Street, now the Blue Boar, is intrusive. Pavement edge walls have broken down and hedges have become unkempt. Beyond is a modern surgery and a house on a bank, between which is Crescent Court, apartments built in the rear garden of Crescent House in High Street. From this point south-eastwards, the former backland to High Street has now been developed with houses in culs de sac (Coxbridge Court, St. James Mews, St James Mews, off Western Road the south end of Western Mews and Chandlers Chase). These relate more to the other streets of modern houses off Western Road than to the character of the remainder of the Conservation Area. Norsey Road and Crown Road The short stretch of Norsey Road from High Street to the railway lies in the Conservation Area and is heavily trafficked, an issue that is exacerbated by the lack of footpaths. The views both up and down the road from the west and up from the east are important, with two storey, weatherboarded terraces on the one side and a one-and-a-half storey short brick terrace with large chimneys on the other. Rear of The Crown PH, Crown Road Norsey Road viaduct from railway bridge Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 42 Nos. 1-5 Norsey Road Crown Road provides the northern boundary with a wire mesh fence and trees of the railway embankment on one side and car parking for The Crown on the other. This is less stark when trees are in leaf. It crosses Norsey Road by the side of the viaduct over the railway line, built of Staffordshire blue engineering bricks, and then to the south-east includes the attractive and peaceful Festival Gardens, which gives fine views out of town to woods and hills beyond. Nos.1-5 (odds) Norsey Road Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 43 KEY CHARACTERISTICS View North along High Street East side of High Street Two main streets run almost parallel north-south and converge at their northern ends, where beyond they meet a crossroads and at their southern end are linked by a main road. This is the basic form of the Conservation Area. It is characterised by a collection of buildings dating from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries, modest in scale and rarely above two storeys in height, many of which have been used as High Street shops. This small scale country town mix of timber frames, jettied cross wings, plaster, weatherboard, brick, plain tiles and slate has been interspersed with tall and bulky steel framed buildings of the twentieth century, different in style, but more importantly different in scale and bulk. The result is a fragile townscape which could easily be destroyed if further development with buildings of this form is permitted. Rear servicing and car parking associated with modern retail, is already eroding the character of Chapel Street, and gradually turning it into a service road. Changes to shopfronts can also easily erode the quality of the street scene. There are still parts of the Conservation Area where groups of buildings survive to give a very pleasing appearance, as around the junction of Chapel and High Streets. The Conservation Area has over forty listed buildings within its boundary. Trees and open spaces form a backcloth or are on the edge, rather than providing focal points within the Conservation Area and High Street is particularly devoid of trees (notable exceptions being at Burghstead Lodge and outside the greengrocers shop, No.81 High Street). There are no derelict buildings, though a few require improvement, maintenance or repair, and there are areas of improvement opportunity for enhancement proposals. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 44 SUMMARY OF ISSUES Issues and Opportunities Car parking along the High Street Modern shopfronts and ‘A-boards The Conservation Area is busy. Sun Street and High Street are through routes and the latter takes a mix of through and local traffic generated by its town centre role. Short stay on-street parking is permitted in High Street and there are accesses to two car parks, where parking is limited to four hours. Whilst the volume of traffic reduces pedestrian enjoyment to some extent, it contributes to a liveliness and bustle. The town seems to be trading well and there are few vacant shops. As in most towns, there is a lack of car parking, but there would appear to be little opportunity to improve provision within the Conservation Area without visual detriment. Car parking, though much needed, has exacerbated the visual decline of the middle section of Chapel Street, now reduced to a service and access road. This is a shame for both ends of the street are attractive, especially the northern end. The challenge here is to reinstate the sense of enclosure and ‘recover’ the street. In the longer term there may be a chance to redevelop the Telephone Exchange and garage sites, but the apartment blocks at the northern end of Chapel Street should not be the exemplar. A courtyard approach with buildings of modest height and bulk, sympathetic to the Billericay vernacular would be better. The arrival at the town centre from the north, across the railway disappoints until the traffic lights are passed. This area needs improvement and enhancement. It should be brighter and could be improved, though redevelopment or the re-elevation of the shops beyond the western boundary of the Conservation Area may be in the longer term. In the short term, landscaping would help. The appearance of the High Street is fragile. Incremental changes often of a minor nature can adversely affect the quality. The loss of well proportioned shopfronts is an example, as stall risers go, as the framing of shop windows with pilasters is lost and the ever increasing growth in the width of fascia signs in plastic occurs. There are some good quality shopfronts, but there are many which are not and there is an increasing number of (temporary) banner signs and ‘A’ boards which detract and contribute to clutter. A shopfront design guide might help. There is though a general lack of projecting box and illuminated signs, a policy which should be encouraged as these detract from the appearance of buildings. The proliferation of street signs and highway furniture also needs to be controlled. A cull is needed, wonky signs need straightening and some road surfacing needs repair or renewal (eg Crown Yard). Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 45 There are no derelict buildings in the Conservation Area, but some are shabby. Included are No.4 High Street (Elizabeth Cottage), No.21 High Street (at the junction with Western Road) and Nos. 45/47 (Oxfam and Clarkes). The mid twentieth century rows of shops have diluted the character of the town centre visually. Wherever possible their appearance needs to be improved, perhaps by improving shopfronts or by altering the elevations, though in some cases demolition and starting again may be the only answer. Other incremental changes have occurred over time throughout the Conservation Area including the removal of chimney stacks, as at No.6 High Street, the replacement of timber windows with uPVC casements, as at No.8 Norsey Road, and the installation of satellite dishes, as on the terraces in Sun Street. Other interesting features have been covered over such as the decorative timber work at Nos. 65-67 High Street, and paint or render used to cover original brick work, such as at No.5 Norsey Road. Areas of Improvement Opportunity Former garage, Sun Street Land to the rear of The Blue Boar PH There are Areas of Improvement Opportunity within the Conservation Area, where the appearance could be improved. These are: 1. The junction of High Street, Norsey Road and Western Road, including the wide pavement area on the west, land south of The Crown and the garden at the end of Western Road. (The site might also include shops on the western boundary of the Conservation Area). 2. Land between Alexander Mews and Shereday Mews on the east side of High Street. Possible development site with potential to include Nos. 8-10 (evens) High Street. 3. Land to the rear of the Blue Boar on the south side of Western Road. Possible development site with potential to include the Blue Boar. 4. Crown Yard. Opportunity for visual improvement. 5. Garage site east of Chapel Street. Possible development site. 6. Telephone Exchange site, between High Street and Chapel Street. Possible development site or opportunity for visual improvement. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 46 7. Garage site north of Sun Street. Possible development site. 8. The junction of Sun Street, Southend Road and Chapel Street. Opportunity for visual improvement. 9. Rear boundary of Nos. 58-60 (evens) High Street. Opportunity for visual improvement. 10. Front boundary or Nos. 37-53 (odds) Chapel Street. Opportunity for visual improvement. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 47 Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 48 84.4m 1 43 1 29 1 13 TENSING 12 S 20 MEAD AY GEW 15 11 9 T RID 11a GE Quilters County Junior School GREENFIELDS RID 11 57 11 Infants School WES 11 85.9m 9 85.5m 41 41 Quilters County NT 16 HILLARY MOU GARDEN HUNTS 27 El Sub Sta 7 78 11 15 41 37 CH ES UT 19 17 1 FOX H LEIG 15 28 25 ROAD 6 CHESTNUT AVENUE TN 51 Holly Cottage LONDON a 87.5m 72 19 55 21 FO X 71 22 61 N LA NE MA 89.3m 57 WEST 1 RIDGE 65 8 E AVE NU 20 RY'S El Sub Sta BM 91.68m LIO 1 ST 66 3 TE QUIL Shelter TENSING GARDE NS 65 93.1m ST EDITH'S COURT 7 IVE RS DR 4 17 25 2 dge ol Lo Scho CR Ward Bdy CR Bdy 12 11 88.4m 71 St Edith's Court 20 to 27 25 Car Park Play Area 8 6 48 Lion Lodge Police Station Rectory El Sub Sta NE N LA LIO 42 BLI BLI 96.0m Shelter BM 96.54m 96.0m 96.0m 95.7m PH CO XB BM 97.11m TCB BLI Hall BLI RO SE GE 11 RID 96.0m PH Ba nk 38 Posts CHANDLERS CHASE 1 91.4m Co 1 1 urt 8 Ho lly Abbeyfield Archer House Emmanual C of E Library 14 Gas Valve Compound Church View Car Park El Sub Sta Pilgrim House BLI ST JAM ES ME WS El Sub Sta 6 El Sub Sta 7a Burghstead Court 35 7 LANE 9 11 ST EDITHS Hall Magistrates' Court 1 ME W S 2 Surgery 10 W ES TE RN AD Ward N RO TER WES 56 52 CO LA NE UR Old Barn Ct 1 (PH) Rising Sun PO TCB 7 4 Garage k The Wal HPO BLIThe BLI Bank King George Court 89.6m Willow Cottage BM 97.03m T 36 96.5m 92a BLI Hall 1 BLI 13 1 to 47 8 Hall LB 16 BLI29 Billericay School WAY Halls Ambulance Station El Sub Sta 19 AD SCHOOL RO Fire Tower Hall 17 Claremont 14 51a St Mary Magdale n Church BLI Burial Ground PH 9 El Sub Sta El Sub Sta 24 5 1 3 2 15 BLI Sta Post Garage VIEW FAIR Chapel Heights 28 2 7 R WEI Hall Mayflower BLI 5 Garage Shelter 10 BLI 97.8m 1 Billericay United Reformed Church Roman Way Tennis Courts Billericay School D 42 19 Lodge South Lockers SCHOOL ROA 1 2 13 90.6m 29 Uplands PEL COURT CHA Pond 19 El Sub Sta Friends Meeting House Millers 13 BLI Wks Alexander Mews 9 to 5 21 1 3 ard W Tennis Courts El Sub Sta CR BM 97.84m 59 y Bd MP .5 19 Pond Public Gardens 31 69 86.9m 48 12 89.9m 60 6 Cable Mount 41 Issues Collects 44 ER CLOIST HIGH Holly Mount 20 AD RO Pond BM 89.27m EY RS NO OAD IDE R HILLS 25 88.7m BILLERICAY 2m 91.4 BM BLI El Sub Sta Hall BM 94.44m Builder's Yard PH 86.3m Sheraday Centre SL CR 91.4m BLI Lichgate House 1 to 4 Post Surgery D WYN 1 (PH) Vicarage Court Rectory House 1 to 16 1 to 15 y Railway Hotel 3 El Sub Sta D OA RN R 94.8m 37b 37 a PH 8 Def 39 Rose HallBLI Church 6 TE WES Bank PH War Meml 51b Westgate Court El Sub 6 Telephone Exchange El Sub Sta LB Crown Yard Museum 4 90.8m 22 96.3m 96.5m 69 ALMA LINK The Loft Albion Court BLI Bank 3 24c 24d 24a 24b The Holy Redeemer Church Water Tower 17 Surgery 11 REET 7 Mayflower House The Stable SUN ST Fire Station 2 96.6m Bank BLI 2 Crescent Court Garage Car Park 32 28 12 10 12a Club CR 2 BM 91.73m The Gatehouse IN GA 43 GH OU OR SB 22 41a Path CR Shelter Pond ) (um Essendene MIDDLE CLOIS TER 12 Ion a BM 96.79m h ort lw Lu The Gables 81.2m 26 46 53 N RO FF ISTER R CLO LOWE 14 El Sub Sta 24 IDE ROAD 14 BM 77.97m 34 67 HILLS 32 18 25 16 75.3m MAYFLOWER ROAD LL BE 2 L HIL Und CL E OS BE 12 5 E HE UT RIS NG LO SO CP 2 RO m) AD h (u Pat ND Pond 18 Be ll H ill Mill House 14 Sinks SE CLO WER PRO Mill Meadows Nature Reserve SA TRY WAY CHAN CROWN ROAD El Sub Sta N 80.97m Drain E T AV ENU TNU 10 86.0m 31 LB 82 El Sub Sta Posts Issues 51 12b 29 REET HIGH ST 12c 35 DALE 2 83.5m 82.1m Posts 82.5m 2 17 4 6 3 to 39 11 21 HIG HS TRE ET Station 13 Sta El Sub CHES 89 EE 0.6m 4 83.3m 0 11 BM 85 .87m 22 OAD 6 2 10 12 22 37 25 86 21 39 85 1 7 53 55a 55 MER 1 2 31 2 7 Sinks 10 5 9m 41 r R ISTE CLO WES T NT 75 2 1 64 MALLORY WAY 97 6 10 E 5 2 1 SUM 28 7 8 1a 14 to 19 93 95 LB 67 65 88 2 143 2 32 15 10 10 3a 3b 1 10 3 10 3c 24 42 BURGHSTEAD CLOSE 11 14 1 127 LK 19 87 89 77 Sh 96.6 BM 24 83 4 66.7m 30 El Sub Sta 2 (u Path OSE TIN CL MAR 10 m) 2 22 69.2m 2 14 10a 8 10 BM 73.64m Ganley Close EY ROAD 6 CK 12 O RL HU Bdy Ward CP VALL 10 LIN KD ALE El Sub Sta 4 Gatwick House D BM 2 20 448 4 63.1m 2 44 4 DGE H RI SOUT T T CROF TCB LB m WES 65.72 Path (um) A RO 6 BRITANNIA CLOSE Mill Meadows Nature Reserve 16 20 10 11 2 K CRESCE WEST PAR 3 129 121 to 125 119 117 115 135 137 139 PH 113 6 1 ST R 6 91 er elt EE T 1 52 56 63 12 32 Shel te 54 49 36 62 64 5 33 Sta El Sub 1 40 10 2 RS VE 14 20 to 22 24 to 26 50 76 84 8 Shel ter REET PIL G Shel ter CHAPEL ST W EA 24 7 Issues t WA 2 17 un 2 9 5 1 LO SE 13 8 10 4 12 4 6 18 32 FAIRFIEL D RISE Mo CLOSE tage CLOSE Ridge 20 14 11 2 2 40 16 9 11 77 6 OWS 10 19 2 MEAD Clinic 1 39 RM FA 91 2 47 4 63 15 14 HOME 1 6 12 30 RIM SC 57 7 147 151 2 4 40 20 Pa th (u m ) 1 16 9 18 Pilgrims Walk 2 HI GH 1 2 7 8 ) 58 8 1 14 (um Path 11 56 66 38 1 82 y 8 99 59 10 55 LL 72 Bd 9 to 13 11 26 30 28 1 67 ard LAINDON ROAD Red Cot 148 150 Windy 43 2 W 3 15 N ROMA 4 Underpa 9 1 140 11 1 4 1 11 HIGH STREET 21 12 4 2 32 52 23 134 3 62 130 15 16 56 23 24 128a 30 128 1 IRVINE WAY 42 64 3 112 to 118 FAIRVIEW 9 9a 80 10 98 e 13 106a 106c 106b 2 Rose Cottage 14 104d Stanley Terrac YND WYND WEIR WY 1 104a Def 7 106 93 13 104 BM 97.84m CHAPEL STREET 19 48 105 23 46 97 29 61 to 65 89 91 15 100 85 87 1 U 33 EL STREET 1 to 4 9 1 81 13 96 71 y d Bd War CR 43 SO D OA DR EN TH ve n 3 Ha 11 10 43 Mil l 31 2 1 3 94 23 14 55 33 2 SE CLO IDE HILLS 52 EN 33 12 25 Hill 9 2 CHAP 19 60 AV AY 10 UE RE W EMO 1 92 12 55 8 86 LANG 12 3 1 38 1 15 95 2 11 IN KL AN SH UE EN AV 76 8 38 9 10 5 74 50 22 15 3 13 23 5 10 IE EF AK 78 93 1 12 1 22 99 W 68 Y WA RE MO GE LAN 16 62 9 17 64 66 3 22a 2 97 21 36 7 15 7 6 24 12 95 19 E NU E AV 11 20 2 58 11 2 5 26 87 13 LD 56 1 10 4 17 11 1 81 83 11 1 54 28 4 15 5 73 75 5 ay t ric dis le o Bil eth rch M hu C 52 53 to 49 32 11 50 2 4 15 14 16 1 11 13 22 24 3 7 1 36 19 1 17 37 to 47 28 44 45 26 42 6 34 40 1 1 40 38 40 26 15 10 42 54 46 48 39 52 12 17 28 13 39 36 33 24 15 31 2 6 1 25 8 10 47 57 38 3 16 10 2 6 25 6 47 2 17 43 1 3 41 4 47 6 41 43 TANFIELD DRIVE 32 to 10 13 9 39 17 22 5 5 7 13 25 8 2 9 17 4 1 1 15 33 15a 12 15 13 15 8a 13 25 13a 19a 24 4 15 7 13 19 29 24a 13 17 12 6 10 13 1 11 9 12 7 RIVE RK D 1 2 9a 2 11 26 12 7 T PA WES 53 20 5 16 2 11 9 9 11 War d Bd y 4 to 11a 8 15 5 5 7 12 11 7 4 1 2 2 10 GR 2 CR A 176 ss Townscape Appraisal Map 81 85 79 LAIN DO KEY Conservation Area Boundary Listed Building Building of Townscape Value 89 91 93 97 OA NR D BLI 31 37 12 41 ARCHERS CLOSE H IG LE 7 9 Building of Local Interest 69 73 65 Negative Building 17 Landmark Building Building Facade Needing Improvement Positive Facade 31 Negative Facade Important Green Space 7 Positive View SE CLO Negative View 9 Negative Floorscape Area of Improvement Opportunity (number refers to list in text) Important Tree / Hedge Tree Preservation Order 99 Group Tree Preservation Order 79 Not to Scale REFERENCES Billericay Design Statement Association Billericay Design Statement BDSA, July 2010 Billericay Town Council Billericay Town Trail Billericay TC 2002 Boulter B. C. The Pilgrim Shrines of England London: Philip Allen 1928 Building Design Partnership Billericay High Street Survey London: BDP 1969 Ennis, Trevor An early Saxon cemetery at East Anglian Archaeology, 2008 Rayleigh, Essex: excavations at the former Park School Grant, Wynford P. Billericay History Series nos Billericay Society 2001 1 to 4 Green, Roger Billericay: An Historical Tour in Chichester: Phillimore 1997 Pictures Harper, W. G. Billericay through the Ages Billericay: The Cater Museum 1999 Kelly’s Directory Directory of Essex 1882 Kent, Sylvia St Mary Magdalen Billericay: Billericay 2007 The Church in the High Street Northmore, K.J. et al Bagshot ‘Beds of South Essex Quart Journal of Engineering Geology v.32 no.3 pp215-231 1999 Pevsner, N.revised by Enid Radcliffe The Buildings of England: New Haven: Yale UP 2007 Post Office Directory of Essex 1874 Richman, Harry Billericay and its High Street Billericay: CPRE 1963 Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England) An Inventory of the Historical RCHM(E) 1923 Trueman, A. E. Geology and Scenery in Some Geotechnical Properties of the Chalgate ‘Beds’ and Essex Monuments in Essex vol IV England and Wales Harmondsworth: Penguin 1961 Walker, George The History of a Little Town Chelmsford: JH Clarke 1947 Wyke, Ray Billericay in 1900 Billericay Archaeological & Historical Society 1999 Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 51 Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 52 APPENDIX A Listed Buildings Chapel Street No.1 (Goodspeeds) grade II Listed with The Chequers No.42 High Street (see below). Nos. 3 and 5 (St Aubyns) grade II Originally a single 16th century-17th century timber-framed and plastered house. No.5 (St Aubyns) was re-fronted in the 18th century. No.3 has a jettied upper storey on exposed joists and has exposed timber-framing. Nos. 7 and 9 grade II 17th century-18th century timber-framed, weatherboarded. 2 storeys. 2 window range, casements with glazing bars. Boarded doors. Roofs tiled. Nos. 11 and 13 grade II 18th century timber-framed houses No.11 is faced with roughcast and No.13 is pebble dashed. 2 storeys. 2 window range, casements with glazing bars. Two 20th century doors. Roofs tiled. No.50 (The Old Vicarage) grade II House, early 19th century of gault brick with Welsh slate roof. Of two storeys with attics and symmetrical front with pedimented door surround with coupled Doric pilasters. Of 3 bays of double hung sash windows with small panes and rubbed brick flat Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 53 arches. Contemporary 6 panel door with fanlight of Gothick tracery. Two flat topped dormers behind parapet with small panes. Gable end chimney stacks. Brick front garden wall attached to south end corner of building with contemporary cast and wrought iron gate between brick piers with stone caps. Nos. 54 and 56 (Spa Cottage) grade II Pair of cottages 17th and 18th century timber framed and pebble dashed with gambrel (mansard) roof of clay machine-made plain tiles. Of one storey with attics with three pantiled dormers. No.56 has central ridge line stack and there is a gable end stack to No.54. High Street (east side) No.12 grade II The gabled south cross wing of a former 16th century-17th century timber-framed house. The upper storey has a shallow jetty and exposed timber-framing. 2 storeys. 1 window range, 3-light casements with lattice leaded lights (20th century). The ground storey has a 20th century shop front in period style. No.22 (Sheredays) grade II A 18th century red brick house with a parapet and raised brick band. 2 storeys and attics. 3 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in stuccoed reveals and with stuccoed flat arches. No.24 (Hill House) grade II An early 19th century red brick house with a yellow brick front with a parapet with a stucco modillion cornice and a moulded string course. 2 storeys, attics and basement. A wide stucco band runs between the storeys and at plinth level. No.38 grade II A late 16th century timber-framed house with later additions and altered in the 18th century . Weatherboarded. 2 storeys. 2 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars, 3-light windows on the first storey. The ground storey has two 20th century bow windows in 18th century style with glazing bars, and a 20th century shop front at the south end. Roof tiled, with a moulded wood eaves cornice. The interior has a beam inscribed with the date 1577. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 54 No.40 grade II A 17th century timber-framed and plastered house with 18th century features which adjoins No.38 and breaks forward slightly, with its gable end to the street. 2 storeys and attics. The upper storey originally was jettied on the front but was underbuilt in the Cl9 and now has a 20th century shop front. Nos. 42-44 (The Chequers) and No.1, Chapel Street (Goodspeeds) grade II Was originally a single 16th century timber-framed and plastered house with cross wings at the north and south ends to which an extension was added in the 17th century (No.42). The fenestration is of the 18th century or early 19th century, mainly double-hung sashes with glazing bars. The Chequers Inn has 2 splayed bays on the ground storey and No.1 Chapel Street has a 20th century shop front. War Memorial grade II A Portland stone cross of 1921 inscribed with 62 names of the fallen in the First World War. In 1957 a second memorial was added to commemorate the fallen in the Second World War Church of St. Mary Magdalen grade II A late 18th century red brick church with a good late 15th century red brick west tower with set back buttresses to about half the height of the tower, corner piers above, riding to polygonal pinnacles and a stepped parapet carried on a trefoil arched corbel table. The west window is of 2 lights with perpendicular brick tracery. The west ends of the aisles are late 19th century, (probably 1880), built in the same style as the tower. The church has a segmental apse on the north and east sides and the interior has balconies on 3 sides supported on slender cast iron columns. No.46 (Church House) grade II A 18th century and later red brick house with a plain parapet on the front. 2 storeys. 3 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in stuccoed flat arches. A central 6-panel butt and bead door has narrow fluted pilasters. Roof tiled, hipped at the north end. A rainwater head bears the date 1804. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 55 No.72 grade II The remaining gable of a 17th century timber-framed and plastered house. 2 storeys. 1 window range, double-hung sash with glazing bars. The ground storey has a 20th century shopfront. Roof tiled. Nos. 74A, 74 (Cater Museum) and 74B grade II A 18th century red brick front. 2 storeys and attics. 3 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in painted reveals. The centre window on the first storey is blocked (with painted glazing). The ground storey has 3 central doorways with fanlights, an early 19th century bow shop window at the south end and a 20th century bow shop window in 18th century-19th century style at the north end. Roof tiled, mansard (20th century), with 2 segmental headed dormers. Telephone Kiosk next to No.96 (Brasserie Gerard) grade II Telephone Kiosk. Type K6, Designed 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Made by various contractors. Cast Iron. Square kiosk with domed roof. Unperforated crowns to top panels and margin glazing to windows and doors. No.98 (Regis House) grade II A 18th century red brick house with a parapet and a moulded brick cornice. 2 storeys and attics. A raised brick band runs between the storeys. 5 window range, double-hung sashes with margin glazing bars, in stuccoed reveals. A central 6-panel door has a doorcase with narrow panelled pilasters, pulvinated frieze and a dentilled pediment on brackets. No.100 (Foxcroft) grade II A late 18th century or early 19th century white brick front with a parapet and a cement and brick cornice. 2 storeys and attics. A raised brick band runs between the storeys. 5 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in plastered reveals. A central doorway with an ornamental fanlight and panelled reveals has a heavy stuccoed portico with square pillars. No.106 grade II A 18th century timber-framed and plastered house with weatherboarding at the sound end. 2 storeys and attics. 3 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars. The ground storey has a central 20th century door and 2 20th century shop fronts. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 56 No.108 grade II A 17th century timber-framed and plastered house with cross wings at the north and south ends and a carriage entrance at the north end under the cross wing. The house was a good deal altered in the 18th century and there are large 20th century additions at the rear. 2 storeys. 4 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars. The ground storey has a 20th century doorcase with pilasters and cornice hood and a 20th century segmental bow window in 18th century style with glazing bars. The carriage entrance has exposed beams and joists. No.138 (The White Hart) grade II An early 19th century red brick building. 2 storeys and attics. 5 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in plain reveals and with segmental arched heads. There are 2 blocked windows on the 1st storey. High Street (west side) No.41 grade II A small 18th century house with a red brick front. 2 storeys and attics. A raised brick band runs between the storeys. 3 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in flushed cased frames. The ground storey windows have shaped soffits. A 6-panel door with moulded architrave has a pediment on condole brackets. Roof tiled, with a moulded wood eaves cornice end 2 flat headed dormers (20th century). No.43 grade II A 18th century red brick front with rusticated brick quoins, a parapet and a moulded brick cornice, to a timber-framed building. 2 storeys and attics. 3 window range, the outer windows are 3-light, double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in plain reveals. The centre window has a rusticated brick surround. A central doorway has a shouldered architrave end dentilled pediment. Roof tiled, mansard, with 2 flat headed dormers. No.51 (Crescent House) grade II A 18th century red brick house standing approximately 70 yards back from the road in its garden. The front has rusticated brick quoins and the centre part breaks forward slightly with rusticated brick quoins and is surmounted by a modillion pediment. 2 storeys and attics. 3 window range, the centre window is blocked, the outer windows are 3-light double-hung sashes with glazing bars. A central 6 panel door has a Tuscan portico with plain columns. Roof tiled, mansard, with 2 flat headed dormers. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 57 Nos. 57-61 (Chantry House) grade II Originally a 16th century hall house but now considerably altered. There are cross wings on the north and south ends and an extension on the south end. The cross wings and extension are 2 storeys and the centre block is 1 storey and attics. Nos. 57 and 59 have 18th century and 19th century windows, double-hung sashes with glazing bars. The ground storey has a modern shop front and 1 splayed bay. No.61 has exposed timber-framing and 2 original 2-light windows in the gable, with diamond mullions. A panel above the north window bears the date 1510. The windows are 20th century casements with lattice leaded lights and the ground storey has 2 modern bays. Roof tiled, No.61 has a rebuilt chimney stack. The interior has exposed ceiling beams and joists. No.63 grade II A late 18th century or early 19th century red brick house with a stuccoed parapet and cornice. 3 storey. 3 window range double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in stuccoed reveals, with stuccoed flat arches. The ground storey has a 20th century shop front in 18th century style with bow window with glazing bars. 2 six-panel doors with small fanlights have panelled reveals. Nos. 75-79 (Shelleys) grade II A 18th century timber-framed and plastered house with later alterations. Now faced with roughcast on the upper part and weatherboarding on the base. 2 storeys. 1:2:l window range, casements with glazing bars. The centre part, of 2 window range is raised slightly and has a cart entrance. The wings have small 20th century shops. No.91 (The Gables) grade II This was formerly the offices of the North Thames Gas Board. A board on the front of the building states “This house was the original meeting place of the Billericay dissenters who were licenced to worship here on April 2nd 1672 with liberty of conscience”. Originally a 16th century-17th century timberframed and plastered house with cross wings at the north and south ends. Much altered in the 18th century and later. The rear the house is faced with weatherboarding. The windows are double-hung sashes with glazing bars, those on the 1st storey of the wings have louvred shutters. The ground storey has a splayed bay with a dentilled cornice. The door is 20th century. Nos. 93 and 95 grade II A 18th century timber-framed and plastered building adjoining the south end of No.91. Altered in the 19th century end later. Renovated in the 20th century. 2 storeys. 5 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars. The ground storey has a cart entrance at the north end and 2 20th century shop fronts. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 58 No.113 (The Red Lion) grade II Part of a 15th century building but very much altered in the 18th century and 19th century. Timber-framed and plastered. 2 storeys. 3 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars. The ground storey has a splayed bay at the south end, paired windows and bar entrances. Roof slate, hipped at the south end. Nos. 131 and 133 (The Shambles) grade II A detached 18th century timber-framed and plastered house, little altered externally. 2 storeys and attics. 3 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars. A central 4-panel door with a rectangular fanlight has a doorcase with fluted pilasters, frieze and a cornice hood on shaped brackets. There is some weatherboarding at the sides. Roof tiled, mansard, with 3 hipped dormers and end external chimney stacks. No.137 grade II A late 18th century or early 19th century red brick house. 2 storeys. 3 Window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in plain reveals. A 6 panel door has a segmental hood on brackets. The ground storey has a 19th century bay and a 20th century shop window in 18th century style with glazing bars. No.139 (Three Horseshoes House) grade II A 18th century red brick house. 2 storeys and attics. 3 window range, double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in flush cased frames. The doorway has a wood doorcase with narrow architrave and a hood on brackets. Roof tiled (20th century), mansard, with 3 segmantal headed dormers. No.143 (Burghstead Lodge) grade II A fine 18th century red brick house, now used as the Register Office and Citizens’ Advice Bureau, with the Library contained in the modern side/rear extension. The front has a parapet and a stone cornice between the 1st and 2nd storeys and a plain stone band between the ground and 1st storeys. 3 storeys and basement. 5 window range, double-hung inches with glazing bars, in plain reveals. The doorway is approached by a flight of steps. A six-panel door with a semi-circular fanlight with fan glazing has a wood doorcase with pilasters, triglyph frieze and a modillion pediment. Roof tiled, hipped. Norsey Road Nos. 1 to 5 (odd) grade II A range of 18th century red brick cottages. 1 storey and attics. 4 window range, casements. Boarded doors (20th century). Roofs tiled, mansard, with a brick dentil eaves course, 4 gabled dormers and 2 square chimney stacks. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 59 Nos. 6, 8 and 10 grade II* Former house, now three cottages. c.1400 and timber framed and weatherboarded with gables asbestos slate roof. The front has 3 entrance doors and a 2 light casement, to each unit with 3 square panes to each light. Off centre small brick stacks and stacks at each gable end. Small in-line open hall house of late 14th century substantially complete inside. Central hall thus has cambered tie beam, with heavy arch braces, in situ with 4-way braced, octagonal crown post with moulded cap and base. Service and parlour partitions are without tie beams, of the ‘raised collar’ type with the rafters lowered to storey post upstands. This is the earliest example of this technique yet seen in Essex and its utilisation, within a ‘closed truss’ format is worthy of more detailed study. The arched head of the former front door remains in situ as does a major part of the parlour partition. 17th century log burning fireplace inserted into hall with contemporary first floor. The service end (No.l0) shows traces of a probable smoke bay (kitchen fireplace) against the end wall, replaced in 17th century by a substantial brick stack. Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 60 APPENDIX B Properties removed from the Conservation Area (September 2011) Archers Close • Nos. 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19,21,23,25,27,29,31,33,35 • Nos. 2,4,6,8,10,12 Chandlers Chase • Nos. 1,2,3,4 Lion Lane • Nos. 1,3 • Nos. 6,8,10 Quilters Drive • Nos. 1,3,5,7,9,11 • No.2 • Nos. 29,31,33,35,37,39,41,43,45,47 St Edith’s Lane • Nos. 1,2,3 St James Mews • Nos. 1,3,5,7,9,11,15 • Nos. 6,8,10,12,14,16 Western Mews • Nos. 6,8,10,12,14 • Nos. 7,9,11,15,17 Western Road • No.47 (corner of Coxbridge Court) Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 61 Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 62 CONTACTS This document was produced by: Beacon Planning Ltd 7 Quy Court Colliers Lane Stow-cum-Quy Cambridge CB25 9AU T: 01223 810990 F: 01223 810991 E: [email protected] W: www.beaconplanning.co.uk For further information, please contact: Planning Services Basildon Borough Council The Basildon Centre St Martin’s Square Basildon Essex SS14 1DL T: 01268 533333 W: www.basildon.gov.uk Billericay Conservation Area – Character Appraisal 63