1. Great Baddow is one of the largest villages in England. It is approximately two miles south east of the town of Chelmsford in the county of Essex.
2. The village church is named St Marys. The ‘Men Of Essex’ met in the grounds of the church in 1381 and marched to London in the ill-fated Peasants’ Revolt led by Jack Straw. (Pictured below - St Mary's Church)
3. There are five pubs in Great Baddow. The Blue Lion, the Kings Head, the White Horse, the Beehive and the Star. It is believed there was once an underground tunnel joining the White Horse pub to St Mary’s Church which lies approximately 100 metres opposite. (Pictured below - Kings Head, Blue Lion, White Horse)
4. Great Baddow has a population of over 13,000 people.
5. The Great Baddow Parish Council has 13 members and celebrated its centenary in 1994. The council is very pro-active to improve and maintain the upkeep of the village. Mrs Christine Shaw is the chairman.
6. The name of Great Baddow is taken from an Anglo-French combination meaning - bad water.
7. The main shopping centre in Great Baddow is called ‘The Vineyards’. It is built on a site of a former country house turned hotel.
8. ‘The Vineyards’ has many shops including a cafe bar, a hairdressers, a chinese restaurant and take-away, a chip shop, a Co-op supermarket, NatWest bank, Barclays bank, William Hill betting shop, a greeting cards shop, a newsagents, a post office, a butchers shop, a fruit and vegetable shop, a charity shop and Boots the chemist. (Pictured below - Tiffany's Cafe Bar, The Vineyards)
9. Great Baddow was the home to a Marconi research centre (now BAE) for many years. Major development took place in Great Baddow in the 1950’s with the building of the Rothmans Estate for workers at Marconi's and English Electric Valve Company in Chelmsford. Rothmans School in Dorset Avenue has now changed its name to Larkrise School.
10. Great Baddow has a beautiful park with ponds, tennis courts and football pitches. At the centre of the Great Baddow Recreation Ground is the Great Baddow Millennium Community Centre. (Pictured below - Great Baddow Community Centre)
