My Adventures 3: Wickham Bishops Bluebell walk Essex 19th April 2022

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I drove to Church Road in Wickham Bishops in Essex. After a request from the rector I was allowed to park in the car park of St Bartholomew's which stated Church use only.

There is road parking further up.

St Bartholomew's is Grade II listed and is a fine example of Victorian Gothic church architecture. The church was built in 1850 by Sarah Leigh in memory of her father, the Revd. Thomas Leigh who was Rector from 1803 to 1843. The church was designed by Ewin Christian and is built of Kentish Ragstone and Caen stone. It replaces the redundant St Peter's church to the west, over the disused railway line, now a stained glass designer's studio.

The spire is 120 feet high and is a local landmark visible from the A12, from the other side of Witham and from the River Blackwater. The church clock was presented to the parish by the daughters of Thomas Butler Dixon in 1911 in memory of their father. The clockwork mechanism is now operated by weights and an electric motor. Behind the church the Rector's Vestry was built in 1971 in memory of churchwarden, Colonel Charles Evitt and the Church Room (hall), designed by Geoffrey Vale FRIBA, which includes kitchen, toilets and generous link way with entrance was opened in November 1994. 5 cottages, 50 metres along the road, stand where the old church hall stood. The chancel and nave of the church were re-roofed in 2011.

I leave the church ad walk down Church Road and turn right onto Mope Lane.

Mope Lane

A little way down Mope Lane I turn left onto a private road but it is a public footpath.

Guinea Fowl on the road to Sparkey Woods.

During April and May Sparkey Woods is heaving with Bluebells.

The place-name 'Wickham Bishops' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Wicham', meaning 'dwelling place with a (dairy) farm'. 'Bishops' refers to the fact that the land belonged to the Bishop of London. Other references note the historic name of “Wycham Episcopi”.

Notable people

England cricket captain Alastair Cook lived in Wickham Bishops as a boy.

Composer Nicola LeFanu was born in Wickham Bishops

The sight of a blanket of bluebells spreading throughout the woods is breath-taking, but the scent lingering in the air is just heavenly!

As I begin to leave the woods a muntjac deer runs along the path in front before disappearing as quick and before I had time to take a photograph.

I leave the woods and head along a path and through what seems to be a Equestrian Centre. (Equine Savvy Centre)

I stop to say hello to some friendly horses that wanted some attention.

The path leads me out onto Station Road and I pass Fairplay House Outdoor Education Centre.

At the end of Station Lane I turn left and walk up Langford Road for a short stretch before taking a footpath on my right.

I follow the path down towards the disused St Peters Church.

The church originated in the 11th century. In the Domesday Survey the manor of Wickham Bishops was recorded as belonging to the Bishops of London and it is considered that the church was built as a private chapel for the bishops. The church was restored in about 1850, but a new church dedicated to St Bartholomew was then built on a different site. The font, holy water stoup and parish chest were moved to the new church. St Peter's continued to be a chapel of ease to the new church but it became derelict and was threatened with demolition. In 1970 it became redundant. The church was taken into the care of the charity the Friends of Friendless Churches in 1975. The charity holds a 999-year lease with effect from 1 January 1975. Some restoration work has been carried out since then, but this has been disturbed by vandalism.

Since 1994 the church has been used as a studio by the stained glass artist Benjamin Finn. The windows of the church have been reglazed with oak tracery designed by Julian Limentani. The church now contains a new altar which was sculpted by Rory Young, and a statue of Saint Peter by Nicholas Hague. The original font has been returned from the new church. Benjamin Finn has been commissioned to create a new east window, to be financed by a grant from the Cottam Will Trust. In 2007 areas of 13th-century geometrical patterns were discovered on the walls; conservation work has been carried out in these.

I leave St Peters and walk on across the field.

I leave the path and turn left onto the B1018 and walk a few hundred yards across the bridge that goes over The River Blackwater and take a path on my right.

Crossing over the River Blackwater on Wickham Mill Bridge.

I walk down pass Wickham Place and along the river. I hear fast running water from the mill race but unable to see it.

I now reach the Wickham Bishops Viaduct.

The branch line from Witham to Maldon in Essex was built economically during the 1840s. Two long viaducts were needed to carry the railway over the river Blackwater, built by Joseph Locke with Thomas Jackson as the principal contractor.

The longest and more northerly called Mill Stream viaduct was built some 500 ft. long and for double track over an 18 month period between 1846-7. The smaller one is 160 ft. long. In 1854 the line was singled and both bridges were reduced in width. In the 1920s the northern one was reduced in length to 150 ft by extending the embankment on the northern side.

To reduce costs, the majority of the railway was built from timber, rather than brick, although Maldon station was built to a far grander style. Sadly, a brick built goods shed on the line was demolished in mid 2008 just weeks before being considered for listed status.

Although closed to passengers on 7 September 1964 and freight on 18 April 1966 the section from Witham to Braintree remains open as the Braintree Branch Line. Approximately half a mile of the branch from Witham station toward Maldon was used as a siding serving an industrial area for delivery of steel by railway, this section closed in the early 1980s after a rail strike and is now a cycle/walkway. The section of line into the old east station in Maldon has been used as the route for a new road into the Fullbridge area. The section of trackbed linking the two former railway stations in Maldon has been used as the route of the Maldon bypass to the west of the town.

Both viaducts have survived and were restored in 1995 by Essex County Council. They are listed as a scheduled Ancient Monument.

Looking back to the Viaduct.

I follow the path and it now leads me out onto Benton Hall Golf course and Country Club.

I dislike walking over golf courses but this one is easier as I just stick to the river bank for now.

As I reach the bridge next to Blue Mills Hill Road I follow the path and have to wait a while while five golfers tee off. I didn't fancy being struck by a stray golf ball as I walk the path uphill.

At the top of this path was another Muntjac deer, on seeing me it dashed through a chicken wire fence and got stuck as it darted about. I walked on and I see it calm down and find a way out safely.