My Adventures 3: Beeleigh Abbey

GPX File here.

On Monday the 23rd January 2023, I set off early to drive to Beeleigh Falls, Maldon where I can park for free. Follow to postcode CM9 6QA to the Museum of Power and next to this is a track that will lead you to the car park and Maldon Golf Club.

I leave the car, it is still very cold and frosty!

I cross the stone bridge and walk onto Beeleigh Lock.

Beeleigh is home to some of the falls and locks and weir on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.

The Navigation was built in the 1790's to enable transport of goods by horse drawn barge to and from Chemlsford. The town of Maldon had opposed the canal and so the canal had to be cut by hand from here to bypass Maldon and lead to Heybridge Basin on the Blackwater estuary.

The main weir enabled the canal to remain at a constant height when the river was in flood and it is quite a sight when that happens with the water cascading over the weir and into the river Chelmer on it's way to the Estuary via Maldon, passing Fullbridge before reaching the Hythe where it becomes known as the Blackwater.

Here, the rivers Chelmer and Blackwater meet creating a very special environment.

From here, you can walk the old towpath track to Heybridge and further on to Heybridge Basin.

I cross over the first weir.

I stop by Beeleigh Lock and then walk on the River Blackwater.I then turn back and through a wooded area over to Beeleigh Falls.

The ‘falls’ are certainly not your typical waterfall of outstanding beauty, but there is beauty in the calm river, the sound of the water rushing down the weir into the reeds and the contrast of man-made and natural, all in one place.

This is definitely a great swim spot, just not today. Too cold for me!

I walk on crossing the bridge over the falls and follow a footpath through a wooded path.

This brings me out to a road called Abbey Turning. Here I now reach Beeleigh Steam Mill.

Beeleigh mill was a large flour mill on the river Chelmer near Maldon, Essex. It had two water wheels driving 10 stones (later 12), to which was added a separate building which housed a steam-powered beam engine driving five millstones. The main building housing the water-powered wheels burnt down in a fire in 1875.

The site, which is Grade II, now comprises the building housing the steam engine and the drive gearing for its millstones, the brick housing for one of the waterwheels, and the two adjacent brick-lined barge docks used for loading flour for shipment to London.

The steam mill is divided into 2 rooms, separated by a brick partition. The smaller north-western part is full height and contains the complete iron, double-acting Wentworth compound steam beam engine which was installed in 1845. Alongside is an ‘Elephant’ boiler with 2 safety valves and firebox. It is the only surviving example of this type of boiler in England, though it was more popular in France and Belgium.

The ground floor of the larger room contains the drive gears including a circular-plan iron hurst with an iron upright shaft with great spur wheel, which drives each of the five pairs of stones.

The upper floor has the emplacements for the stones. The drive shafts are in place, but the stones themselves are no longer there.

Although not currently visible, a hide-out was built during WW2 under the floor of the steam mill for an auxiliary unit to hide should the enemy invade. Access was from a trapdoor in the building, with an escape route which came out in the tail-race tunnel from the nearer mill-race. After the war, this hide-out was filled in by the army.

I continue on along Abbey Turning.

I pass an amazing looking cottage, just love the gothic looking windows!

Now I pass Kingfisher Cottage on my right, surrounded by water. No kingfisher today, not what I could see anyway!

Then pass another looking great property, would be so nice to live down this road!

I walk on passing frost covered fields before I turn up a footpath along Beeleigh Chase.

I saw no Feral Children, so was safe to continue!

I walk on up to Beeleigh Abbey.

Beeleigh Abbey was a monastery constructed in 1180 for the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, as known as the Norbertines or Premonstratensians. The order linked the change of the separate life of monks in the 12th century with the retrospective life of the friar, who was considerably more active.

Beeleigh Abbey

Beeleigh Abbey was originally a daughter of Newsham Abbey in Lincolnshire, established at the instigation of Robert de Mantell, lord of the manor of Little Maldon. The abbey obtained a royal charter from Richard I in 1189.

The heart of Saint Roger Niger of Beeleigh (a thirteenth-century Bishop of London) was buried at Beeleigh and the abbey became a pilgrimage site. In 1289, pilgrims included King Edward I and Queen Eleanor.

John Ammory retained the manor of Little Maldon, land in Great Maldon, and the advowsons of the abbey of Beeleigh and the hospital of St. Giles at Little Maldon, acquired in exchange for the manor of Toseland (Hunt.) from John de Grey, who previously acquired the said manor, land, and advowsons from Thomas Filliol.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, many of the abbey buildings were pulled down. In 1540, Henry VIII granted the abbey and lands to Sir John Gate, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Thirty years after the land was given away there was an extension added to the abbey of a farmhouse.

During the 18th century, the building was used as a public house. By the late 19th century, the buildings were in a ruinous condition, but in 1912, restoration was begun by Captain F. W. Grantham. In 1943, the Abbey was purchased by William Foyle, owner of Foyles bookshop.

The abbey is now a private residence and is not generally open to the public, but small private groups may be shown around it by prior arrangement with the owners. The roofs of the resilient medieval buildings can be seen from a footpath that runs down market hill and ends following the River Chelmer. The abbey gardens, are now also open to the public, on specific days during the summer months.

I walk on beside more frosty fields and a tree lined path. I can hear the tapping of a woodpecker, trying hard to see it. Then I see a Great Spotted Woodpecker fly off from high up.

Then a bit further up I saw a pair of woodpeckers fly back towards me!

I follow the path along and on to the bridge that takes the A414 over the River Chelmer.

I walk under and up the other side to cross the bridge and the Chelmer to the other bank.

Now back down on the Chelmer I follow the path away from the bridge and over towards Tesco's.

I take the path across Ironworks Meadows.

I cross a bridge and I am now following the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.

Here the River Blackwater joins the Navigation.

I walk under the bridge that carries the Colchester Road (B1022) in Maldon. Next to it is a five storey Grade II listed converted office building together with two separate warehouse units. Building 1 is a former mill which has been converted into an office of traditional brick construction beneath a timber framed slate roof.

I pass some new builds on the other bank, they maybe new but what a location right on the Navigation with moorings!

The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation is the canalisation of the Rivers Chelmer and Blackwater. The navigation runs for 13.75 miles (22.13 km) from Springfield Basin in Chelmsford to the sea lock at Heybridge Basin near Maldon.

Initial plans faced spirited opposition from Maldon, which were overcome by avoiding the town and terminating at Heybridge, and the navigation opened in 1797. There were some teething problems, and the engineer John Rennie was called back on two occasions to recommend improvements. The impact of the railways was less severe than on many canals, as there was never a direct line between Chelmsford and Maldon. The sea lock at Heybridge was enlarged after the Second World War, but trade gradually declined and ceased in 1972.

Unlike most canals, it was not nationalised in 1948, and remained under the control of the original company. The first leisure boats to use the navigation did so in 1973, when the Inland Waterways Association organised a rally at Chelmsford. Springfield Basin was restored in 1992, but the proprietors faced bankruptcy in 2003, and after two years of negotiation, Essex Waterways Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Inland Waterways Association, took over responsibility for management, although the proprietors retained ownership.

Because Essex and Suffolk Water abstract water from the navigation to supply Hanningfield Reservoir, they have a statutory obligation to maintain the outer gates at Heybridge sea lock, to prevent salt water entering the drinking water supply. They undertook major refurbishment work at the lock during the winters of 2016/17 and 2017/18, including replacement of the outer sea gate with a new design. A long-standing ambition, first proposed in 1985, has been to provide a better destination at Chelmsford, by providing access for boats to the town centre. A proposed link from Springfield Basin has been thwarted by road building in the area, but a plan to replace the automatic weir below Chelmsford Town Centre with a new structure incorporating a navigation lock was recommended in 2020.

The Eastern Counties Railway reached Chelmsford in 1843, and a branch line from Witham reached Maldon in 1848, but there was never a direct line between the two towns. Although trade declined, the impact of the railways was less significant than on many canals. Following the Second World War, the sea lock into Heybridge Basin was extended to 107 by 26 feet (32.6 by 7.9 m), so that coasters carrying timber from the continent could enter the basin to transfer their cargo to barges. Traffic slowly declined until the last load of timber was delivered to Browns Yard (now Travis Perkins) on Springfield Basin in 1972. Although commercial traffic ceased, the navigation continued to derive income from water abstraction and from the sale of wood from the willows which grow along the banks. The willow is used for making cricket bats, and the trees were first planted in the 1880s when one of the directors saw the need for alternative sources of income.

I walk by a closed café on the canal but I hope the Tea room is open ahead.

I pass the mad garden of Marie's. I think they may even be more additions from when I last walked by.

I now reach the sea lock at Heybridge Basin.

The basin at Heybridge was dug out at the sea end of the navigation to allow lighters to enter the canal via the sea lock for the unloading of their cargos for transportation inland. The stretch of canal between the Basin and Beeleigh was cut out by hand to bypass Maldon because the town opposed the building of the canal fearing loss of trade in the port

In 1796 the first ship entered the basin with a cargo of coal for Chelmsford. Read the story of the navigation by John Marriage here.

Today, Heybridge Basin is a haven for pleasure craft of all ages and sizes as well as being the starting point for walks along the sea wall to Maldon and beyond.

The two pubs that once served to quench the thirst of the basin workers and visiting sailors now cater for the tourists visiting this picturesque area. There is also a tea room and art and craft gallery on the sea wall.

I stop in the Wilkin & Sons Tea room for a Latte and toasted teacake, much needed warm drink and warm up from the cold.

I leave the tearoom, cross the sealock to walk on back towards Maldon.

Looking back to Heybridge Basin.

Across from Heybridge Basin you can see Northey Island.

A remote island in the Blackwater Estuary and cut off at high tide, visiting Northey's a unique pleasure.

Northey was to become the oldest recorded battlefield in Britain when Viking raiders used the island as a base during the Battle of Maldon in AD991, an encounter also mentioned in England's earliest known poem.

At the time of battle, English royal policy of responding to Viking incursions was split. Some favoured paying off the Viking invaders with land and wealth, while others favoured fighting to the last man. The poem suggests that Byrhtnoth held this latter attitude, hence his moving speeches of patriotism.

The Vikings sailed up the Blackwater (then called the Panta), and Byrhtnoth called out his levy. The poem begins with him ordering his men to stand and to hold weapons. His troops, except for personal household guards, were local farmers and villagers of the Essex Fyrd militia. He ordered them to "send steed away and stride forwards": they arrived on horses but fought on foot. The Vikings sailed up to a small island in the river. At low tide, the river leaves a land bridge from this island to the shore; the description seems to have matched the Northey Island causeway at that time. This would place the site of the battle about two miles southeast of Maldon. Olaf addressed the Saxons, promising to sail away if he was paid with gold and armour from the lord. Byrhtnoth replied, "We will pay you with spear tips and sword blades."

With the ebb of the tide, Olaf's forces began an assault across the small land bridge. Three Anglo-Saxon warriors, Wulfstan, Ælfhere and Maccus blocked the bridge, successfully engaging any Vikings who pressed forward. The Viking commander requested that Byrhtnoth allow his troops onto the shore for formal battle. Byrhtnoth, for his ofermōde, let the enemy force cross to the mainland. Battle was joined, but an Englishman called Godrīc fled riding Byrhtnoth's horse. Godrīc's brothers Godwine and Godwīg followed him. Then many English fled, recognizing the horse and thinking that its rider was Byrhtnoth fleeing. To add insult to injury, it is stated that Godric had often been given horses by Byrhtnoth, a detail that, especially during the time period, would have had Godric marked as a coward and a traitor, something that could have easily been described as worse than death. The Vikings overcame the Saxons after losing many men, killing Byrhtnoth. After the battle Byrhtnoth's body was found with its head missing, but his gold-hilted sword was still with his body.

Across the water by Promenade Park is the statue of Byrhtnoth holding his sword aloft.

As I walk the path alongside the mudflats I see Lapwings, Knots, Sandpipers and Greenshanks.

Its strange being over this side looking over to the town of Maldon, I've always been the other side, not really knowing what piece of land I was looking at, but here I am!

Maldon is one of the oldest recorded towns in Essex and a walk up the High Street to the crest of the town reveals many buildings whose brick facades conceal medieval timber frames.

At the junction of the High Street and Market Hill stands the tower of St Peters which is attached to the building erected in 1704 by Dr. Thomas Plume to house his famous library and the Maldon's grammar school. The school has long since moved and the ground floor now contains the Maeldune Centre which displays the Maldon Embroidery depicting life in the town from the Battle of Maldon to the present day.

Further along is Maldon's Moot Hall, built in the 15th century for the d'Arcy family and most recently used as the council chambers, magistrates court, and police station. Another few yards and you will reach the 13th century All Saints' Church, famous for its triangular tower and Washington Window.

Maldon's Market Hill is lined with more timber-framed buildings including the old workhouse and leads steeply down to Fullbridge at the crossing of the River Chelmer. This area was once a thriving port and Maldon's wharves were kept busy unloading ships laden with timber and other materials. It is also the home of the old Maldon railway station building which has survived despite the railway being closed in 1964. At the end of Station Road, you will find the Combined Military Services Museum containing a large collection of weapons, armoury, and other displays.

I reach a point of the river where I take a path out onto an industrial estate, no photos of this for obvious reasons. I then turn left onto The Causeway and then right up the busy Maldon Bypass. I reach the bridge that I walked under earlier in the walk. Now when I plotted this route I didn't realise that the path would be lower down! Schoolboy error! Lucky enough I could step over the crash barrier and down the embankment. It was steep but it seems well used as there was steps cut into the earth.