Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt.
     The town is located 32 miles (51 km) northeast of Charing Cross in London. Chelmsford is steeped in history and was one of the original settlements of Great Britain. Residents of Chelmsford are known as 'Chelmsfordians'. The town has a population of roughly 120,000 and is still growing. It is a modern, well placed town that has a large number of commuters who work in the City of London financial sector. The town is surrounded by many small villages that retain their original charm (examples of these are Danbury, Writtle, Good and High Easter, Roxwell, Mashbury, Chignal Smealy, Broomfield, Great and Little Baddow, Great and Little Waltham, Howe Street, other notable examples include Pleshey and Bicknacre). Suburbs within Chelmsford have retained their historical names including: Moulsham, Widford and Springfield, plus the newer Chelmer Village.
     In 1199 the Bishop of London was granted a Royal Charter for Chelmsford to hold a market, marking the origin of the modern town. An under-cover market, operating Tuesday to Saturday, is still an important part of the town centre over 800 years later. The town's name is derived from 'Ceolmaer's ford' which was close to the site of the present High Street stone bridge. In the Doomesday Book of 1086 the town was called 'Celmeresfort' and by 1189 it had changed to 'Chelmsford'.
     Before 1199, there were settlements nearby from ancient times. A Neolithic and a late Bronze Age settlement have been found in the Springfield suburb, and the town was occupied by the Romans. A Roman fort was built in AD 60, and a civilian town grew up around it. The town was given the name of Caesaromagus (the market place of Caesar), although the reason for it being given the great honour of bearing the Imperial prefix is now unclear — possibly as a failed 'planned town' provincial capital to replace Londinium or Camulodunum. The remains of a mansio, a combination post office, civic centre and hotel, lie beneath the streets of modern Moulsham, and the ruins of an octagonal temple are located beneath the Odeon roundabout.
     The town became the seat of the local assize during the early 13th century (though assizes were also held at Brentwood) and by 1218 was recognised as the county town of Essex, a position it has retained to the present day. Chelmsford was significantly involved in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, and Richard II moved on to the town after quelling the rebellion in London. Many of the ringleaders were executed on the gallows at what is now Primrose Hill.
     An important Anglo-Saxon burial was discovered at Broomfield to the north of Chelmsford in the late 19th century and the finds are now in the British Museum. The road 'Saxon Way' now marks the site. In the 17th century many of the victims of Matthew Hopkins (the self-styled "Witchfinder General") spent their last days imprisoned in Chelmsford, before being tried at the Assizes and hanged for witchcraft.
     Robert the Bruce has close ties with the nearby village of Writtle and its parish church. There is some evidence to suggest he was born in the village rather than in Turnberry Castle but the story is possibly conflated with that of his father of the same name.
     Henry VIII Kept a hunting lodge at what is now New Hall School in Boreham.
     During World War II Chelmsford, an important centre of light engineering war production, was attacked from the air on several occasions, both by aircraft of the Luftwaffe and by missile. The worst single loss of life took place on Tuesday December 19, 1944, when the 367th Vergeltungswaffe 2 or V2 rocket to hit England fell on a residential street (Henry Road) near the Hoffmans ball bearing factory and not far from the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company factory in Hall Street which may also have been the target. (It is seen being protected by a barrage balloon in a wartime photograph.) Thirty-nine people were killed and 138 injured, 47 seriously. Several dwellings in Henry Road were completely destroyed, and many in nearby streets were badly damaged. A recently restored monument to the dead is in the borough cemetery in Writtle Road. The GHQ Line part of the British hardened field defences of World War II runs directly through Chelmsford with many pillboxes still in existence to the north and south of the town. Faded camouflage paint still remains on old buildings near Waterhouse Lane.
     Since the 1980s Chelmsford has suffered from a decline in its defence-related industries, most notably The Marconi Company with several of its factories closing, However the town's location close to London and at the centre of Essex has helped it grow in importance as an administrative and distribution centre. The one-time largest employer in Chelmsford, R.H.P. (the former Hoffman ball bearing manufacturing Company) closed its New Street site in 1988. Some of the factory remains and have been converted into luxury apartments and a health club although most of the site was demolished to make way for the Rivermead Campus of the Anglia Ruskin University
     Beaulieu Park, 'The Village' and Chancellor Park are some of the most recent large scale housing developments built in the town to compliment earlier developments such as Chelmer Village which was built throughout the 1980s.
     In 2007, the Channel 4 programme "Location, Location, Location" voted Chelmsford as the 8th best place to live in the UK.