Chignall St James

{{Short description|Village in Essex, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox UK place |country = England |official_name= Chignall St James |coordinates = {{coord|51.76173|0.41757|display=inline,title}} |civil_parish= Chignall |shire_district= Chelmsford |shire_county = Essex |region= East of England |post_town= CHELMSFORD |postcode_area= CM |postcode_district= CM1 |dial_code= 01245 |static_image = St. James; the parish church of Chignall St. James - geograph.org.uk - 765071.jpg |static_image_caption = Former parish church of St James, now converted to a house }}

'''Chignall St James''' is a village in the civil parish of Chignall, in the Chelmsford district of Essex, England. The village is situated {{convert|3|miles|km|0}} north-west of the centre of Chelmsford.

==Toponymy== The meaning of Chignall is uncertain. The second syllable indicates "nook of land", indicating perhaps an area of dry land in a marsh, or an area otherwise separated from its parent territory. The first syllable may come from a personal name "Cicca", or alternatively it may come from "chicken".<ref>{{cite web |title=Chignall Smealey and St James |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Essex/Chignall%20Smealey%20and%20St.%20James |website=Key to English Place-Names |publisher=University of Nottingham |access-date=7 November 2025}}</ref>

The legal name of the parish uses the spelling "Chignall", which is therefore used on Ordnance Survey maps and by the Office for National Statistics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/index.html |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=7 November 2025}}</ref><ref name=2021census>{{cite web |title=2021 Census Parish Profiles |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_pp |website=NOMIS |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=31 March 2025}} (To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.)</ref> The Royal Mail uses the spelling "Chignal" in official postal addresses.<ref>{{cite web |title=Find an address |url=https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode |publisher=Royal Mail |access-date=7 November 2025}} (See for example postcodes CM1 4TY or CM1 4TA.</ref> The parish council uses the spelling Chignal on its website.<ref name=pc>{{cite web |title=Chignal Parish |url=https://www.chignalparish.org.uk/details/parish-council/ |access-date=7 November 2025}}</ref>

==History== The area once included a Roman villa, the site of which was discovered in the 1970s.<ref>[http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/Result_Details.aspx?DocID=175806 SEAX - Essex Record Office - Reference: C/DZ 7/4]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-564000-210000/page/16 |title=BBC - Domesday Reloaded - Roman Villa at Chignal St James |access-date=20 December 2019 |archive-date=22 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322045333/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-564000-210000/page/16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In Saxon times, Chignall appears to have been a single vill. It was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cingehala'' in the Chelmsford hundred of Essex. The vill was at that time split between two owners.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Powell-Smith |first1=Anna |title=Chignall |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/TL6610/chignall/ |website=Open Domesday |access-date=7 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Essex A-C|url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/essex1.html#chignall|author=The Domesday Book online|accessdate=2016-05-14}}</ref>

A priest is mentioned in one of the Domesday entries for Chignall, implying it may have then been a parish. It is unclear where the church was at that time. The church of St James at Chignall St James dates back to at least the 13th century,<ref name=James>{{NHLE|desc=Former Church of St James|grade=II*|num=1122199}}</ref> and the church of St Nicholas at Chignall Smealy was built in the early 16th century.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Church of St Nicholas|grade=II*|num=1170018}}</ref> A third church dedicated to St Mary is known to have formerly existed at Chignall, which had been demolished by the 18th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rodwell |first1=Warwick |last2=Rodwell |first2=Kirsty |title=Historic Churches: A wasting asset |date=1977 |publisher=The Council for British Archaeology |page=16 |url=https://colchesterheritage.co.uk/api/LibraryLinkWebServiceProxy/FetchResource/1497/full_1497.pdf |access-date=7 November 2025}}</ref> The area came to be administered as the two parishes of Chignall St James and Chignall Smealy, with the latter sometimes called "Little Chignall".<ref name=Kelly>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of Essex |date=1914 |page=133 |url=https://leicester.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/60723/rec/2 |access-date=7 November 2025}}</ref>

In 1888 the parishes of Chignall St James and Chignall Smealy were merged into a new civil parish called Chignall, subject to some adjustments to the boundaries with the neighbouring parishes Broomfield and Writtle at the same time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/chelmsford.html|title=Chelmsford Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|accessdate=24 December 2021}}</ref> At the 1881 census (the last before the abolition of the civil parish), Chignall St James had a population of 224.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10236319/cube/TOT_POP|title=Chignall St James AP/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain|accessdate=8 October 2020}}</ref>

In ecclesiastical terms, Chignall St James, Chignall Smealy and the neighbouring parish of Mashbury were united into a single benefice in 1930.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33606|page=3036|date=16 May 1930}}</ref> They were later formally united into a single ecclesiastical parish called "The Chignals with Mashbury", which uses St Nicholas's Church at Chignall Smealy as its parish church.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chignal Smealey: St Nicholas |url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/6639/more-information/ |website=A Church near you |publisher=The Church of England |access-date=7 November 2025}}</ref> St James's Church was declared redundant in 1981; it was converted into a house a few years later.<ref name=James/>

thumb|The Three Elms public house, photographed prior to its closure in 2019 The village formerly had a public house, the Three Elms, which closed in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Three Elms, Chignal St James |url=https://camra.org.uk/pubs/three-elms-chignal-st-james-185898 |website=Campaign for Real Ale |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref>

==Geography== thumb|left|Village pump and telephone box Businesses providing employment in the area include Ashdown Engineering, Gardening Express<ref>{{Cite web|title=Buy Garden Plants from Online Garden Centre Gardening Express The UK's No.1: GardeningExpress.co.uk|url=https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_JuGBhBkEiwA1xmbRQI9dMd7iieeh_Z6gXC5BvBg0yvjNu1YTlEO49Huvv9V_n0Y9ZYrbBoCEiQQAvD_BwE|access-date=2021-06-15|website=Gardening Express|language=en}}</ref> and local farms.

Notable village landmarks include an old brick-built farm barn with a dove-cote thought{{by whom|date=May 2015}} to be the oldest and only example of its type in Essex, an old red brick school (now a dwelling), the former church, and the Old Rectory.

==References== <references/>

==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Chignall St James}}

* [https://e-voice.org.uk/chignal-parish/ Chignal Parish Council Web Site] * [http://www.ashdownmusic.com Ashdown Engineering] * [http://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/ Gardening Express]

Category:Villages in Essex Category:Former civil parishes in Essex