Braintree, Essex

Braintree is a town of about 30,000 people in the county of Essex, in the south east of England. It is located at the junction of two Roman roads: one coming from the county town of Chelmsford, about ten miles or so to the south-west, and the other (known as Stane Street) running westwards to Great Dunmow, and eastwards to Colchester. Stane Street was a main road (the A120) until the bypass system was built in the late 20th century. It is the main town in the Braintree District.

Related Topics:
Town - County - Essex - England - Roman road - Chelmsford - Stane Street - Great Dunmow - Colchester - Bypass - 20th century - Braintree District

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In fact, there are two contiguous towns here: Braintree proper lies to the south of Stane Street, and Bocking lies to the north. The two together can be referred to as "Braintree and Bocking", although most people just lump them together as "Braintree".

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Braintree has one railway station. Trains depart from Braintree station to Witham, where the Braintree branch line joins the Great Eastern Main Line to London Liverpool Street. Service frequency is approximately once an hour during the daytime. Nowadays the track terminates at Braintree. However, it used to continue westwards, through the village of Rayne, to Great Dunmow, but this section of the route has been disused for decades.

Related Topics:
Railway station - Train - Braintree station - Witham - Braintree branch line - Great Eastern Main Line - London Liverpool Street - Rayne - Great Dunmow

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Braintree is twinned with the French town of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine.

Related Topics:
Twinned - Pierrefitte-sur-Seine

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