Chappel is a village and civil parish in the

Borough of Colchester, Essex The City of Colchester is a local government district with city status, in Essex, England, named after its main settlement, Colchester. The city covers an area of and stretches from Dedham Vale on the Suffolk border in the north to Mersea Islan ...

which sits on the River Colne. It is significant for its Victorian viaduct, which crosses the Colne valley.

Name and history

The present name of ''Chappel'' derives from the construction of a small chapel of ease, noted in 1285 AD as standing at the northern boundary of the parish of Great Tey. During the 16th century, because of concerns from Chappel residents about the distance to Great Tey's own church at festival time, this area was split from the parish and become a separate entity known as ''Pontisbright'' (lit. "Britric's bridge") that would eventually become known as ''Chappel''. In 1433, the vicar of Great Tey agreed that the inhabitants of Chappel could find and elect their own

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

. The

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

itself was united with that of the neighbouring village of Wakes Colne in 1938. The chapel itself, now the parish church of St Barnabas, is a grade I listed building.

Chappel Viaduct

The Chappel

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

was built between 1847 and 1849 for the Colchester and Stour extension of the Eastern Counties Railway. Originally planned to be a timber structure, the viaduct was built of locally made brick because of the additional cost of maintaining a timber structure. Approximately 600 men were involved in the construction, most of whom were local East Anglians. The cost of construction was approximately £21,000 (approximately £2.2 million in 2016 money). The viaduct consists of 32

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

es of span, with a total length of , and a maximum height of . The piers consist of two shafts, separated by a opening, and joined at top and bottom by arches; each shaft contain a hollow void by maximum, partially filled with concrete to the level of the bottom arch. The running level of the viaduct has a gradient of 1 in 120 The viaduct became a listed monument in 1967, and is thought to be one of the largest brick-built structures in England after Ouse Valley Viaduct in Sussex and Battersea Power Station. During the commemoration events to mark 50 years since the end of the Second World War, Chappel's beacon was transported by rail to a point on the viaduct where it could be seen from the playing field below, and lit after a ceremonial silence, the beginning and end of which were marked by the release of two maroons. The first passenger train to Sudbury, carrying an official party from Colchester, ran on 2 July 1849. The viaduct currently carries the Marks Tey to

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

branch railway ( Gainsborough Line), which connects regularly with trains to and from London's

Liverpool Street Station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

Amenities

The village has a pub dating from the 13th century, a parish church, a United Reformed church, a post office and general store, village hall and a railway station, Chappel and Wakes Colne station, which houses the East Anglian Railway Museum. It also has a children's play area which was upgraded in 2007-08 by Chappel Parish Council. In celebration of the millennium, the Chappel Millennium Green was opened. The Millennium Green has two areas: a nature reserve with board walk and a mown grass area for general recreation isbordered by a gravel path. It has also hosted several events, including the burning of a beacon and Colne Valley Festival events.

Village sign

Chappel's village sign depicts a bridge crossing a river, symbolic of the old bridge, dating from 1140 AD, which crossed the river Colne and connected the two halves of the estate of Crepping Manor. The lord of the manor was, at that time, responsible for its upkeep.

Notable former residents

* Margery Allingham (1904 - 1966), author of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

- mainly crime and mystery novels. *Al Barnes (born 1968), former guitarist in the seminal Black Metal Band Venom.

References

External links

Chappel Parish Council websiteFootball teamViews of the village and railwayChappel Beer Festival Information Page
{{authority control Villages in Essex Borough of Colchester