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Witham () is a town and civil parish in the Braintree district, in the county of Essex, England. In the 2011 census, it had a population of 25,353.Braintree District Council. . KS01 Usual resident population. Retrieved 15 July 2008. It is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands on the Roman road between the cities of Chelmsford ( south-west) and Colchester ( north-east). The River Brain runs through the town and joins the River Blackwater on the outskirts.
In 913, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Edward the Elder marched from Hertford to reconquer Essex, and encamped in Witham on his route to set up a base at Maldon. Witham's position on the Roman road in relation to the major Viking army based at Colchester was the most likely reason for this, and it would have effectively cut Essex in two.
The place-name Witham is first attested in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 913 (mentioned above), where it appears as Witham. It also appears as Witham in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name may mean 'village in a bend'.Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p.527. Another suggestion is that the name is part Brythonic (probably from a cognate of Gwydd = "Woods" in modern Welsh) and "ham", a very common Saxon village designation. Domesday Witham – Introduction and Method
The manor of Witham was given to the Knights Templar in 1148. To the north of the current town is Cressing Temple which was the earliest foundation of Templar lands in Britain, built over 700 years ago. The manor of Witham was held by the Church after the dissolution of the Templars in England in .Malcolm Barber (2006), The Trial of the Templars, 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press), p. 225 The manor was sold to Sir John Southcott in , he was a prominent Judge and Politician from Devon. His heirs held the manor for almost two centuries, until 1648 when the Southcott family had their lands destroyed for supporting the Cavalier in the English Civil War. History of the Manor House Witham Place
The town as it is now started life on "Chipping Hill", which is the location of St Nicolas's Church. As the years went by, the hamlet grew to become "Witham" and St Nicolas's Church of England Church (a unique spelling) serves a congregation of around 150 people each Sunday. During the latter half of the 18th century and the early 19th century, Admiral Sir William Luard was the town's most prominent citizen, a resident of Chipping Hill and a founder and patron of St Nicolas's Church. His funeral cortège through the town in 1910 was witnessed by thousands.
In the 18th century, Witham briefly enjoyed a period as an affluent spa town after the discovery of a mineral-bearing spa by a Dr Taverner. Witham was also a centre of the wool trade until the decline of the industry in the late 17th century.
In 2005, an opportunity to commemorate the centenary was missed and the incident is now largely forgotten. Ben Sainty, a signalman, whose quick action averted the next train hitting the wreckage, has a road named after him in the town, Ben Sainty Court.
Witham has grown in size after the development of the Maltings Lane estate to the south of the town between 2002 and 2003. This was followed, in 2012, by the moving of Chipping Hill Primary School from its old premises in Church Street to a new-build in Owers Road. The development of this area has continued, including the opening of an Aldi superstore in 2015.
Approved developments in this period include the reconstruction of both the Lift New Rickstones and Lift Maltings, completed in 2011; the Marston's pub and restaurant on Gershwin Boulevard, completed in 2013 with the adjacent Seymour House day nursery; the refurbishment and opening of a Morrisons store in the old premises of the Jack & Jenny pub in 2014; and the newly-built Witham Leisure Centre on Spinks Lane, replacing Bramston Sports Centre, completed in 2014.
A significant industrial presence remains in the town, concentrated on three industrial estates on the eastern side of the town close to the junction with the A12. There are also commercial offices located in the town centre area.
In March 2007, Crittall Windows closed its Braintree factory and returned to Witham to occupy a new factory on the Freebournes Industrial Estate. The factory Crittall moved into was built for J.L. French in 2001, but never used for production. The new Crittall factory is visible on the right hand side of the road exiting Witham towards Colchester, via the A12.
In December 2013, the financial service provider Cofunds relocated to the former Marsh building on the Grove, bringing approximately 600 jobs to the town.
There is also a rugby club situated behind the football ground.
Witham also has a hockey club formed in 1924 and is now made up of 5 men's teams and 3 women's teams. Witham also participates in the local mixed league as well as the men's and women's summer league and indoor league. Witham hockey club play on the astro turf across the road from Maltings Academy on Spinks Lane. The hockey club share a clubhouse with the cricket club which is situated next to the recreation ground, commonly known as the Maldon Road Park, on Maldon Road.
Leisure facilities include Benton Hall Golf and Country Club, a pool club, and a library which occupies the site of what was the town's long-closed cinema, the Whitehall. A "River Walk" runs for through the town and is home to a range of wildlife. Witham Leisure Centre is located in Spinks Lane, adjacent to the former Bramston Sports Centre.
The town's primary schools are Templars, Holy Family Catholic School, Howbridge, Powers Hall, Chipping Hill (which became a primary school in September 2010), Rivenhall CoE, Elm Hall Primary, Southview, and Silver End Primary. Both Chipping Hill School and Powers Hall Junior School received Outstanding OfSTED reports in 2008.Chipping Hill was named the Top School in East Anglia by the Sunday Times.
The Chatten free school is a special educational needs school which opened in 2021. The school provides up to 75 places to pupils from across Essex with severe, complex autism.
The constituency includes Hatfield Peverel, Langford, Wickham Bishops, Marks Tey, Tiptree, Tolleshunt Knights, Stanway Kelvedon, and Coggeshall. Although regarded as a safe seat for the Conservatives, Patel suffered a significant drop in vote share in the 2024 general election, going from a majority of 24,082 in the 2019 election down to 5,145.
Witham is under the jurisdiction of Witham Town Council (its parish council), Braintree District Council and Essex County Council. Witham Town Council is based at Witham Town Hall.
Witham, and parts of the Braintree district, hold one of the best recycling schemes in the UK, with compulsory recycling, reaching over 50% recycling.
On 1 October 1933 the parish of Rivenhall was abolished and merged with Witham, parts of Faulkbourne and Kelvedon were also added. Witham was an urban district from 1894 to 1 April 1974 when it became an unparished area of Braintree non-metropolitan district. On 1 April 1982 the parishes of Witham, Rivenhall and Silver End were formed from the unparished area.
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