Northeast of the city of Chelmsford, nestled in the arable rolling pastures of northern Essex, sits the civil parish of Chignall and its two respective villages: Chignall St James and Chignall Smealy. Both small villages have ruralised and agricultural identities known for their quaint and traditional design character and relaxed way of life. Located just a ten minute drive away from the city of Chelmsford, this picturesque parish is ideal for those seeking a quiet and peaceful approach to life.

Whilst a very small parish, with only 621 residents, both villages have ancient and historic roots. Chignall St James’ history can be traced all the way back to the Middle Stone Age. In 1974, an archaeological team found evidence of a Romano-British villa in the Chignall St James area, highlighting not only Roman occupation, but the evidence of Roman agriculture and industry in the area. Further archaeological excavations in 1977 south of the villa discovered traces of Middle Stone Age habitation; suggesting near continuous development from the Middle Stone Age to the Roman occupation of Britain! Much of village life was fairly quiet throughout the centuries; and both Chignall St James and Chignall Smealy were incorporated into one parish in 1888.

Although a small and traditional village with ancient roots; Chignall also houses several industrious businesses. One such being Ashdown Engineering - a sound engineering company that manufactures amplifiers for bass guitars!

The area of Chignall is thoroughly ruralised, therefore developments in the area are often slow to start or hard to get approved. The property market in this area is not particularly flourishing; currently the Chignall area only has one property for sale - a period character home at £600,000. Chelmsford has not identified the Chignall locale as an area of potential housing allocation and in fact is not mentioned at all in the 2023 local plan. Therefore, property development in this area is currently limited to house rennovations and conversions of existing properties!