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Essex County Cricket Club played a number of games at Lower Castle Park, Colchester until 2017; the County now play all their matches at the Essex County Ground (ECG) in Chelmsford.
The river Chelmer on which Chelmsford lies also passes Little Baddow.
(Baddow comes from old English for Bad Water which Wikipedia says was the original name of the Chelmer)
The church of St Mary the Virgin at Little Baddow has a "Devil's Door" in the north wall. A similar feature is found at St Margaret's church, Ditchling. Such a door was believed in medieval times to allow the devil to leave a child's soul during baptism. Many were subsequently bricked up.
Crooke Village is built on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. At Aintree, the Canal passes close to the racecourse and gives the name to the course's Canal Turn, which is jumped during the Grand National as the 8th and 24th fences.
Chepstow Castle, situated on a clifftop above the Wye and its bridge, is often cited as the oldest surviving stone castle in Britain. The castle was established by William FitzOsbern immediately after the Norman conquest.
Osborne House, the former summer residence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is in East Cowes. Prince Albert had a major influence on the architecture of the area, for example on the building of St Mildred's Church in nearby Whippingham, which features distinctive turrets imitating those found on a German castle.
Kirkton of Durris (the nearest village to the transmitter which is on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere in particular) has a ruined church dedicated to St Comgall. St Comgall was an Irish saint, believed to have been born at Magheramorne in County Antrim.
Fivemiletown's name comes from its location - it is five Irish miles (1 Irish mile = 1.27 statute miles = 2044 m) from its nearest neighbours: Clogher, Brookeborough and Tempo.
Brookeborough has a Boer War memorial as well as five churches, three pubs and two schools - not bad for 517 inhabitants!. There is a Boer War memorial which I recall seeing on Coombe Hill, Wendover, Buckinghamshire
John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English radio, television and film actor and scriptwriter. He lived in Wendover, but was born on 29 January 1930 in Ealing, Middlesex.
In September 2007 Totton and Eling Cricket Club became North Gear National 2020 Champions beating Ockbrook & Borrowash Cricket Club, who play at Victoria Avenue, Ockbrook, Derby in the live televised final on Sky Sports.
The first National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup was held in Lubenham, on the grounds of what is now Thorpe Lubenham Hall. It is a Grade 2 National Hunt Steeplechase for amateur riders, and is open to novice chasers, horses aged five years or older. It is now run on the Old Course at Cheltenham during the Cheltenham Festival in March. It is run over a distance of about 4 miles (3 miles 7 furlongs and 170 yards, or 6,392 metres), and during its running there are twenty-four fences to be jumped.
The Gloster E.28/39, the first British (and the first allied) jet aircraft was assembled at Regent Motors in High Street, Cheltenham. It first flew on 15th May 1941 from RAF Cranwell.