Editing Chelmsford (section)

===Royal connections===

King [[Robert I of Scotland]], better known as [[Robert the Bruce]] (1274–1329), had close ties with the nearby village of [[Writtle]] and there is some evidence to suggest he was born at Montpeliers Farm in the village,<ref name=RB_Birth>Robert's [[absolution]] for Comyn's murder, in 1310, gives Robert as a layman of Carrick, indicating Carrick / Turnberry was either his primary residence, or place of birth. [[Lochmaben]] has a claim, as a possession of the Bruce family, but is not supported by a medieval source. The contemporary claims of Essex / the Bruce estate at [[Writtle]] Essex, during the coronation of Edward, have been discounted by [[G. W. S. Barrow]].</ref><ref name=birth2>[[Geoffrey the Baker|Geoffrey le Baker's]]: [https://archive.org/details/chronicongalfrid00bakeuoft Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831232310/https://archive.org/details/chronicongalfrid00bakeuoft |date=31 August 2016 }}, ed. Edward Maunde Thompson (Oxford, 1889).</ref><ref name=RB_Murison>[https://books.google.com/books?id=9YCVFdVvZK8C&dq=writtle+and+bruce&pg=PA18 King Robert the Bruce By A. F. Murison] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624111925/https://books.google.com/books?id=9YCVFdVvZK8C&pg=PA18&dq=writtle+and+bruce&sig=Tjk9iqKCTZFFkV-ul4w1DUHTMEo#PPA18,M1 |date=24 June 2016 }}.</ref><ref name=birth1>Scottish Kings 1005–1625, by Sir Archibald H Dunbar, Bt., Edinburgh, 1899, [https://archive.org/details/scottishkingsrev00dunbuoft p. 127] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831001654/https://archive.org/details/scottishkingsrev00dunbuoft |date=31 August 2016 }}, where Robert the Bruce's birthplace is given "at Writtle, near Chelmsford in Essex, on the 11th July 1274". Baker, cited above, is mentioned with other authorities,</ref> but the story is disputed and possibly conflated with his father, [[Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale]].

Chelmsford was significantly involved in the [[Peasants' Revolt]] of 1381, and King [[Richard II of England|Richard II]] moved on to the town after quelling the rebellion in London. 'The Sleepers and The Shadows', written by Hilda Grieve in 1988 using original sources, states: "For nearly a week, from Monday 1st July to Saturday 6th July [1381], Chelmsford became the seat of government ... The king probably lodged at his nearby manor house at Writtle. He was attended by his council, headed by the temporary Chancellor ... the new chief justice ... the royal chancery ... Their formidable task in Chelmsford was to draft, engross, date, seal and despatch by messengers riding to the farthest corners of the realm, the daily batches of commissions, mandates, letters, orders and proclamations issued by the government not only to speed the process of pacification of the kingdom, but to conduct much ordinary day-to-day business of the Crown and Government." Richard II famously revoked the charters which he had made in concession to the peasants on 2 July 1381, while in Chelmsford. It could be said that given this movement of government power, Chelmsford for a few days at least became the capital of England. Many of the ringleaders of the revolt were executed on the gallows at what is now [[Primrose Hill]].

King [[Henry VIII]] purchased the Boleyn estate in 1516, and built [[Palace of Beaulieu|Beaulieu Palace]] on the current site of [[New Hall School]]. This later became the residence of his then mistress, and later wife [[Anne Boleyn|Anne]]. Soon after it became the residence of Henry's daughter, by his first marriage, [[Mary I of England|Mary I]].