"Phil's Brentwood page" a Brentwood Travel Page by phil_uk_net

If you've visited this page before you will know that I have been quite scathing in the past about my home town. This is actually quite unfair. It doesn't have any magnificent natural (or even man-made) wonders and there isn't much in the way of culture but as far as residential towns in the UK go, it isn't such a bad place.
In fact, compared to some of the other UK towns I have had to work in, Brentwood comes out very favourably. It is quite an affluent town well located for access into London and the rural areas of Essex.

Originally this area was all forest. I've heard that royalty and the aristocracy used to come out to Brentwood and its environs from London to hunt deer. The Marygreen Manor (formerly the Brentwood Moathouse) hotel and restaurant was originally a hunting lodge.
A clearing in the wood created by fire was known as "Burnt Wood" which became Brentwood. The town's next role was as a staging post for horse drawn carriages travelling out of London to East Anglia. The White Hart pub was originally an old coaching inn.
A barracks housing the Essex Regiment existed in the 19th century and into the early part of the 20th century at Warley but that site is now the UK headquarters for the Ford Motor Company. Ford are a big employer in the town. There is other industry in the town, mainly in the service sector - finance and insurance. Many residents commute daily to London. The rail link goes into London, Liverpool Street and the M25 motorway is close by giving easy access to the motorways.

Although the barracks has long since gone, the chapel remains. It was built in 1857, originally for the East India Company but was then taken over by the Essex Regiment. It is just a few minutes from where I live.