Chelmsford 123 is a British television situation comedy produced for Channel 4 by Hat Trick Productions. It ran for two series, of six and seven episodes, in 1988 and 1990.

The series was set in the British town of Chelmsford in the year AD 123, and concerned the power struggle between Roman governor Aulus Paulinus (Jimmy Mulville) and the British chieftain, Badvoc (Rory McGrath). Britain is a miserable place, cold and wet – just the place to exile Aulus for accidentally insulting the Emperor's horse, but also give him something useful to do. Aulus, probably a play on Aulus Platorius Nepos, the governor of Roman Britain between 122 and 125, was a rather delicate Roman, who was usually outwitted by the scheming Badvoc, who hadn't had a haircut for twenty-five years. Many of the other regular "Hat Trick" actors, previously seen in shows such as Who Dares Wins, also appeared.

Both series are now available on 4 on Demand and SeeSaw.

Series 1 and 2 was released on DVD by Acorn Media UK on 15 September 2011.

Coordinates: 51°44′10″N 0°28′47″E / 51.7361°N 0.4798°E / 51.7361; 0.4798

Chelmsford (/ˈtʃɛlmzfəd/) is the principal settlement of the City of Chelmsford and the county town of Essex, in the East of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately 32 miles (51 km) northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately 22 miles (35 km) from Colchester. The urban area of the city has a population of approximately 110,000, whilst the district has a population of 168,310.

The main conurbation of Chelmsford incorporates all or part of the former parishes of Broomfield, Great Baddow, Galleywood, Writtle, Moulsham, Widford and Springfield, including Springfield Barnes, now known as Chelmer Village.

The communities of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Chelmsford, Ontario, and Chelmsford, New Brunswick, are named after the city.

Chelmsford's population consists of a large number of City and Docklands commuters, attracted by the 30–35 minute journey from Central London via the Great Eastern Main Line. The same journey takes approximately 60 minutes by road via the A12.

HM Prison Chelmsford is a Category B men's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in Chelmsford, Essex, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.

History

Chelmsford Prison began as a county jail in 1830 before transforming into a Category B prison, a young person's prison, and a local prison. It was expanded in 1996.

In 1999 the management at Chelmsford Prison were severely criticised by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, after findings that staff were failing to respond to cell alarms five years after a prisoner was beaten to death by his cell-mate. The prison was also criticised for unacceptably bad conditions of cleanliness. A further inspection a year later confirmed these failings at the prison. In 2002, "conditions at Chelmsford...[were] condemned as 'poor and cramped' by the gaol's board of visitors."

However, in 2005, Chelmsford was praised in its inspection for improving standards and procedures for inmates at the prison. This was confirmed a year later by the Independent Monitoring Board which praised the new management at the prison.

The City of Chelmsford (/ˈtʃɛlmzfərd/) is a local government district in Essex, England. It is named after its main settlement, Chelmsford, which is also the county town of Essex. On 1 June 2012 Chelmsford was granted city status to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

History

The current district was formed on 1 April 1974 from the borough of Chelmsford, and most of the Chelmsford Rural District.

Chelmsford City Council

The mayor of the city is Councillor Paul Hutchinson and is the first citizen of the borough and an ambassador for Chelmsford. A cabinet of ten councillors, from the 57 that constitute the council, are led by Cllr Roy Whitehead.Local elections are held every four years in the borough. After being under Liberal Democrat control between 1995 and 1999, the council moved to no overall control before coming the Conservative party gained a majority at the 2003 elections.

Following the United Kingdom local elections, 2011 and subsequent by-elections, the political composition of Chelmsford council is as follows: