Welcome
Get Fit, Get Active, Get Involved,
become a P3 volunteer
In Great Burstead and South Green volunteers are needed to get involved in projects like installing gates, signposts, replacing small bridges and generally improving the public rights of way. In return, you’ll make new friends, have the opportunity to work outdoors, be physically active and improve your local environment. Please contact the clerk for further information, telephone 01277 652057 or email kimbarford@tiscali.co.uk. Alternatively you can contact the Parish Paths Partnership team at Essex County Council during office hours, telephone 01245 437649 or access the website at www.essexcc.gov.uk/prow.
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PRESS RELEASE
Members at Great Burstead and South Green Parish Council recently became the first in the County to adopt new legislation and resolved at their March meeting to become a Village Council, with the Councillors to now be known as ‘Village Councillors’. Confusion had arisen in the past with some people thinking a Parish Council was a Church Council and as such were unaware of the Council’s work, their power and place within local government. Members felt the change would improve the profile of the Council and help to promote more community involvement.
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The Great Burstead and South Green parish is situated in the heart of Essex. It is the oldest part of Billericay, and part of the District of Basildon.
There have been settlements in the parish of Great Burstead and South Green since Saxon times, possibly earlier. The village of Great Burstead is first recorded, about 975, as 'Burgestede' meaning 'stronghold-site'. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it is recorded as 'Burghesteda'. The adjacent village of South Green was first recorded as 'Southwood Greene' in 1593. In 1777 it was recorded as 'South Green'
The Church of St. Mary Magdalene, a Grade 1 listed building, is undoubtedly the central feature of Great Burstead. Dating from the 12th century, it was the original parish church for the whole Billericay area, and its churchyard was the burial ground for residents of the Billericay area and beyond.
The Green, together with the excellent parade of shops that abut it, is the heart of South Green. The Green is the remnant of a much larger ancient village green, probably originally cleared from woodland. The village sign on the Green depicts archers – a reminder of the obligatory archery practice carried out on the Green in medieval times. When the archers were practising, other activities (such as the washing of clothes) had to cease!
In 1997 legislation was passed requiring parish councils to be established in the Billericay area of the Basildon District. Five parish councils were established, Great Burstead and South Green, Billericay Parish (later renamed Billericay Town), Little Burstead, Ramsden Crays and Ramsden Bellhouse. Great Burstead and South Green is the second largest parish in the Basildon District, Billericay Town being the largest.
To contact the Village Council, email: kimbarford@tiscali.co.uk