Needham Market

History

The name Needham derives from the Old English nēdhām meaning 'village in need'. The location was not noted in the Domesday book as it was part of the parish of Barking. A charter was granted by King Henry iii for market within the parish that was established at site of Needham Market. The first known recorded reference to Needham Market was made in a subsequent charter in 1245 also made by King Henry iii. The town grew initially around the wool combing industry, until the onset of the Bubonic plague, which swept the town from 1663 to 1665. To prevent the spread of the disease, the town was chained at either end, which succeeded in its task but at the cost of two-thirds of the populace. The town did not recover for nearly two hundred years, with the canalisation of the River Gipping in the late 18th century and the introduction of the railway. Modern Needham Market contains two road names that are linked to the plague: Chainhouse Road, named after the chains that ran across the east end of the town, and The Causeway, which is a modern variation of "the corpseway"; it is so called because of the route that plague victims were transported out of town, to neighbouring Barking church for interment. Near the station, on land between the Rampant Horse pub and the river, is the Camping Land, with a name is derived from Campan or Campball, a rough and often rowdy medieval ball game and the predecessor of rugby football.