Runwell is a village near Wickford and a civil parish on the A132 road, in the Chelmsford District, in the English county of Essex.

[2]Runwell has had inhabitants dating back to the 1200s when the church (st Mary's) was built and the village was included in the 1801 census that reported that it had 243 people living in it.

"After the heist over £15 in cash was stolen which they divided among them, and nine bottles of gin and brandy which they quickly began to consume".

one account of growing up in Runwell was from a 12-year-old boy who described the time as such "As we had no air raid shelter, our beds were raised up on bricks, with another mattress on the floor.

One account of the festivities was as such "There was great rejoicing when the War eventually ended, with bonfires, fireworks and street parties.

I don’t know where the fireworks came from because once the war had started there was no more Guy Fawkes Bonfire Night, and as for the street parties, I think the mums had been saving food for just that event.

"[9] In the 1940s Runwell was without a lot of local amenities such as a school and doctors surgery, therefore residents had to travel to neighbouring Wickford for such services.

This was mainly due to the high volume of farmland surrounding the area and also the lack of opportunity and education available at that time.

However, according to the 2011 census, this has now changed, as most of the 1,521 residents in employment now work in professional occupations or as managers, directors and senior officials.

[14] This is possibly due to the fact that education and advancement in transportation has meant people can find better more high paying jobs than they could in 1881.

The church is maintained by members of the congregation, and over the last decade the interior of the building has undergone significant repair and restoration.