Braintree, Essex

Braintree is a town in Essex, England. At the 2021 census the built up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics had a population of 43,190. It is the largest settlement in the Braintree District, which also covers an extensive surrounding area.

The town has grown contiguously with several surrounding settlements. The original settlement and parish of Braintree lay on the River Brain and was bounded on the north by Stane Street, the Roman road from Braughing to Colchester. North of that road was the parish of Bocking. The two parishes were united in 1934 as the parish and urban district of Braintree and Bocking, which was subsequently abolished in 1974 when the modern Braintree District was created. Several local organisations still include Braintree and Bocking in their names.

Braintree is bypassed by the modern-day A120 and A131 roads, while trains serve two stations in the town, at the end of the Braintree Branch Line from Witham.

The town is twinned with Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, France, and gives its name to the towns of Braintree, Massachusetts and Braintree, Vermont, in the United States.