by the Kelvedon St Mary's School, a Church of England primary school located on the corner of High Street and Easterford Road (now the Kelvedon and Feering Health Centre and a private residence). It was in turn replaced in 1977 by a new school located in Docwra Road, also called Kelvedon St Marys. This school converted to academy status in March 2013. The village suffered major congestion until a bypass was built in the 1960s diverting the A12 past the village. Suburbanization started to take place in the 1980s when a large development, called Riverside Park, was constructed adding hundreds of homes to the village envelope. Transport Kelvedon railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line between London Liverpool Street and Ipswich. Passenger trains, operated by Greater Anglia, generally run half-hourly in each way to Liverpool Street southbound and to Colchester railway station and Ipswich northbound. With a minimum journey time of 47 minutes to Liverpool Street, Kelvedon is a desirable location for commuters working in the city of London. Bus services are provided by the 71 First Bus service between Chelmsford and Colchester and the 91 Hedingham & District service between Tollesbury and Witham. Kelvedon is located beside the A12 dual carriageway, which connects east London with Lowestoft; it therefore has good road links with the rest of East Anglia. Notable residents Susanna Corder (1787–1864), educationist and Quaker biographer was born here. C.H. Spurgeon, known as the "Prince of Preachers", was born in Kelvedon on 19 June 1834. Charles Spurgeon was a powerful preacher of the Victorian era and boasted the largest congregation in London, to the extent that his weekly sermon was printed and sold by the thousands. The Metropolitan Tabernacle was built for him. Charles Spurgeon never returned to Kelvedon to preach although he was invited in 1853 to do so in the new Independent Chapel built in the village, an invitation which he refused. There is a blue plaque on a building in Kelvedon High Street commemorating the place of his birth. Actress Juliet Stevenson was born in Kelvedon. Actor Jeremy Sheffield, spent part of his childhood living in Kelvedon. Actor John Dagleish was born and raised in Kelvedon. References External links Kelvedon Free Music Festival Kelvedon Parish Council The Kelvedon Singers Villages in Essex Braintree District