Remembrance Sunday 2027 is on 14 November. In 2026 the service at the Duke Street war memorial began at 10.55am, with roads shut from 10am to 12.30pm.

Chelmsford’s next Remembrance Sunday falls on Sunday 14 November 2027, the second Sunday of the month. The council has not yet published its 2027 arrangements.

Remembrance Sunday 2026 was on 8 November. The Dean of Chelmsford led the service at the memorial, and the parade marched along Rainsford Road and back past the memorial, where the Mayor took the salute. The council says residents lined the route (Chelmsford City Council, 9 November 2026).

Overview

  • Remembrance Sunday 2027 is Sunday 14 November. Armistice Day 2027 falls on Thursday 11 November.
  • Remembrance Sunday 2026 was 8 November. The service started at 10.55am, and roads and the bus station were shut from 10am to 12.30pm. The details below are kept as a guide for next year.
  • The council has not published its 2027 arrangements. In 2026 they appeared on 2 November, six days before the service.
  • Chelmsford’s first Poppy Festival in 2026 put about 75,000 handmade poppies on display at High Chelmer, the Indoor Market and South Woodham Ferrers town centre.

Updated 12 November: the page now looks ahead to Remembrance Sunday 2027 on 14 November. The 2026 arrangements below are kept as a guide.

Updated 10 November: the council has confirmed a short Armistice Day ceremony with the Mayor at the war memorial on Wednesday 11 November, with maroons at 11am. Remembrance Sunday’s service and parade took place on 8 November.

Updated 3 November: the council has published the 2026 start time, the order of service and a longer list of road closures than in past years, including the bus station.

What is confirmed, and what is not

Chelmsford Remembrance Sunday 2026, as published by the council on 2 November
DetailPosition
DateSunday 8 November 2026, the second Sunday of November
PlaceWar Memorial, Duke Street
Start time10.55am, silence at 11am
Road closures10am to 12.30pm, 21 roads in full or in part
Bus stationClosed 10am to 12.30pm, temporary stops in use
Armistice DayWednesday 11 November 2026

How the morning ran in 2026

This is the order the council published for 2026 (Remembrance Sunday 2026 page).

  1. The service began at the War Memorial at 10.55am. It is conducted by the Dean of Chelmsford, the Very Reverend Dr Jessica Martin. Representatives of the Chelmsford Boys’ Brigade and the Royal British Legion’s Chelmsford branch read from Laurence Binyon’s “For the Fallen”.
  2. Maroons are fired at 11am to mark the two-minute silence.
  3. Wreaths are laid by representatives of the Armed Forces, veterans’ organisations, community groups and the city council.
  4. The parade marches off along Rainsford Road, then returns to march past the War Memorial, where the Mayor, Councillor Lynne Foster, takes the salute. The council asks spectators to stay in their places for it.

The order of service, with the hymns and prayers, is still online. The hymn was “O God, our help in ages past”.

Chelmsford’s Poppy Festival: where to see the displays

About 75,000 knitted, crocheted and sewn poppies have been stitched on to netting for Chelmsford’s first Poppy Festival, in support of this year’s Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. The council announced the displays on 27 October (Chelmsford City Council, 27 October 2026). Where to find them, as the council lists them:

  • High Chelmer Shopping Centre, where the festival was launched
  • Chelmsford Indoor Market
  • South Woodham Ferrers bandstand and town centre, being installed on Wednesday 28 October
  • Chelmsford Cathedral, “to be installed soon, subject to weather conditions”
  • The Civic Centre and war memorial, “to be installed shortly subject to weather conditions”

The project was co-ordinated by Chelmsford CVS. The council says more than 200 people came to a knit-a-thon at the cathedral in August and about 250 volunteers helped sew the displays together, with poppies sent from as far as Nottingham, Blackpool and Australia.

Armistice Day, 11 November

In 2026 the council announced a short Remembrance ceremony with the Mayor at the war memorial on Duke Street on Wednesday 11 November, with maroons fired ahead of the two-minute silence at 11am (Chelmsford City Council, 9 November 2026).

Laying a wreath

Organisations that want to lay a wreath during the service register in advance. In 2025 the council asked them to email the Mayor’s office at mayors.office@chelmsford.gov.uk with the organisation’s name. The same address was used in 2022.

Road closures and parking

In 2026 closures ran from 10am to 12.30pm on Sunday 8 November. In 2022 and 2025 only parts of Duke Street shut; in 2026 the council widened them. Full or partial closures affect:

Roads closed in full or in part, 10am to 12.30pm, Sunday 8 November 2026
Broomfield RoadBurgess SpringsCedar Avenue
CornhillCoval LaneDuke Street
Fairfield RoadMarket RoadNew London Road
Park RoadRailway SquareRailway Street
Rainsford RoadThreadneedle StreetTindal Street
Townfield StreetViaduct RoadVictoria Road
Victoria Road SouthWells StreetWicks Place

The council’s road closure map (PDF) shows which stretches are shut. What it means on the day:

  • The bus station was closed from 10am to 12.30pm, with temporary stops in use.
  • Fairfield Road and West End car parks could not be reached from 10am. The council pointed drivers to Coval Lane and Waterhouse Lane car parks instead.
  • Railway Square and Railway Street were on the list, so allow extra time for the station if 2027 follows the same plan.

Sunday tariffs are on our parking in Chelmsford page, and any wider closures will be on our roadworks and travel page.

The Remembrance concert

The Royal British Legion Remembrance Concert, in aid of the Poppy Appeal, is was at Chelmsford Theatre on Monday 12 October 2026 at 7.30pm. Tickets were £22 to £25, with a concession price for veterans (Chelmsford Theatre).

What we will update, and when

  • The 2027 service time, road closures and order of service, when the council publishes them (it did so on 2 November in 2026).
  • Parish services in South Woodham Ferrers, Great Baddow, Writtle, Danbury and the other villages, which parish councils and churches announce separately.

More this autumn

Sources