From the discovery of DNA to the Shawshank Redemption, the people of Chelmsford have had their say on what they consider to be most significant events and cultural figures of the last century.

When it comes to celebrities there was a surprising table-topper, with the Fonz, of Happy Days fame, voted Chelmsford’s most popular from the last 100 years.

The Fonz, who was played by Henry Winkler in the hit US sitcom, shared the top spot with David Beckham and Bob Dylan.

Chelmsford residents named The Wizard of Oz as their favourite film followed by The Shawshank Redemption and then The Godfather and Pulp Fiction.

Away from the silver screen, My Fair Lady took the gong for the city’s number one musical, with it favoured ahead of other classics including Mary Poppins and Les Miserables.

As well as popular culture, the study, carried out by online fancy dress retailer Fancy Dress Ball to discover the UK’s favourite decade, also looked at the most significant historical events of the last century according to the public.

The discovery of the structure of DNA topped the study in Chelmsford when respondents were asked what the most significant historical events were, and then closely followed by the Moon Landing and the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic.

However, the city’s women thought that gaining the right to vote in the UK was the most important event.

The fancy dress retailer has developed an interactive online map and postcode checker which shows users the popular decades for fancy dress costumes in their area– now you can see whether Aunty Sybil really is trapped in the ‘40s!

Paul Howcroft of Fancy Dress Ball said of the study : “Decades fancy dress continues to remain a popular choice for party goers and fund raisers.

“Customers of all ages can relate to some of the best loved characters from the decades. The 70’s and 80’s have inspired some of the most popular fancy dress costumes to date.

"People will always want to dress as Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Freddie Mercury as these characters as many of us aspire to be them.

“We put together the decade’s postcode checker to show people how much the nation is still in love with fancy dress and to compare their cultures.

"The team have found some amazing statistics that just show that no city is the same when it comes to their love for the decades.”