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    The Little Book of Essex
    The Little Book of Essex
    The Little Book of Essex
    Ebook290 pages3 hours

    The Little Book of Essex

    By Dee Gordon

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    About this ebook

    The Little Book of Essex is packed full of entertaining bite-sized pieces of historic and contemporary trivia that come together to make essential reading for visitors and locals alike. It can be described as a compendium of frivolity, a reference book of little-known facts, or a wacky guide to one of England's most colourful counties. Dip in randomly, or read consecutively, there are no rules. Be amused and amazed at the stories and history of Essex's landscape, towns, villages, heritage, buildings and, above all, its people.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe History Press
    Release dateDec 26, 2010
    ISBN9780752462639
    The Little Book of Essex
    Author

    Dee Gordon

    DEE GORDON is a former recruitment executive and the author of a number of Essex titles including Southend Memories, Infamous Essex Women and Essex’s Own. She lives in Westcliff-on-Sea.

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      Book preview

      The Little Book of Essex - Dee Gordon

      INTRODUCTION

      Over a recent ten-year period, the population of Essex has increased at a higher rate than anywhere else in the country. For those of us who live here, this is absolutely understandable. So often unfairly maligned, the county has a fascinating history and is full of fascinating places and fascinating people. It is a county bordering London and reaches the eastern coast, London’s nearest beach being that at Leigh-on-Sea. Whether an Essex resident or a visitor, there is a lot more out there than is available in local history books or tourist information centres. Trying to assemble a diverse array of lesser-known insights into a county that so many people think they ‘know’ (even if they’ve never been to Essex), has been challenging, time-consuming but utterly worthwhile. The research has provided such diverse snippets as:

      In

      AD

      587 the Kingdom of Essex incorporated Hertfordshire and Middlesex, and the capital city of Essex was London. King Aescwine, the first king of the independent Saxon Kingdom of Essex, ruled for sixty years.

      The fifty richest Essex people are worth collectively £6 billion according to the 2007 Essex Life rich list, with Alan Sugar predictably at the top.

      The Maldon Embroidery on display at St Peter’s Tower in Maldon’s High Street took three years and eighty-three embroideresses to complete. It is 42ft long and shows the history of the town and the surrounding area from the coming of the Vikings.

      In 1215, four Essex barons were among those (twenty-five in all) who forced King John to put his name to the Magna Carta, the thirteenth-century founding statement of the rights of man.

      There are seventy-two listed red telephone boxes in Essex including a matching pair in Epping and a row of three in Maldon.

      It is possible to walk by field paths across Essex from the outskirts of London to the sea at Harwich or Bradwell-on-Sea.

      The first ever British Olympic champion was an Essex resident, Launceston Elliot. In 1896 he won a gold medal in Athens for a single-handed lift of 71kg in the weight-lifting final and silver for the two-handed lift. Elliot was also the first British athlete to compete in an Olympics as he took part in the first event, the heats for the 100 metres on 6 April 1896, an event in which he failed to qualify, finishing fourth.

      Dunmow Priory in Essex is said to be the resting-place of Robin Hood’s Maid Marian but, sadly, all that remains of the priory is the present church of Dunmow.

      A survey of 1,000 young people aged 18–30, conducted by Sony BMG in 2008, revealed that Southend-on-Sea is the top place in the UK for fun and holiday romance.

      Chocolate boxes and biscuit tins carry fewer pictures of Essex than of any other county.

      1

      TOWNS AND VILLAGES, STREETS AND BUILDINGS

      A

      ROUND THE

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      OUNTY

      There are 14,000 listed buildings in the county compared to 13,000 in Suffolk and 10,000 in Norfolk, both of which have larger geographical areas. Of these, 240 are in Thurrock and over 200 in Coggeshall.

      A nineteenth-century Italian-style manor built on the site of Pyrgo Palace, Havering-atte-Bower (pulled down in the eighteenth century) had every conceivable mod-con including its own gasworks.

      The villagers of Manewdon (now Manuden), Farnham, Elsenham, Stansted and Ugley fought against the national boundary commission in 1888 who wanted to reclassify the villages as being in Hertfordshire, not Essex. The villagers won their argument and remain proud to be in Essex.

      Southend-on-Sea has one of the only planetariums outside London; it is based within the town’s central museum.

      Palaeolithic stone tools have been found in Essex indicating that humans have lived in the area ever since the first Ice Age. As at the 2001 census, the population of Essex was 1,310,922.

      The name Essex originates from East Seaxe or East Saxons, the land of the East Saxons. The county emblem features, a tad alarmingly, three seaxes, a single-edged knife or sword.

      Ingatestone and Brentwood have been listed in the Telegraph’s top twenty richest towns in Britain, while Chelmsford has been listed as number eight in the top twenty places to live by the television programme Location, Location, Location (2007), with Barking and Dagenham at number fourteen of the worst twenty! Castle Point (comprising Canvey Island, Benfleet, Thundersley, Hadleigh) has the highest density of owner-occupiers in the country at 89 per cent, compared to a UK average of 70 per cent.

      Finchingfield is reputed to be the most photographed village in England, and has inspired painters such as Lucien Pisarro and Alfred Munnings. Honeypot Cottage in the village has been immortalised in the Lilliput Lane series of porcelain models.

      The Naze Tower at Walton on the Naze is believed to be the only one of its kind in the country. It was built in 1721, originally as a marker for ships approaching Harwich harbour, and stands 86ft tall.

      Frinton was unique among seaside resorts in not having a pub; not until 2000 that is, when the Lock and Barrel opened despite residential objections. Perhaps more quaintly, even the rustic public toilets on the Greensward have a thatched roof.

      St Osyth has the only naturist beach in Essex (although there is a naturist camp at Springwood, near Colchester).

      The post office at Good Easter used to have a thriving trade during Holy Week from people who wished to have Good Easter stamped on their Easter cards.

      Essex has a coastline that stretches well over 350 miles. The resorts of Dovercourt, Frinton, Walton on the Naze, Clacton-on-Sea, St Osyth and Brightlingsea are known collectively as the Essex Sunshine Coast.

      T

      HE

      U

      NEXPECTED – AND THE

      D

      OWNRIGHT

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      ONFUSING

      Hatfield Heath, 4 miles inside the Essex border, has a Hertfordshire postcode.

      When the Ragged School Union began organising visits to Epping Forest for parties of poor children from the East End (in 1891), the area became known as Lousy Loughton from the lice and fleas said to be left behind. Local streets and parts of the forest were sprayed with disinfectant after the children passed through, but neither this, nor the undignified mode of travel from London with metal identity tags and being locked into train carriages, stopped the children from having fun.

      Ramsey Island, near Bradwell-on-Sea, is not an island. Nor is Foulness Island, alongside Shoeburyness.

      Chelmsford, the county town of Essex since 1250, is not a city in spite of it having a cathedral, and a football team called Chelmsford City. In recent years, it became the first town (or city) in Essex to be declared a Fairtrade town, dedicated to achieving a fairer deal for farmers and producers in the developing world.

      When one of the largest oak trees in Britain, known as the Fairlop Oak, died in 1820 (in Hainault Forest), part of its timber was used to make a pulpit and a reading desk for London’s St Pancras Church, Euston Road.

      Basildon Hall is reputedly the only stately home to ever be blown up by a bottle of whisky. In 1834, after the former palace had downgraded to service as an inn, a travelling salesman fell into a drunken sleep alongside a lighted candle and an uncorked bottle of whisky. The whisky fumes ignited, causing an explosion and fire that destroyed the building and killed the salesman and a woman in the next room. The building, which stood on Clicketts Hill, has since been demolished.

      Wanstead Meeting House (for Quakers) was formerly an archery pavilion and an assembly room where Dickens gave a reading and where William Morris’s sister met her former husband.

      The Temple in the middle of Wanstead Park is the only building still standing that was associated with Wanstead House – but it was not a temple. It was a place for banqueting and entertainment, dating from before 1830.

      A bungalow in Lower Dunton Road, Laindon, was the drop-off and collection point until the 1950s for the muddy wellingtons of those commuters living in the Basildon ‘plotlands’ (pre the New Town) en route to Laindon station. When the property changed hands, the new owners were more than a little perplexed by the filthy footwear appearing on their doorstep.

      The expression ‘Where’s Wally?’ seems to have started out as a genuine announcement on the public address system at the Weeley Rock Festival near Clacton, in August 1971, when Wally had been separated from his friends.

      The ‘secret’ nuclear bunker at Kelvedon Hatch, a relic of the Cold War, is no longer a secret. It was hidden behind an innocuous 1950s bungalow, via a 350ft tunnel and one-and-a-half ton blast doors, with space for 600 key government and military personnel complete with a BBC studio and a mortuary. Since 1992, when it was bought by a local farmer, it could be described as the most all-weather tourist attraction in Britain.

      A traditional African tribal village has been established at Takeley, near Stansted, to promote African culture. The village, Aklowa, and its variety of Ghanaian huts represent the only organisation of its type in Europe.

      The medieval barn housing the Corbett Theatre in Loughton (named after Harry H. Corbett, a benefactor and workshop member) was moved to its site from Ditchling in Sussex in the 1960s. It was dismantled and transported a distance of some 80 miles, and now forms the East 15 campus theatre, part of the University of Essex.

      The largest public collection of Latin American art in Europe is in the University of Essex in Colchester, and the largest collection of written material on jazz in the UK is stored at Loughton Library as the National Jazz Archive.

      S

      OME

      E

      CCENTRIC

      V

      ILLAGE

      N

      AMES IN

      E

      SSEX

      Bacon End, originating from Beacon End, the site of a fire beacon.

      Chignall Smealey, from Cica’s halh (chicken corner) and smethe leah (smooth clearing).

      Cock Clarks, associated with John Coke.

      Cripple Corner, hazy origins.

      Fiddlers Hamlet, originating from the Merry Fiddlers Inn.

      Gore Pit, from gore meaning filth and pytt meaning (Old English) well.

      Maggots End, possible links to Magot(e) family.

      Matching Tye, probably reference to Maecca’s people (Matching) and a cross-roads or clearing (Tye).

      Mucking, meaning Mucca’s people.

      Shellow Bowells, from the manor of Scheuele and the manor-owners the (French?) de Bueles or Bouelles.

      Ugley, possibly from Ugga’s leigh or enclosure.

      Wendens Ambo, from ambo meaning both. Used when Great and Little Ambo became one in 1661.

      A

      ND

      S

      OME

      E

      CCENTRIC

      S

      TREET

      N

      AMES

      Barnaby Rudge, Chelmsford. (One of a number of streets with a Dickens connection, including Little Nell, Magwitch Close and Quilp Drive).

      Break Egg Hill, Billericay, and Burnt Dick Hill, Boxted. Use your imagination for these.

      Caracalla Way, Colchester, is one of several streets named after Roman notables, such as Tiberius Crescent, and Maximus Drive.

      Cringle Lock, South Woodham Ferrers. A cringle is a small hole in the edge of a sail for passing the rope through.

      The Dismals, Terling and Fell Christy, Chelmsford. The Dismals may have gained its name from its location at a crossroads (often associated with the supernatural and the unlucky), and Fell Christy was a partner in a local engineering works making agricultural machinery.

      Gandalfs Ride, South Woodham Ferrers. This is one of a number of streets in an area known as the Middle Earth Estate, all with names derived from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Other examples are Butterbur Chase, Elronds Rest, Hobbiton Hill, and The Withywindle.

      Neil Armstrong Way, Leigh-on-Sea, is among a collection of similar names on the Astronaut Estate.

      Toot Hill Road, near Chipping Ongar, means a look-out place.

      Twitty Fee, Chelmsford, with possible links to William Twitye. Feot is an old name for possession.

      T

      EN

      E

      SSEX

      P

      LACE

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      AMES

      Y

      OU

      C

      AN

      F

      IND IN THE

      USA

      There is a Braintree in Vermont, a Brentwood in New Hampshire, a Chelmsford in Massachusetts, Colchester(s) in Connecticut and Vermont, Epping in New Hampshire, Harwich in Massachusetts, Romford in Connecticut, Springfield(s) in abundance (with the added status of being home to The Simpsons), Wickford in Washington County and Woodford in Vermont.

      A F

      EW

      R

      OMAN

      R

      EMAINS

      Colchester still has long stretches of Roman town wall, and the largest, most complete surviving Roman gateway in Britain: the Balkerne Gate. When Camulodunum (as it was known) was developed by the Romans in about ad 43, it was the first time bricks and mortar were used in Britain, creating familiar structures. A giant circus, or chariot racing track, was excavated in the town in Abbey Field in 2004. The circus is the only one to have been found in the UK and one of only six in the world.

      A Roman farmhouse and barn at Boreham, near Caesaromagnus (Chelmsford – the only town to be dignified with the imperial title), excavated at the end of last century, produced evidence of an affluent lifestyle such as a bath-house, with signs of such imported food as olives. The site also seems to have been a location for the pursuit of falconry, one of the earliest indicators in Britain of this rich man’s pursuit.

      A 2m stretch of wall is all that remains of Othona Fort, Bradwell-on-Sea. It was originally a hugely significant defence against the Saxons, built in the later years of occupation (between ad 250 and ad 270) as part of a chain of forts.

      The foundations of a Romano-Celtic temple were discovered in Harlow in the 1950s. This square temple features 3ft thick walls, and is one of only fifteen or so known such buildings in Britain, and the only one fronted by a substantial rectangular porch. Six villas and other settlements have also been discovered in the nearby Stort Valley.

      U

      NUSUAL

      L

      ISTED

      B

      UILDINGS

      Barking Magistrates’ Court (built in 1893) – not only the building, but also its railings, lamps and lamp holders.

      Renowned for its Art Deco interior is the Baggage Hall at Tilbury Riverside station.

      Jetty No. 4 (and the Approach), a 500ft long stretch of jetty in Dagenham Dock, is among Britain’s earliest surviving reinforced concrete structures.

      The canteen at the Rhône-Poulenc building in Dagenham. This is a post-Second World War edifice, with Rhône-Poulenc since reborn as Aventis Pharma (a pharmaceutical company).

      The booking hall concourse at Barking station, opened by the Queen in 1961. Its cantilevered structure was a pioneering design at the time.

      Brooke House in Basildon, a 1960s multi-storey tower of flats. This was designed by Sir Basil Spence, architect of Coventry Cathedral.

      T

      HE

      S

      MALLEST,

      L

      ARGEST,

      O

      LDEST,

      L

      ONGEST,

      H

      IGHEST

      When the Becontree council housing estate (spread over Barking, Ilford and Dagenham) was built in the 1920s, it was the largest council estate in the world. By the time it was completed in 1938, it accommodated 115,652 people in 25,736 dwellings – effectively the first English ‘New Town’.

      Southend Pier, at 1.33 miles, remains the longest in the world.

      Chelmsford was the first place in Britain to install electric street lighting in 1888. However, the council were not forward thinking about such technology and reverted for a while back to gas lighting because it was cheaper.

      The first purpose-built cinema in the country is reputed to be the Harwich Electric Palace, which has been restored and still attracts cinema-goers. In its original form, from 1911, it attracted fishermen straight from port-side and as a result was sprayed with disinfectant perfume at the end of performances.

      The first cinema built after the Second World War was the Odeon in Harlow, opened in 1960.

      The highest point of the county is Chrishall Common near

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