Southend History

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Armorial Bearings	Early History	St. Mary's Church	The Priory & Museum	Priory Park & Benefactor
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Armorial Bearings of the County Borough

In 1892, the Corporation was granted Arms consisting of a crest depicting a three-masted ship above a shield showing the church of St. Mary the Virgin, a well at Prittlewell, the Pier, and the emblem of the county of Essex. The motto was Forti nihil difficile ("To the brave nothing is difficult").
These Arms were replaced by the existing armorial bearings:
The Abbey in Cluny, France, founded by a sect of the Benedictine Order of Monks in the tenth century, established a settlement in England, including the Cluniac Priory of St. Mary, Prittlewell, which had a great influence over this district. The seal of the Priory contained a Lily Pot, the emblem of the Virgin, and representing the Mother Parish of St. Mary, Prittlewell. The Lily Pot therefore forms the central feature of the Arms in the shield and is shown on a silver "pile" (ie, the white triangular background in the centre of the shield).

The rest of the background is blue, indicative of the sea. In the middle of the shield to the left is a golden anchor, the emblem of St. Clement, the Patron Saint of Leigh. To the right is a golden gridiron, the emblem of St. Laurence, the Patron Saint of Eastwood. At the bottom of the shield is a golden trefoil, the emblem of Holy Trinity, the Parish Church of Southchurch. The supporters, or figures supporting the shield, are on the left a medieval fisherman, trailing a net with his right hand, and on the right a bearded Monk of the Cluniac Order, holding a red book in his right hand and a staff in his left hand, and these were chosen because it was largely due to the efforts of these two classes of men that the place first distinguished itself.

The Crest, placed above the shield, is all in red, and represents a ship's mast coming out of a mural crown, and flying an early English flag, containing the Cross of St. George, England's Patron Saint. A "mural crown" is a coronet made of masonry to represent the walls of a City, and is an honourable distinction, associated with Crests of several Cities and Towns.

The motto - Per Mare Per Ecclesiam - "By the Sea and by the Church" - recognises that the importance and growth of the County Borough are due to these two great influences.

The Livery colours of Southend-on-Sea are Blue and Silver. The Arms and Crest were granted by Letters Patent dated 1st January, 5 George V, 1915. The supporters were granted by Letters Patent dated 2nd January, 5 George V, 1915.

Early History Back to Top
Although the town is of comparatively modern growth, its roots are deeply embedded in the past. The Doomsday Book, compiled by William I in 1086 contains references to the dry and sunny region of south-east England, and to the parishes of Prittlewell, Leigh, Shoeburyness and Eastwood, which now comprise the area upon which this town is built. This area has been peopled from remote times. Ten thousand years ago families of the Stone Age lived in mud and thatch huts beside the Prittle Brook, the fresh water stream which has had such a great influence on life in Prittlewell, and from which the name Prittlewell is derived. At first they were hunters, as their ancestors had been, but as centuries passed, through the Bronze Age and into the Iron Age, they lived a more settled existence. They knew how to weave cloth and make pottery. They made clearings in the extensive woodland; they kept cattle, sheep and pigs in enclosures and planted cereals. They became farmers. There were also successive occupations by Celts, Romans, Saxons and Danes.

Claudius invaded Britain with his Roman legions in 43 AD. No Roman army was garrisoned here, but a Roman style villa or farmhouse was built - beside the Prittle brook near where it turns east towards the north in the area we now know as Priory park. It seems likely that the location was chosen because the Romans discovered that a fresh water spring rose to near the surface at that point of the brook.
The arrival of the Roman way of life was probably a great culture shock to the people of Prittlewell. The villa needed workers from the local population to run the farmstead, and paid work at that. The villa possessed high quality pottery and glass from the continent, perfumed oils and items of dress and jewellery the like of which the locals had never seen before.
It was the policy of the Romans to work with the local population wherever possible and to introduce new skills, new products and new ideas. The remains of clay roof tiles found in the area suggest that the craft of brick and tile making may have been introduced here. There are certainly deposits of clay suitable for brick making even today.
A change in the lives of Prittlewell people occurred in the early part of the 4th century when, under Emperor Constantine, Christianity was introduced into Britain as the state religion. There was no sudden conversion to Christianity in Prittlewell, but perhaps an early indication of the new faith was marked by a simple cross, placed in a clearing at the top of Prittlewell hill; a meeting place to hear the word of the Lord.

The top of the hill was also a good look-out point, for during the period of Roman occupation Saxon raiders mounted ever increasing attacks on the settlements along the Essex coastline. And after the Roman army was withdrawn from Britain, the way was open for Saxons to occupy the land. Farmsteads were taken over, cultivated land was seized, and new settlements were set up.

The pagan Saxons settled in this area from A.D. 500 to A.D. 650, and the Saxon way of life was established in large parts of Britain, and in Prittlewell. It was the Saxons who first introduced the place names "Essex" - the land of the East Saxons, and "Prittlewell" (originally Pritteuuella) the Saxon name for a stream or spring, for the Saxons regarded certain springs as 'holy'. Whether the cross on Prittlewell Hill or a small chapel survived during the early occupation by the Saxons is doubtful since the Saxons were pagan.

There is evidence that the settlement along the Prittle brook gradually spread up the hill (to where St. Mary's church now stands) and the layout of the developing village established there for all time. Most of the trade in Saxon times seems to have been mainly on a local basis. Woven cloth and the surplus products of livestock and agriculture, leatherwork, pottery and iron tools sold or exchanged for other household essentials - the beginning of market trading in Prittlewell.

Around about the A.D. 607, Mellitus was sent from Rome to bring Christianity back to the land of the East Saxons. He converted King Sebert of Essex and slowly Christianity returned to Prittlewell. Perhaps the church on the hill was restored at this time and even enlarged and improved with stone walls and a sturdy construction typical of Saxon building. All this came to naught when King Sebert died and his sons, who never gave up the pagan way of life, ruled this part of the land. Some forty years later, in the 650s Cedd, who later became Bishop of the East Saxons, arrived and Christianity was restored - changing fortunes for the people of Prittlewell and the church on the hill.

In the A.D. 894, King Alfred's men defeated the Danes at the "Battle of Benfleet", driving them across the site of modern Southend to Shoeburyness, where they entrenched and formed a settlement. In this area many battles against the Danish sea marauders and pirates took place, Essex having been one of the chief centres of the fighting, and was constantly invaded by Danes, Vikings and Norsemen. Little seems to have disrupted the peaceful way of life through the centuries.

Anglo-Saxon Prittlewell thrived for several centuries, although the East coast of Britain suffered attacks by Danes and Vikings, which increased in frequency and intensity until, from about A.D. 990, large battle fleets from Denmark brought great destruction to villages and settlements in Essex. The people of Essex were driven ever further westward, their place taken by Danish raiders and farmer-settlers who followed closely behind. Almost nothing is known of the fate of Prittlewell during this time, except that great battles with the Danes raged all around - at Benfleet, at Ashingdon and Shoebury, all only a few miles away. Indeed it could be that the Danes were unaware of the existence of Prittlewell at that time. It was situated in woodland which concealed dwellings from the low lying land all around and Prittlewell hill was an excellent lookout point to see approaching raiders giving time to secrete livestock, and even the villagers, deep in the woodlands until danger had passed.

Fortunes changed again following the invasion of William, Duke of Normandy in 1066. Late on during the Danish occupation, a very wealthy man called Fitzsweyne (also known as Robert d'Essex), acquired considerable land holdings in Essex, including Prittlewell. His name is important in the history of this place because it seems he changed his allegiance to the Norman King William and even managed to increase the number of rural estates he held.
It was the beginning of a new order based on the ownership of land - the Feudal System. As a major land-holder, Fitzsweyne and his successors had a big influence on life in Prittlewell. This was the era of the manor house with farms and extensive lands, cottages for servants of the manor and a few small-holdings held by tenants.
At the time of the Doomsday Survey of 1086 there were 27 servants of Prittlewell manor and presumably some of them had families.

William, Duke of Normandy

So the village was quite small and mainly set around the church on the hill, which was also mentioned in the Survey.
During the reign of Henry I, Fitzsweyne, the Lord of the Manor, gave the church at Prittlewell, plus some thirty acres of land it possessed, together with the chapels at Sutton and Eastwood, to the Cluniac Priory of St. Pancras of Lewes. The reason for this generous gift was for the maintenance of a priory soon to be established at Prittlewell. This was between the years 1110 and 1120, and at about the same time, extensive improvements and alterations were carried out to the church. As the centuries passed and the priory gained in importance so the village grew to service both the manor and the priory.

From the 1300s to the end of the 1400s great changes occurred which affected not only Prittlewell but the whole of Britain. In the years around 1350, the Black Death killed one in three persons in most English communities. This ultimately led to a great shortage of labour, and the lords of the manors had to increase wages two or three fold to keep sufficient labour to work the farms. In 1381, men of Prittlewell were involved in the Peasants' Revolt, and by the1400s the feudal system in England had come to an end.
After the turmoil of the previous centuries the Tudor age began quietly for the village. Henry VIII nearly came here, but had more attractive engagements in Rochford village only two miles to the north.

Reminders of the Tudor Age in the church are the carved stone font which commemorates Henry's accession to the throne and his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and a fine carved oak door, both still in use today. But the calm and relative prosperity of the Tudor age was not to last. For many years in parts of Europe, there had been calls for reform of the teachings of the Catholic church, and Henry's break with Rome in 1534 furthered the aims of the Reformation in England. The priory at Prittlewell was closed down and its land and possessions taken by the Crown. This could have been very bad news for the poor and the sick of the parish because the priory had provided relief to those in need and had contributed in many other ways to the wellbeing of Prittlewell.

15th century house opposite St. Mary's church

However, in the few years before its dissolution, the Priory's influence in village affairs had declined and some of its former responsibilities had been taken over by members of the parish community. A Jesus Guild was formed in Prittlewell in 1468, some thirty years after similar guilds were established elsewhere. The Guild took care of relief of the poor, repair and improvement of the fabric of the church, maintenance of the highways and many other aspects of village life, all financed by a few well-to-do local residents. A Jesus Priest was appointed and a Jesus Chapel established in the church. Apart from saying the daily offices, the Jesus Priest was also responsible for the education of the children of the parish. The Jesus Guild was the beginning of local government in Prittlewell, where at that time the residents numbered about 300.

The first permanent school, the Guildhouse School, Prittlewell, was founded in 1477 by the Jesus Guild to educate boys of poor parents, and survived until the 17th century.

After nearly a hundred years of existence, the Jesus Guild was suppressed as a further effect of the Reformation and many of its assets and valuables seized. Later, in 1552, Commissioners of King Edward VI visited the church at Prittlewell to make an inventory of the church's possessions. Fortunately, probably remembering the fate of the jewels held by the Jesus Guild, the churchwardens had the foresight to sell much of the church plate 'to make essential repairs to the church' before they, too, were confiscated by the Crown.

The Prittle Brook is a stream that begins between Hadleigh and Thundersley, and passes though Daws Heath. It flows through the West Wood, the Great Wood, and Belfairs, and for about 2 miles through a built up area of Leigh, Westcliff and Prittlewell, and into the ponds in Priory Park, before continuing to the River Roach. The Southend Corporation maintained a pleasant pathway alongside its approach to the town. In 1939, sluice gates were fitted at intervals between Leigh and Prittlewell to dam the Brook. This created an emergency water supply of over a million gallons during the Second World War.
The actual Prittlewell appears to be the spring which fed the smaller and most easterly of the two fishponds in Priory Park.

Although by now most of the affairs of the village were run by the local 'council', life was not all that easy. In 1573 the village blacksmith was charged with setting himself up as a musician without having been apprenticed to the trade. A tailor was prosecuted for setting up as a grocer and two collar makers charged for setting up as saddlers. In 1641, Edward Evered, described as a yeoman of Prittlewell, was charged with obtaining a number of chickens, eggs and a quantity of butter with the intention of re-selling them. Enterprise was not to be encouraged. Also in the 1600s several men of Prittlewell were charged with not scouring the ditches outside their properties to prevent flooding.

In 1620, Barnaby Barker was accused of laying offal in the road beside the tannery he owned to the annoyance of the public and also, presumably, to the detriment of the Prittle brook which passes under the road just here, and to the village well which also became a nuisance and was eventually covered in.
The Old Pump which was erected by the parish in 1814 (having been moved when the bridge was substantially improved in about 1800 - The earliest record of the bridge over the Prittle Brook was in 1285 where Richard de Southchurch and the Prior of Prittlewell were declared by the local jurors to be jointly responsible for the maintenance of it).

Click image for enlarged view

As late as 1864, the main water supply of the village was from this pump at the bottom of the hill. Water was collected in a water cart and sold in the village at a half-penny a bucket. The remains of a later pump can still be seen near the park gates.

Sometime around the year 1700, a fisherman named Outing, discovering by accident the value of the foreshore at Southchurch as a feeding-ground for oysters, took a lease of part of the foreshore and began the successful business of oyster cultivation. The business made a great deal of money and Outing could soon afford to build a house near the shore. Others soon followed his example, and by 1724 practically the whole of the foreshore from Shoebury to Hadleigh, so far as the ground was suitable, was devoted to oyster cultivation. It was this industry which brought into being the small village of South End (The name South End was first recorded in 1481 in the will of William Skott), an industry which flourished during the 18th century and continued until the second half of the 19th century. At its peak, 70% of the world's oyster consumption came from the rivers and flats of this part of the country.

The village, somewhat isolated from the new town, retained its individuality and its customs. There is some evidence that weekly markets and an annual fair were held in Prittlewell from the middle of the thirteenth century. Certainly from the early 1600s to the middle of the 19th century the annual fair at Prittlewell was said to be one of the great events in the parish year. At the time of the fair some of the dwellings around the church became temporary boarding houses, or 'Pad and Cans' as they were known - patrons were given a pad to sleep on and a can in which to boil water, and very little else. There were also at some time nine alehouses in the village. Too many, it was thought, by the parish council.

In 1727, the village parishioners, headed by the Vicar, the Rev. T. Case, persuaded Daniel Scratton, then owner of the Priory and Prittlewell manor, to set up a Church of England school with John Coles and his wife as teachers. A school was erected on some acres of land he owned near the bridge in North Street, known as Glynds, a garden near the pathway leading from Prittlewell Priory towards Prittlewell Church, and a small parcel of garden known as Mill Croft, part of which was occupied by the headmaster. In addition to the paying pupils, Scratton paid for 10 - and after 1739, 16 children to have free instruction in reading, writing and religion. This was the C. of E. school in East Street, which still exists, and is thus the oldest public school in the town.

'Glynds' in North Street (Victoria Avenue)

In 1727, the village parishioners, headed by the Vicar, the Rev. T. Case, persuaded Daniel Scratton, then owner of the Priory and Prittlewell manor, to set up a Church of England school with John Coles and his wife as teachers. A school was erected on some acres of land he owned near the bridge in North Street, known as Glynds, a garden near the pathway leading from Prittlewell Priory towards Prittlewell Church, and a small parcel of garden known as Mill Croft, part of which was occupied by the headmaster. In addition to the paying pupils, Scratton paid for 10 - and after 1739, 16 children to have free instruction in reading, writing and religion.

This was the C. of E. school in East Street, which still exists, and is thus the oldest public school in the town.

Around 1747, "Bridge House" was built opposite Priory Park, and was an appendage to a tanyard. (In the latter half of the 19th century, it belonged to a Drapers Company.)

In 1758, what was known as Southend comprised Thames Farm and Arthur's Land, so named after its owner. The latter property was rated in one assessment and is said to have included the site now occupied by the Ship Hotel, Old Brewery, Pleasant Row and Marine Parade. Old Southend was bounded by Southchurch on the east, Porter's Estate on the North, and the high ridge of land on the west subsequently to be crowned by Royal Terrace and Hotel.

By the middle of the 18th century the custom of visiting the coast for sea-bathing was becoming fashionable, and South End had been attracting a few visitors for a number of years, and the building of Pleasant Row in 1767 suggests that events were encouraging some effort towards improvement or development. in 1768 the first proposals were put forward to make Southend a bathing resort.

In 1780 the village had nineteen houses. By 1785 the popularity of South End had increased to such an extent that it was proposed to build "a most elegant hotel", the cost of it to be raised by subscription. In 1787 an Act was passed for paving, lighting and otherwise improving the town. In 1790, Prittlewell's lord of the manor and chief landowner, Daniel Scratton, let 35½ acres of land at the top of the Cliffs for the construction of a new 'watering place'. An eight-acre grove of ash trees (on the site of Grove Terrace) was felled. A year later the building work began on the Terrace, the Grand Hotel (the centrepiece of the development scheme), the Library, sixty houses and two inns. These were the Duchess of York and the Duke of Clarence, completed in 1792. Two terraces ('Royal' and 'Grove') formed part of the development, together with associated mews. A market garden was also created (on the site of York Road market), and the 'track that led from Prittlewell' was laid out as the High Street.
A ball held on the opening night of the hotel on July 8th 1793, attracted 170 guests, among them being distinguished visitors to the town and members of the leading families of the district.

The rise of the town as a health resort dates from about 1794, when it became a fashionable place for sea-bathing (This was a development of the earlier spa-treatment; sea-water being used for drinking purposes as medicinal waters were taken at inland spas). The fact that sea bathing was only possible at certain times of the day, and was dependant on the state of the tide, and the fact that visitors to Margate and Brighton had covered baths, led to consideration of the same provision for South End.

From Gentleman's Magazine, 1794:
"...From the shore ariseth a bold declivity mantled with evergreens...various walks intersect with each other...thro' shades where seats are placed secure from the sun's heat...Should the impending cloud, apparently teeming with rain, deter those delighting in rural walks from taking their diurnal exercise even though defended by an umbrella, the day may not be lost; for the romantic library, the elegant card, assembly and coffee rooms all combine against the ennui of a summer afternoon's gloom."

Southend had achieved a regular postal service, and by 1794 there was a delivery from London four times a week, and in 1812, a daily delivery.

By 1800 Prittlewell village consisted of property adjacent to the church. In East Street, houses and shops stood for a distance of about half-way between the Blue Boar and Sutton Road. There were few houses at the eastern end of West Street (West Road), and in North Street (Victoria Avenue) property extended nearly as far as Earls Hall. To reach Old South End by road the route was by Sutton Road and the lane by Thames Farm; this lane followed the line of the present Old Southend Road and reached the shore in the vicinity of the Kursaal.
The different interests of the new town of Southend and the old village of Prittlewell, due to their social and business life and aspirations, became more pronounced with the passing of the years.

Click image for larger view of 1824 map

In 1801, Princess Charlotte of Wales, when she was five years old (and then second in line to the throne), was sent to South End by her medical advisers for sea-bathing. She stayed at Southchurch Lawn, and Mrs. Glasscock, with her smart new bathing machines, was put in charge of the duckings of the Royal child. The Rev. Thomas Archer, curate of Southchurch and Shoebury, had the care of her spirit. It was this visit that gave South End the standing in court and society circles that it had been lacking. South End could now boast of Royal patronage.
Two years after the visit of Princess Charlotte, her mother, Caroline, Princess of Wales, visited Southend, perhaps because she was impressed by what it had done for her little daughter's health, perhaps because it was the newest fad among resorts, or perhaps indeed because Captain Manby's frigate Africane, found it convenient to put in there.
Royal support had helped the development of Brighton and Weymouth, so the visit of the Princess set a vogue for the resort. During her stay she occupied two houses on the terrace - and to this visit Royal Terrace and the Royal Hotel were named.
In many respects, Southend was a distinct and separate community (having fifty-one houses by 1802), and the contrast between the two places could hardly have been greater. 1829 saw action forced on the town if it was to survive the competition as a resort, and in 1830 the first section of the Pier was constructed.
It is worth noting that the promising young author of Vivian Grey, Benjamin Disraeli, referred to Southend in 1833 as "a row of houses called a town". Southend had remained within the jurisdiction of the parish of Prittlewell for around fifty years, but in 1842, on the creation of the separate parish of St. John the Baptist, it attained a measure of independence.

The coming of the railway opened up the real potential for Southend in 1854, and development began - schools were built, the water and gas works were constructed, and the Cliff Town estate had been started. Three new hotels were built: the Middleton, the Army and Navy, and the Minerva. Following the development of the Cliff Town estate, the building of residential property proceeded on the Porters Town and Park estates.
The fashion for seaside holidays increased, and the roads and road services were improved to meet the demands. Up until then, it appears that little had been done to increase the number of visitors or to improve the accommodation for them, but a scheme was launched for the town to render Southend a convenient place for bathing.
City workers and others in increasing numbers took up residence in the town, which was by now more accessible also to summer visitors, and impetus was given to its expansion and commercial life. Estates were developed, and Old and New Southend became a single unit from which has grown modern Southend-on-Sea. The building of the Ship Hotel at that time may have been a part of this scheme, as it would have provided paying guests with better accomodation than the cottages could offer.

Southend c1831

East Street, Prittlewell c1925

The Ship Hotel and the Kursaal

Clifftown Parade

However, with other seaside resorts like Margate and Brighton offering social entertainment, Southend had to develop to attract more visitors. The fact that it was only half the distance for Londoners to travel to Southend than to Margate, was not enough on its own to encourage them to come in any great numbers. So on the higher land above the Cliffs, which until then had been an area of woodland waste, arose New South End. The site had enormous virtues - not least the sea views.
The principle business of the resort and the daily life of its inhabitants were centred in Old South End, as distinct from the brief summer activity of the fashionable quarter at the top of the hill. A guide-book was produced in 1824, emphasising its healthiness, and promoting the town as a quietly respectable watering place, and this attracted a new, lower-middle class visitor.

In 1848 Punch made some jokes about the sleepiness of Southend, and said that it was "well worth seeing - with a microscope."

The town was agitated by the 1850s by the activities of a sect founded by an ex-poacher called James Banyard of Rochford, who preached that there is no sin in Christians; preached too of the laying of hands and faith-healing. But when in a moment of doubt he brought a doctor to his dying daughter, his followers, who were extremely numerous, broke off from him and formed another sect. They called themselves Peculiar People, because they are God's peculiar choice. Their preaching caused considerable excitement in South Essex.

Although the Gas Light & Coke Company was formed in London in 1810, Southend did not get a supply of gas until 1855, the Southend Gas Light & Coke Company having been formed in the previous year. At first, apart from the railway station, only old Southend received a supply. Messrs. Peto, Betts & Co. tried to merge the gas company with their firm, threatening in 1861 to build their own gas works to supply New Southend. Finally they gave in, laying the company's mains and taking its supply in New Southend at an agreed price. The L.N.E. railway took a supply in 1889, and in the following year it was made available in Prittlewell.

During the reign of George IV Southend maintained its position among the smaller watering places, but still showed no real signs of competing with Brighton, Margate or even Tunbridge Wells.
It still continued as the Old and New or Lower and Upper towns, although together they did not cover any great area. There were sailings to and from London and coaches in and out of Southend on a regular basis, and the attraction of visiting this 'retired watering place' steadily gained popularity. Alexandra Street became completely built up in 1860-72.
In 1869 the Scratton estates were offered for sale. The first part consisted of the area between Mews Road (behind Royal Terrace) and the railway. At that time Alexandra Road was newly made, and York Street was the only road on the east side of High Street. The second part of the sale included the area north of the railway bounded by Scratton Road, High Street, London Road and Avenue Road, in which was the cricket field situated between Avenue Road and Park Road. The third part was of the Priory and Milton Hall estates; the priory buildings were not sold by auction, but were later disposed of by private treaty. The Hamlet Mill was in good working order and stood at the south end of Avenue Road, north-west of the railway bridge there. On the sale of the estates, Mr. Scratton placed The Shrubbery in the hands of trustees, who proposed to make such regulations as would be necessary for the security of good order and proper conduct, and ask every householder for ten shillings a year for upkeep (The Shrubbery passed into the ownership of the Corporation in 1918).

The West Cliffs were until now (1873) mostly exposed soil and sand. The Cliff Town Estates syndicate started planting trees and shrubs, many of which were donated by residents. Southend had its first issue of "The Southend Standard" on May 16th 1873. During its earliest years the Standard published national and international as well as local news, and although it declared it had no political affiliations, it did subscribe editorially to the Conservative viewpoint.

The Southend Fire Brigade was founded in 1875, but it didn't get a permanent headquarters until the Central Fire Station in Tyler's Avenue was built in 1901. The Brigade also opened a branch at Westcliff, near the Cricketers Inn, and in 1909 had two steam-powered tenders and pumps. Despite few demands on the Brigade, it was decided in 1912 to introduce an all-night watch of one man at the Central Fire Station owing to the growth of the town.

Warrior Square appeared c1870, and the first part of Victoria Avenue in 1879 (It was a further ten years before the road reached Prittlewell).
Around 1880-5, houses and shops began to spread along the foreshore at Southchurch Beach.
Although there was a windmill in Park Road as late as 1880-90, the many old windmills of the district had disappeared.

The "Southend Observer" newspaper produced its first issue on July 2nd, 1880, from its premises in Alexandra Street. It was published every Wednesday through 'Essex Weekly News Series Ltd' (They also published a newspaper on Fridays called "The Essex Weekly News"). In 1884, Essex was shaken by an earthquake which was felt in Southend, but caused little damage.

The firm of H. Garon Ltd - owners of food shops, restaurants, a hotel, bakery, cinema, etc, came into existence with the opening of a shop at 64 High Street in 1885 (This was soon followed by other shops, and in 1890 the first of Garon's ten cafe's and restaurants was opened). The streets between the railway station and Alexandra Street, ie, Clarence Street, Weston Road, and Clarence Road, were completed in 1887. In that same year Prittlewell was described as "An ancient and agreeable village, consisting of two streets and right angles to one another".

1888 saw disaster as heavy rains caused the sea walls to collapse and the LMS Railway was closed for several days, due to the track ballast being swept away.

In 1897, another tremendous flood occurred at Southend, Leigh, and other places on the Thames side. Practically the whole of Marine and Southchurch parades and intervening roadways, etc., were submerged to a depth of several feet. The school children from the National School having to be rowed home. The railway between Leigh and Benfleet was flooded, and the service temporarily suspended. The town, which then had a population of 12,333 at the previous year's census, was divided into three wards, with six councellors for each. In 1897 Southchurch was included in the Borough. The late R. A. Jones established his jewellery business - later R. A. Jones & Sons, Ltd. - in the High Street in 1890.

In 1889 a new road was opened between the church and the "Blue Boar" public house, giving easier access to London. The shopping centre was shifted from Nelson Street to the still tree-lined High Street.

In 1892 the Local Board was superseded by a municipal corporation and Southend became a Borough, its area comprising the whole of the old parish of Prittlewell (A proposal in 1907 to change its name to Thamesmouth met with little favour; Southend was Southend to all and sundry, too deeply ingrained as a placename associated with pleasure to be changed).

In 1894, Southend had the notoriety of a murder, trial and execution.
James Reed, a London Clerk, had killed a pregnant girl and disappeared to Mitcham to live with another. He met his death with curious composure. “Button my coat,” he said to the executioner before accepting his ministration.

The statue of Queen Victoria, a monumental work by Mr. Joseph William Swynnerton (1848-1910), of the great monarch which created quite a sensation in art circles, was presented by Mayor Bernard Wiltshire Tolhurst, to the town to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee in 1897. It was originally situated at the top of Pier Hill, in 1962 it was moved to its present position in Clifftown Parade. Residents joked that in her original position she pointed to the gent's toilets!

The first telephone exchange in Southend was opened in 1900, and was set up in one small room of a private house at the corner of Clarence Road and Weston Road (An automated exchange was built in 1929 near the Cricketer's Inn). The "Southend Telegraph" newspaper published its first issue on March 31st, 1900. It was renamed the "Southend Pictorial Telegraph" in 1922, and later that same year, was renamed the "Southend & County Pictorial".

In 1902, the Ruskin estate, off Sutton Road, was the first Municipal Housing Estate to be established, and comprised 140 houses at a cost of just under £15,000.

The Queen Victoria statue

The Central Library was built in 1905-6, the cost being met by the American steel millionaire, Andrew Carnegie.

In 1913 Leigh-on-Sea was included in the Borough, and on 1st April, 1914, Southend-on-Sea attained the status of a County Borough.

St. Mary's Church Back to Top

This ancient parish church is built in a commanding position at the north end of Victoria Avenue. It is referred to in the Doomsday Book as the Church of the Manor and then it held, in its own right, 30 acres of another property given to it by two landowners. The church is built of Kentish rag stone with a perpendicular embattled western tower, with pinnacles, containing a clock with two dials and a peal of 10 bells from 1603 (the tenor weighing 18½ cwt). In the north wall of the Chancel are the remains of a Saxon doorway and surrounding wall built in the early seventh century. In the eleventh century the present Norman Nave was erected, and in the twelfth century the processional aisle, with massive octagonal columns. Re-construction work on the Tower was completed in about 1470 - serving for several centuries as a sea-mark. In the fifteenth century was added the Chancel Tower, the Jesus Chapel, south aisle and porch, and on 7th May 1478, the Jesus Guild was licensed by King Edward IV. The Jesus Chapel contains a beautiful stained glass window consisting of twelve panels, early sixteenth century, attributed to Albrecht Dürer (A.D. 1471-1528), which was formerly in the Church of St. Ouen, Rouen.

There is a memorial window to Sir Arundell Neave Bart, and one in the "Jesus" chapel to the first Bishop of Chelmsford. An oak tablet at the south-west corner of the church contains a list of vicars from the year 1323 to the present day. Two vestries for clergy and choir were built in 1910, at the north-west side of the nave, and the old tower screen re-erected between the chancel and the chapel.

The porch was restored in 1922, the windows being unblocked and stained glass placed therein. A memorial was erected in 1922 to the men of the parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-1918, and a list of their names was placed in the porch; the names of the men who fell in the World War of 1939-1945 have since been added. The tower was restored in 1924-1925.

The porch contains a holy water stoop, together with a massive south door, and above, the Chapel of St. Michael and St. George. In the church is an octagonal 16th century font, a rood loft stairway, the panels of an old dragon chest (of which there are only two complete specimens in existence). The oldest register commences 1645. There is a written copy of the "Solemne League and Covenant of England and Scotland taken and subscribed by 153 inhabitants of the parish of Prittlewell, 17th March 1643". Standing close to the church was the Vicarage, which is said to have been built in London sent down in three parts. Its garden and adjoining ground was kept by the Rev. Belli, and then later by his successor, the Rev. Fred Nolan.

The Priory and Museum Back to Top

The Cluniac Priory of St. Mary of Prittlewell

Founded in A.D. 1110 by Robert Fitz-Sweyne, as a cell of the Monastery of Lewes, Sussex, the Priory is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments Act, 1913, as a monument of national importance. The Mother Abbey, the Order of Cluny, in Burgundy, dates back from A.D. 910. The precise date of the establishment of the monastery and the installation of the first prior are not known, but as early as 1203 a 'William' is mentioned as prior.

The Prior's entrance to the Refectory, a Norman doorway, dates from the latter half of the twelfth century, and to the left is one of the original twelfth-century windows. In the windows are heraldic panels containing the arms of Essex and Southend, and a panel to the founder of the Priory, Robert de Essex. Along the north wall, which dates from 1180, are examples of monastic books and manuscripts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
In 1241, the Prior was Simon de Waltham, appointed by Henry III. He was a monk of Lewes. In 1258 Peter was prior, and William de Verge was appointed in 1261. In 1276 the Priory was reported as containing 15 monks.
In 1305 the Prior was directed to prepare against a French invasion, and was awarded protection. This was repeated in 1324 under Edward II, upon renewal of the war with France. There was a rapid succession of priors about this time. John Saver was appointed in 1363; Ralph Miouns followed in 1368. Richard Ysewode in 1376, and James Wygepole in 1385.
Prittlewell, being a cell of Lewes Abbey, was ordered that the priory shall render to the priory of Lewes yearly and in every year after on the feast of St. Pancras one mark of silver as a token." In 1518 Prittlewell challenged the right of Lewes to the contribution and there was great commotion at the time. Upon its suppression as a religious house by King Henry VIII in 1536, Prittlewell Priory was acquired by Thomas Audley, elder brother of Sir Thomas Audley, Lord Chancellor, for sum of £40. Some ten years later he transferred the property to Lord Richard Rich. Richard bought up a large number of previously monastic properties in the area. He and his descendants held many other manors in Rochford Hundred, including Milton, Southchurch, Temple Sutton, Leigh, Eastwood, Rochford, South Shoebury, Hadleigh and Hockley.
In the late 17th century the Priory came into the hands of the family of Daniel Scratton. Despite the Priory passing through several further hands, the Scrattons regained it, and remained owners and Lords of the Manor of Priors until 1917 when Prittlewell Priory was bought by a local businessman, Robert Arthur Jones. He presented it to the town for use as a museum, along with a large part of Priory Park.

Click image for close-up view

Close to and southwest of the Refectory is another memorial in the form of a public drinking fountain (pictured above). Of grey Cornish granite, it is an obelisk mounted on a squared-off base column on a two-tier plinth, having a total height of about 8 ft. There are four half-cup troughs with a scallop design at waist level and two plain troughs at plinth level for dogs. Although, in common with virtually all such devices, the fountain has not provided refreshment for many years, it was removed, cleaned, renovated and re-installed about 1992.

After considerable restoration the Priory opened as Southend's first dedicated museum, on 15th May, 1922, at the centre of the beautiful Priory Park.
The Museum contained the Rayleigh Mount collection, the Benton collection, and the Wright collection of Stone Age implements; The Christopher Parsons collection of birds (1820-1880) and the Hoy collection (1797-1939), which was presented by the late Major W. Valentine Weber, D.L., in 1924. There was a natural history room, which contained a good collection of local birds and small fauna. A delightful room for the amateur ornithologist, for there was really nothing so helpful in any study as having the object of it dead and quiet before your eyes for as long as you liked.

Prittlewell Priory is now scheduled by the Government as a monument of national importance.
The museum also housed a major "communications" display, centred around the products of the EKCO (E.K. Cole) factory which used to stand in Priory Crescent, just to the north of the Priory. There were also major displays on the wildlife of south east Essex, and on the history of the Priory, including items found during excavations on the monastic site. But the most important artefacts are the buildings themselves, and especially the roofs. Among the most important items on display were a series of paintings; one of these, by Stephen Pearse, is of Daniel Robert Scratton in the grounds of the Priory, and is dated 1870. The other paintings comprise a series of four large murals by Alan Sorrel, presented to the town from the 1930s.

Priory Museum July 2007

Priory Park Back to Top

The Priory and Park, covering about 30 acres, was a gift to the town in 1917 by a resident, the late Mr. R.A. Jones. The Refectory and Priory buildings were restored by the Corporation during 1920 and 1921 at a cost of £7.500, and the Park was officially opened by H.R.H. the Duke of York, (later King George VI), on 14th July, 1920. The land east of the Park was later presented to the town by the Southend Estates Co., Ltd., and the Park was extended to its present area of about 45 acres. The Park is wonderfully landscaped, and has the famous "Old World gardens", which is currently in the process of a makeover; the newer but equally delightful "Centenary Gardens", as well as a huge pond with 'Duck Island' in the middle.

Priory Park pond and its swans c1923

There are extensive areas for tennis, football, and near the Cafe is a bowling green. The park is renowned for its superb floral displays, and is a popular venue for events so there’s often something different going on - including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Concert.

R. A. Jones's act of giving the park to the town was not without protest or problems. Squatters had moved in and in order to bolster their claim on the grounds, built a small dwelling. This brick building still exists, and houses the toilets behind the café.

Benefactor

R. A. Jones established a jewellery business which subsequently traded from an imposing shop in the southern part of Southend High Street and which continued for many years beyond the Second World War.

He was a generous benefactor to the town. In 1914 he presented to the town the Jones Memorial Ground, in memory of his wife and for the use of children attending the elementary schools of the Borough. This was followed three years later by the gift of Prittlewell Priory, together with a large part of what is now Priory Park, for perpetual public use. He and one of his sons are buried in the Cloister Garth adjacent to the Refectory. In 1921 R. A. Jones made a further gift of the Victory Sports Ground, in the southwest corner of the junction with Sutton Road (B1015), to commemorate those sportsmen of the County Borough who Fell in the Great War. It has an impressive stone pillar and wrought iron entrance gateway. Immediately east and further along Eastern Avenue is another, the Youth Commemoration Ground of some 10.5 acres, which was given to the Borough in 1954 by E. Cecil Jones (a town councellor, son of R. A. Jones (who died in 1925) and buried with his father in Priory Park).

R A Jones
(1849-1925)

It is dedicated to the memory of the Borough Fallen and all those others who served in the Second World War. It is understood that this land was previously the Royal British Legion War Memorial Ground, but it is not known why RBL disposed of it.

Parks & Gardens Back to Top
Southend is renowned for its wonderful parks and gardens and particularly for its superb floral displays. All the parks and gardens are continually maintained and nurtured by horticultural professionals whose expertise is underlined by regular wins over many years at Chelsea Flower Show and in the Anglia in Bloom competition.

Southend Park
Southend Park covered 5 acres of meadow land, bordered on four sides by Park Road (where the entrance was), Park Terrace, Park Crescent and Avenue Road. It was privately owned by William Steward who charged a 6d entrance fee. In 1875 the park had a seven foot wide cinder track used for racing penny farthing bicycles, and other facilities including football and cricket pitches and a large fishing lake. In the freezing winter of 1880/81, the lake froze over sufficiently to permit ice skating. Mr. Steward sold the land privately in 1881 after the Southend Corporation refused the offer of purchase, and a short time later the building of a housing estate was started. The new housing eventually merged in with the existing Park Estate. Today the names of the streets give the few clues to where this once premier park used to be.

Churchill Gardens
Churchill Gardens is a quite secluded ornamental garden that was transformed from the former brickworks sandpit in 1950, after being acquired and renovated by the Borough Council and opened to the public in 1966. It runs alongside Victoria Avenue from the Blue Boar end, and covers 3 acres. Mostly secluded it has a stream and waterfall and is very nicely landscaped on two levels with a pond, a stream and waterfall.
As with all the parks and gardens, it is nurtured and continually maintained by horticultural professionals whose expertise is underlined by regular wins over many years at Chelsea Flower Show and in the Anglia in Bloom competition.

The gardens were named Churchill Gardens to commemorate Sir Winston Churchill who died in 1965.

Prittlewell Square
Prittlewell Square is Southend’s oldest surviving public park. It was laid out between 1855 and 1861 as part of the Clifftown Estate development. The formal central pond and fountain installed in the 1920s. It is surrounded by flowerbeds and lawns, providing a colourful and relaxing retreat. It covers around one acre, and is a very pretty and popular background for wedding photographs to be taken.
This elegant garden was created for the residents of Clifftown together with an area of market gardens (now the bowling green). Clifftown was built in several "classes" of property, depending on the extent of the sea view. The first class houses were those on the cliff top facing the sea – Clifton Terrace and Clifton Parade. The Second Class houses were those at an angle to the sea; those further back were the third class houses, and Cambridge Road, and the northern side of the estate were the fourth class. The only shops in Clifftown were those in Nelson Street.

Southend Cliffs

Westcliff and West Southend form the centre of a six mile long marine parade and are raised to a gentle height of about 50 feet above the shore, to which, through shrubberies and terraced gardens which they call cliffs - The Cliffs - they link themselves to the Prom and the lively shingle.
Its development really began with the Shrubbery being laid out for the residents of the Royal Terrace. The Cliffs are renowned for their flower beds and pathways providing leisurely walks throughout its 23 acres with views across the Thames. The Bandstand, first erected in 1908, offered programmes of concerts, and the Cliff Lift (installed in 1902) provided a gentle ride to the bottom.

The Cliffs suffered severely after a major landslip in 2003, and much of it has been closed to the public since then as a safety measure. The Cliff Lift is also in need of repair and resoration or replacement.

Jones' Memorial Recreation Ground

Jones' Memorial Recreation Ground is situated off Sutton Road at the junction of Eastern Avenue, it covers 15 acres, divided into two parts for boys and girls of local schools respectively. In the centre is a fully equipped pavilion and all appliances for various sports games are provided. It was presented to the town by R. A. Jones in memory of his wife.

Victory Sports Ground

The Victory Sports Ground is situated off Sutton Road and diagonally opposite the Jones' Memorial Recreation Ground, and stretching along the Eastern Avenue. The Corporation erected a pavilion, and during the summer six cricket pitches are available. It was purchased and given to the Corporation in 1921 by the late R. A. Jones "In grateful memory of the sportsmen of the County Borough of Southend-on-Sea who gave their all for Britain in the Great War". The ground has handsome iron gates on the south-east.

Youth Commemoration Ground

Covering 10½ acres, this ex-British Legion War Memorial Ground in Eastern Avenue was presented to the Borough in March 1954 by Mr. E. Cecil Jones, the son of R.A. Jones. It was for the service of youth between 15 and 20 and commemorates not only those who made the supreme sacrifice in the 1939-45 War, but also all those who served.

The High Street Back to Top
The road leading from the Royal Hotel to the lower part of Southend was formerly nothing more than a transverse line down a slope of the cliff. It was then very steep and not more than breadth enough for a single cart. There was a gate in the middle of the road and the land on each side had fallen away so much that there was only room for the single vehicle. “White Gate” (Victoria Circus), which gave its name at one time to the northern end of the high street, now transferred to a road on the east side of that thoroughfare, was apparently coined at the time when the builders of the Terrace obtained access to their estate from the main road leading from Leigh to Southchurch. Major Scratton, the owner of Milton Hall (Nazareth House), let off a large field to the persons who took the lease. There was then no other means of communication to the field except through another field, and before he granted a right along a portion of that field he insisted upon a railing being put on one side and a gate on the other, so that it might be considered private property. The road that went from the beach up to the top of the Cliff was Major Scratton’s private property and nobody else had a right to it. A footpath, however, formerly went along it the whole way. Major Scratton, covenanted by his lease to grant the lessees up above a right of way down the hill, and was then bound to find not only a road, but a good road.

In 1871, when the High Street north of the railway was still known as Whitegate Road, the Middleton Hotel and Luker's Brewery were built, and in 1887, property had been erected along new roads made on both sides of High Street. The building was still in progress both along Southchurch Road and the beach east of Southend. Southend High Street became the new focus for retailing during the Edwardian period. The first major store, 'Garons', opened in 1885 other new shops quickly followed.

c1870 Looking up the High Street, past the thatched cottage (at the junction of Cliff Town Road), you can see the tall chimney of Luker's Brewery, now the site of the new College.

c1905 View down the High Street
towards the seafront.

"Cobweb Corner" (where the network of overhead power lines for the trolleybuses converged), or "Vic Circus", as most locals recall it, was the crossroads where the High Street, Victoria Avenue, London Road and Southchurch Road met. Policemen controlled the traffic from the centre island of the junction. There was a busy Bus Station next to the Victoria rail station. The Hotel Victoria was a majestic building that dominated the junction, situated on the corner of the High Street and Southchurch Road. It opened in 1899, and had 100 rooms, each of which had electric lighting and steam radiators on each floor kept the building warm in winter. On the opposite corner was Dixon's, a family department store. At the other end of the High Street, and before the Royal Hotel, was a very small, four-roomed, thatched cottage which was usually let to summer visitors.
This section is under revision.

July 1968 - Panoramic view of the construction of the Victoria Plaza - the supporting pillars are in place.
You can just see the old Eastern National bus garage (now Sainsbury's) at the top right of the photo.

Cinemas Back to Top
The Cinemas that have come and gone include:

• The Criterion Palace of Varieties c1900-03, Marine Parade (This later became The Papillon).
• The Pier Pavilion
• The Southend Picture Palace on Pier Hill (where Holmes & Smith's garage later stood).
• Garon's Imperial Bioscope opened in 1911, and seated around 700. Either side of the organ at the front were two fountains, which was a unique feature for a picture house.
• The Victoria (Victoria Hall, Alexandra Street).
• The Gem (on the site of Garon's Stores, Victoria Circus).
• The Kursaal Cinema.
• The Plaza, in Southchurch Road seated 1,250.

• The Warrior Square Picture Theatre was rebuilt and opened in January 1928 as The Strand. It became the Essoldo in 1955, closed in 1960 when it was purchased and the building used as an extension for Keddies.
• The Ritz - at the top of Pier Hill, just off the High Street, seated 2,500.
• In 1908, the Hippodrome Variety Theatre stood in Southchurch Road approximately where the Hogshead pub is now. This was a huge building with long mysterious corridors, galleries and stairs and the auditorium comprised a dress circle and an upper circle as well as the stalls and could comfortably accommodate 1,750. This theatre later became the magnificent Gaumont cinema which was one of the first buildings to be demolished, in 1958, to make way for the redevelopment of Victoria Circus.

Classic Manager Ron Stewart

• The Talza stood at the end of the arcade of that name at Victoria Circus. It had many re-incarnations, and many names, including the Civic News Theatre, New Vic and Continental.

Behind the Blue Boar in West Street was a cinema originally called The Priory, which served as a soup kitchen during the First World War. It opened in 1919-20 and had various name changes including Gibbs, the Picture House, the Gaiety, and the Star.

• The Ambassador's Theatre was opened in the early 1900s in Tyler's Avenue, but was converted into a cinema in 1931, re-opening as The Regal, which specialised in nude shows. It reverted in 1939 to stage shows.

• The Theatre de Luxe opened in October 1908 at Victoria Circus (on the site of Dixon's store). It was owned by 'Electric Theatres Ltd', which had a chain of cinemas around the country. It was largely uninsured with regards to building and contents at the time of a fire in 1923 in which it was badly damaged. It never re-opened, although the building was used for indoor golf among other things. It was demolished in 1936.
• The Astoria, opened on 15 July 1935 on the site of the old Brewery in Luker Road. It became The Odeon in 1940 until closure in 1997. The building, which boasted celebrity visitors including Laurel & Hardy, The Beatles, and Harry Worth, was finally demolished in 2005 and the ground became part of the site for the new University of Essex.
• The Mascot Theatre (1912-1964) London Road, Westcliff-on-Sea (almost opposite the junction with Crowstone). The Mascot burned down in the mid-1960s.
• The Metropole (1939) which became the Essoldo in 1954, then the Classic in 1972. It became the Cannon in 1979, and closed in 1991. It is now a branch of Halfords.

An 8-screen multiplex Odeon cinema opened in 1996 at the top of the High Street is now the only picturehouse in the town.

Theatres

It is difficult to state with any certaintly where and when the first theatre performances took place in Southend, as the players were mostly travellers and would often perform outdoors.
What is known for certain, however, that in 1800 and 1801, theatrical performances took place four times a week in the assembly rooms of the Royal Hotel.

In William Douglas’s “Historical Account of the Provincial Theatres of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales (c.1905), it states:
“SOUTHEND – a theatre here which first opened in 1793 near the Hope Hotel..."

The first purpose-built theatre in Southend was erected near the Hope Hotel and opened in 1810. The theatre was managed by Thomas Trotter, who, on payment of 20/- a year, was given a grant in 1803 by the Lord of the manor of Prittlewell (who made further grants fourteen years later) to erect a building for the purpose.
Trotter’s mortgagees included Abraham Vandervord, a hoyman of the well-known Southend family. The theatre was estimated to cost £500, raised in £25 shares, but by 1819 the final cost to Trotter proved to be £1,450/18/-.
It was a small building, but contained boxes, stalls and pit; and its bills featured the leading actors and actresses from London. It was frequented by Lady Emma Hamilton, Nelson's famous mistress, who lived in Southend during the Admiral's blockade of Toulon on 1805. The theatre was converted into cottages in 1826.

• The Theatre of Varieties opened in 1876 at the former Coffee Club. It also incorporated a library.
• Next door, the Public Hall, built in Alexandra Street in 1872, became the Alexander Theatre. In 1886 it was described as 'chaste and elegant'. The cinema burned down on 6th January 1895. The then owner, Mr. F. Marlow, rebuilt it at the cost of £25,000, renaming it the Empire Theatre. He promptly went bankrupt and threw himself off the top of the theatre. In 1919 it closed for refurbishment and became the Rivoli. It became the ABC in 1937 and after refurbishment in 1961, was re-opened in 1962 as the ABC Luxury cinema, which despite upgrading to a twin auditoria, closed down and was taken over by the Canon group in 1986.This finally closed in 1998 and the New Empire Theatre, a self-funded venture, run by volunteers, opened.

• The Palace Theatre opened on 21 October 1912, and became the Municipal Theatre in 1943. It has closed and re-opened several times. Finally, it was forced to close, despite rescue bids, in 2005.

• The Floral Hall, which replaced the Happy Valley bandstand, located at the bottom of Southend's cliffs, almost opposite the current Westcliff Leisure Centre, opened in 1920 and hosted typical seaside entertainment and concert parties up until it was destroyed by fire in 1937; parts of the foundations are still visible today.

• The Cliffs Pavilion opened in 1964 although planning permission was originally granted in the 1930s to build the Pavilion on the site of 'Shorefields' (an entertainment hall). The original Pavilion was to be hexagonal in shape and evidence of this can be seen in the sunken garden which precisely follows the original outline. The building closed in the middle of 1991 to accommodate major expansion, the main feature of which was to increase the capacity to 1,600 by adding a balcony.

The College Back to Top

The Technical School and School of Art was designed by John Mckean Brydon and constructed by Chelmsford builder Ernest West at the junction of Victoria Avenue and London Road in 1902. In 1935 it became known as the Southend Municipal College (pictured right) and in 1963 was re-named Southend College of Technology. This became redundant when the new College building was erected in Carnarvon Road in 1969, and was demolished shortly afterwards as part of the underpass scheme. The area is now the Alexander House car park.

The College underwent gradual growth and development until the 1980s when the first substantial refurbishment work began. During this period the range of subjects and courses offered gradually evolved, reflecting the changes in training and employment needs of the local economy. The 1990s saw significant change and development with major reorganisations and investment in new resources. The College became an independent organisation, removed from the local education authority in 1993 and has thrived, leading developments in the field of 16-18 education.

From the mid-1990s onwards it has successfully developed an ever expanding range of higher education courses. Media Production and Technology was the first part-time degree programme offered in 1994, and the course is now widely recognised as a leader in this field. The College continues to enjoy good relations with the town's community and business sector, being a key training resource for local employers and employees alike.
The College is afforded a high standard of resources and facilities by virtue of its position as the major regional Further Education provider. The late 1990s saw the extension of the College's open learning centre philosophy and expansion of the various support facilities for students.

In 2001 the College became one of the first sixteen pathfinder Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in the country, achieving CoVE status for its expertise in media technology. In April 2002, Lifelong Learning and Higher Education Minister, Margaret Hodge launched the Partnership between the University of Essex and South East Essex College and by September 2003, the College plans for a new campus became a reality, when a partnership agreement, investing over 52 million in a brand new state-of-the art building in the heart of Southend town centre, at Luker Road, was signed by the new Principal, Jan Hodges. In December 2002, the College became the only Microsoft Regional Centre in the East of England region, and one of just 16 in the UK. In February 2003, a ceremony took place to lay the foundation stone for the new campus, with guest of honour John Harwood, the then Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council. Soon afterwards, in April 2003, the University of Essex Southend Centre opened at Princess Caroline House. The following month David Burrows, Head of Education at Microsoft, opened the New Technology Centre at the Colleges London Road centre. July saw the topping out ceremony at Luker Road to mark the completion of the new building to roof level, with guest of honour the Right Reverend Dr Laurie Green, Bishop of Bradwell.

In October 2003 the College launched its new identity and logo. In December, a time capsule was placed in the reception area of the new campus by representatives of the staff and students of the College.

In September 2004, South East Essex College's new site opened in Luker Road (on the site of the brewery there which closed in 1934). The college is now in partnership with the University of Essex. Prior to this, the college's main building was in Carnarvon Road, just off Victoria Avenue. The college runs a busy daytime curriculum, as well as weekend and evening classes.

The College houses a unique 250-seat auditorium, known affectionately as the 'Red Blob', and the large cafeteria boasts raised, mushroom-like seating areas. The complex is currently being expanded, taking over the site of the old Odeon cinema to enhance the Higher Education Partnership with the University of Essex and services to business.

The Seafront Back to Top

At the time of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, Southchurch had two "fisheries" - probably weirs at the outlet of the Western Mere. These still existed in the early 16th century, and two metal plaques showing their Western limit remained on a wall between near the Gas Works until 1899 (The Western Mere lay behind the coast, ending slightly north of the Gas Works, and was connected with the sea by two narrow creeks between the Gas Works and the Half Way House hotel. It stretched across the existing Southchurch Park to near Wyatt's Farm, where it linked with the Eastern Mere. This Mere reached inland between Thorpe Hall and Buttery Farm to near Bournes Green Farm).

For many decades, Southend had a prosperous oyster industry. During the 17th-18th centuries, Kentish fisherman claimed that the Southend oyster beds were common, not private, property, and in 1724, 500 Kentish fishermen raided and pillaged the oyster beds over a period of several days. They were eventually met on the beach by local constables who read out the act to their leader, Captain Evans, M.P., Mayor of Queensborough, and they gradually withdrew their boats. The courts took a firm stance on the raids and ruled that the oyster beds were private property, and imposed heavy fines, which took the Kentish fishing villages years to pay off.

Oyster beds were laid down at Southchurch in 1700, and were flourishing in 1768. Milton had big oyster beds, laid in 1770, but these were in disuse by 1830. By 1850 all the beds had disappeared except at Chalkwell where they existed a further 40 years.

Minerva House, the home of Abraham Vandervord, the principal local barge owner, was built in 1792. It was in the centre of the hamlet at the time of its early development as a small resort.

In 1796 The "Caroline" Warm and Cold Sea Baths (named after Princess Caroline of Brunswick, who had married the Prince of Wales in April of that year) were opened in the Old Town, near the Trafalgar Hotel (which was renamed the Castle in 1819) and east of the Hope (formerly Capon's Coffee House and Hotel) and Ship hotels. Owing to the difficulties of travel at that time, Southend remained for some sixty years a place for the wealthier visitor, when passenger transport from and to London was by boat or coach.

The Shrubbery, barely three acres in size, was filled with evergreens and fragrant shrubs, intersected only by walkways and seating areas, created by the woodsmen. A charge for admission was always levied, but prior to 1883, only persons known by the gatekeeper to be "gentry" were admitted. It therefore appears likely that the Shrubbery was reserved for the society people in residence at the Grand (or Royal) Hotel, and in the houses on the Terrace or immediate vicinity. The Royal Hotel had an assembly room 60 feet in length, a music gallery, supper and card rooms and a coffee room. A gentleman could lodge at the Royal Hotel for 2s 6d for a bedroom, 3s 6d for a sitting room, and 5s for his dinner; if you add a breakfast and evening tea, along with the servants, he could expect it to cost not less than five guineas (£5.25) for a week - big money for the mid-1840s.

One of the popular Charabanc outings to Southend

This is the earliest record of distinction between New and Old South End (the classes).

Opposite the Royal Hotel was Rennison and Tarry's library, a semi-gothic-style building with a circular front. This was the only library in the town. Sited in the Shrubbery below the Royal Hotel and almost directly south of the library, was a neat cottage, fitted up with warm baths. Built in 1804 by Mr. Ingram, the water was pumped from an artesian well using a pony, and machinery kept the baths supplied with warm water. The bathing machines for the use of Upper South End were stationed nearby. There were three kinds of admission tickets to the baths: Silver, Bronze, and Pewter. The tickets were metal and inscribed "South End Baths. Opened 1804". Some would have been engraved with a name, some with a number, suggesting that there were single admission as well as season or reserved accommodation.

These baths and the Pier Hill buildings had become famous throughout the country, and several of the leading professional football clubs of London sent their teams there when preparing for their more important matches (The baths were demolished in 1879 to make way for a new Pier tollhouse and approaches).

In 1877, as Prittlewell joined Southend in control of the area of the whole of the old parish, so did come the primary responsibly of Public Health. A fire brigade was formed, volunteers being called for and obtained by advertisement. New roads had to be made, and the condition of the Cliffs gave rise to some anxiety. It is recorded that the houses west of Royal Terrace would very shortly subside into the sea. Great masses of the Cliffs were constantly subsiding. These were still in private ownership, and it was not until 1885 that they were offered to the board with a cheque to help fund the repairs and make the area safe.

Around 1890, the town's first major amusement park - the Pier Hill Fairground - stood on Pier Hill. Near the end of the century the Marine Park was established to the eastern end of the town - later to become the Kursaal. The fairground remained for several years until the building of the Hotel Metropole in 1904 (later becoming the Palace Hotel).

In 1894, a man was fined by Southend's municipal authorities for driving "furiously" at 10 m.p.h. along the Marine Parade!

In 1901, an outdoor escalator called the Reno's Electric Stairway was built. It was later called the Cliffs Lift.

In 1902, the Corporation decided to employ a band to perform in an enclosure upon the Cliffs during the summer. The experiment proved a great success financially, and the quality of the bands was improved, with leading military combinations being engaged. Bands included those of the Coldstream and Irish Guards, the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers, and admission on Saturday and Sunday evenings was 3d. Until 1909 the bands were accommodated in a small bandstand, but in that year a more commodious structure was built, and the original building was transferred to Happy Valley, in the Cliffs below. This spot had been used for variety entertainments for some years with much success. The tender of £750 was accepted from Messrs Walter MacFarlane and Company of Glasgow to build what was to become affectionately known as the 'Cakestand'. On Pier Hill, on the site where the Palace Hotel was later built, was the Pier Hill Fairground. Here were more roundabouts, swings, scenic railway, Roly Poly ride, fortune tellers, boxing booths and other amusements.

Happy Valley was a glade in the Cliffs formerly used for open-air entertainments. It was enlarged, and the old Bandstand from opposite Prittlewell Square was moved there in 1909. A concert hall was later erected, but was burnt down.

In 1909, the Home and Atlantic Fleet, accompanied by three cruiser squadrons, visited Southend. It represented the Navy which Britain kept constantly at war strength and trained as nearly as possible under conditions resembling those of wartime. The visit of the Fleets to the estuary also possessed some political importance. The "Dreadnought" - the flagship - was the first vessel launched of a type of giant battleship designed upon what is known as the "All Big Gun Principle", and able to steam at high speed. Her construction revolutionised prevalent ideas of naval architecture, and she was quickly followed by other ships of similar design.

It was described as the mightiest assembly of fighting-power ever seen. 149 war vessels in all, including Battleships, Armoured Cruisers, Destroyers, Torpedo boats, Submarines and repair ships. The whole town celebrated this momentous event. Corporation employees even decorated one of the tramcars to resemble the 'Dreadnought' battleship.
The Pier, being the principle attraction of the town for visitors, saw a progressively large increase in the number of daytrippers. Kiosks and amusements spawned to accommodate the tourists, much to the displeasure of the residents, many of whom complained about the rowdiness and noise they promoted.

The visit lasted from Saturday, 17th July, until Saturday, 25th July. The destroyer and submarine flotillas arrived just before sunset on Friday night and anchored off the Pier Head, proceeding next day to their stations up the river or immediately to the west of the Pier, ahead of the "Dreadnought".

The Metropole Hotel (later renamed the Palace Hotel) was built in 1904 on land that was formerly a market garden, although it enjoyed a spell as an amusement park in the late 1880s.
Marine Parade, first laid out in 1878 and considerably widened in 1910 was to become the centre of 'The Golden Mile'.

In 1919, part of the Grand Fleet, headed by H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth, visited the town, firing their heavy guns in celebration over the signing of the treaty of Versailles. The Home Fleet again visited Southend in May, 1935, and May, 1937, to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of George V and the coronation of George VI respectively.

The boating lake next to the Pier was a small harbour at the beginning of the 19th century, and was turned into a Sunken Garden and Marine Lake in 1931. There was a children's theatre there for a while, but always more popular was Peter Pan's Playground.

The Southend Illuminations started in 1935, in response to Blackpool's lights. The lighting display illuminated the whole length of the Pier, from the shore to the head, with lights and tableaus. From the shore, the pier head was outlined in lights to resemble a huge ship. Along the shoreline, the illuminations stretched from the Kursaal to Palmeria Drive at Westcliff. Each lamp-post, each pole supporting the overhead tram, or trolleybus wires, were boxed in with a transparent perspex material, through which coloured lights emerged brightly.

There were strings of lights, mainly flashing, with moving designs intermingled. Cartoon characters such as Popeye, Pluto and Donald Duck, were fixed to tall wooden frames, and were animated by lights. The sunken gardens and the boating lake were bathed in the warm glow of yellow, red and green light. The illuminations were a marvel to visitor and resident alike, and became an annual event until it was discontinued in 1939.

Sea-front Bus Services

Southend & District Joint Services (1969)

Service 67
Southchurch (Eastern Avenue), Hamstel Road, Lifstan Way, Eastern Esplanade, Marine Parade, Western Esplanade, The Leas, Chalkwell Esplanade, Chalkwell Avenue, London Road, Highlands (Thames Drive, London Road).

Return: As route above reversed.

Service 68
Shoeburyness (East Beach), Rampart Terrace, Rampart Street, Smith Street, Campfield Road, Ness Road, Shoebury Common Road, Thorpe Esplanade, Eastern Esplanade, Marine Parade, Western Esplanade, The Leas, Chalkwell Esplanade, Chalkwell Avenue, The Ridgeway, Cliff Gardens, Grand Parade, Grand Drive, The Broadway, Broadway West, Rectory Grove, Marine Parade, Thames Drive, Highlands (Thames Drive, London Road).

Return: Highlands (Thames Drive, London Road), Thames Drive, Marine Parade, Rectory Grove, Elm Road, The Broadway, Grand Drive, Grand Parade, Cliff Gardens, The Ridgeway, Chalkwell Avenue, Chalkwell Esplanade, The Leas, Western Esplanade, Marine Parade, Eastern Esplanade, Thorpe Esplanade, Shoebury Common Road, Ness Road, Campfield Road, Smith Street, High Street (Shoeburyness), George Street, Rampart Terrace, Shoeburyness (East Beach).

Never-Never Land Back to Top

Strolling through a Magic Wonderland - That was how the children saw the Shrubbery when it was transformed each year into a world of moving, illuminated tableaus for six weeks or so each summer and was a highlight of the year for many boys and girls from the town and miles away. It was truly a mystical place, a land of mythical castles, goblins, dragons, fairies and lights in the trees, and even a magical model railway. It was worth the price of pennies at the turnstiles to get in. During the 1950s, Never Never Land packed in thousands of adults and children each year, bringing a hefty profit to the council, which made sure there were new attractions all the time so it never grew stale.

The Crazy Brothers. Never Never Land

Never Never Land

During the 1960s, however, the numbers began to dwindle as it paled in significance against the attractions of other theme parks. It had begun to look very tired, and at the end of the 1972 season, the illuminations and tableaux were taken down and scrapped, allegedly to save money, but probably because the council had lost interest. It lay like that - a garden suburb - until 1987 when the council realised that the number of visitors to the town was on the increase again, and decided to reopen it with a hi-tech image and with high hopes.
This was the first of its kind for this sort of redevelopment, and although thousands of people visited it after opening, in just three short seasons, it was having problems and in 1990 the council decided to sell it for private enterprise. Fortunately for the council, local businessman Mike Dolby, who had been involved with Never Never Land since its halcyon days of the 1950s, agreed to take on a temporary lease for one season. In the end, it was to last 10 years, but finally on 16th January 2001, Mr. Dolby told Southend on Sea Borough Council it was no longer viable for him to carry on; the electrical system was just so dilapidated.
Nick Harris, Southend on Sea Borough Council’s Assistant Director of Leisure Services (Recreation Services), said that they were very sad, but understood why Mr Dolby had reached that decision, and recognised and appreciated all the hard work and effort that he had put into running one of Southend’s favourite seafront attractions for the younger visitors. In more recent times, the more well-known items from the Never-Never Land area were donated to various schools in the Borough making way for new sub-tropical plants and shrubs. However, the plans are to renovate the Never-Never Land Fairy Castle.

The Arches Back to Top

There are two sets of Arches in Southend. Those under the Pier and those called Palmeira Arches at Westcliff. These arches were first mooted in 1899 by the Borough Surveyor and plans for Shorefield Road with seventeen supporting arches were submitted in January, 1904. In 1905, work started.
They were built by the local firm Flaxman's of Southchurch Road, and were constructed using red 'Southwater' engineering bricks. The floors were concrete and a roof held up the new Shorefield Road.

The main arches were about twelve feet wide and extended twenty-five to thirty feet deep into the cliff-face. Offers were invited by the Southend Council to rent for about £211.00 per annum. In April, 1906, the company of F. Davy of Elmer Works were employed to install the frontages, upon the completion of which they were known officially as Palmeria Arches. The Arches were initially used for storing horse tack and stabling effects serving Palmeria Towers and boat houses. At that time only a single pathway ran along the seafront between Southend and Chalkwell, separating the beach the Arches from the beach by a mere six feet.

By 1905, work was under way to widen Western Esplanade; the soil or blue clay being brought down from London by Thames Barges. The clay came from the work going on to expand the London Underground. When the tide was out, the Barges sat on the mud and the clay was unloaded by hand.

The road widening carried on until about 1915. By this time, people tended to promenade between the Pier and Chalkwell, so there was a need for refreshment stops and several of the Arches became tea shops and then cafés. After the First World War, most of the Arches were being used as cafés with many able to accommodate 36 seated people (including twelve on the forecourt). At that time, there were 33 hotels and 130 Boarding Houses in the area listed in the official Southend Guide.

The Arches have been involved in scandal. In 1972, the owner of the Orange Tree café was part of an external triangle murder, though happily, not on the premises.

The cafés have changed hands many times over the years. The Council grant seven year ongoing leases but the goodwill and sale of the leases from existing lessees cost a lot more. So why have twelve adjoining cafés in deadly competition with one another, serving the same food at similar prices? Simply because they are almost unique in the history of British Seaside Resorts. Thought by some to be a piece of the French Riviera, people come from as far as West London and Kent to sit and admire the almost unencumbered views while eating their fish and chips. Palmeria Towers was demolished in 1978, having been occupied for some years by Customs & Excise.

The Kursaal Back to Top The greens along the seafront, between the road and the beach, had been used for seasonal fairgrounds for many years throughout the second half of the 19th Century. Among these was Pawley’s Green, at the junction of Marine Parade and Eastern Esplanade. Here were steam roundabouts, shooting galleries, coconut shies, etc. The greens were named after their tenants or owners; there was also Fairhead’s green and Darlow’s green and another green opposite the Ship Hotel. Southend's most famous amusement park was built on Pier Hill in the later part of the 1800s and was called the Pier Hill Fairground.

In 1893, the local father and son partnership of Alfred and Bernard Wiltshire Tollhurst, solicitors, had decided to buy up land at the east end of the town for the creation of a new park, for both residents and trippers. This was to be the Marine Park and Gardens. A small, four acre annexe was reserved for amusements, such as a scenic railway and dancing platform. The Marine Park was opened in August 1894. A small part of the park was devoted to rides and side shows, with a dancing platform and scenic railway. In 1896, the Pyramidical Railway Syndicate leased part of the gardens for rides, and a grand entrance was built of red brick, with a huge tower not unlike the Blackpool Tower, together with a series of domes built on the roof. The amusements soon outgrew their four acre spot, and a number of companies were formed to build a grand entrance to the Marine Park. The last of these companies was called the Margate and Southend Kursaals Company. New buildings, designed by George Sherrin, were added, and called the 'Kursaal' - and the tower scheme was abandoned. The Arcade was the main feature of the new building, which led from the rotunda to the gardens, and the large ballroom was used to double up as a theatre. The building was completed in 1901, with a great silver dome over the entrance. Although it was also intended to build a "Kursaal" in Margate, this was never completed. The word Kursaal is German, meaning a "Cure Hall" or spa, and it seems to have been adapted to mean a place of healthy amusement. The Kursaal Gardens, adjoining the Kursaal, covered 26 acres, 18 of which contained the rides and amusements. Ten years later, the Luna Park Company purchased it and for two years it was known as the Kursaal and Luna Park. C.J. Morehouse, purchased the Kursaal and Luna Park with the initial intention of developing the land for housing, this didn't happen however. During the First World War, the park stayed open and the parts of it that were not used for war work were in fact very successful. So successful, that Morehouse decided to develop the park for amusements.

Southend’s Kursaal became the largest fairground in the south of England. The Kursaal ballroom opened in 1901, and expanded into an amusement complex in the 1930's. Key to its appearance its distinctive dome. For the thousands of fun-seeking visitors to the park, there was a huge charabanc park on the south of the kursaal grounds. This ran the length of Beresford Road, from behind the great stage of the wonderful ballroom building to Arnold avenue and was perhaps a hundred yards deep, to where it disappeared in the shadow of the enormous Cyclone, a fist-clenching, heart-stopping, rollercoaster that soared to consider