Southend History
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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 earliest films shown in Southend were newsreels of the South African war featured at the Criterion Palace of Varieties and at the old Pier Pavilion.

The Southend Picture Palace on Pier Hill (where Holmes & Smith's garage later stood).
Garon's Imperial Bioscope
Harry Garon, local businessman and entrepreneur saw this trend and decided to build a cinema in Southend High Street (then called The Broadway). Mr. J. C. Flaxman, a local builder of Southchurch Road, who had built Palmeira Arches in 1905, was contracted and for £5,000 Garon’s Imperial Bioscope with a café adjoining (itself accommodating 200 people), was opened in July 1911.
The building had a frontage of 75 feet and a depth of 175 feet. The auditorium seated 700, and the panelled walls were painted white. Subdued top lighting had been introduced, and the floor was carpeted. Either side of the organ at the front were two fountains, which was a unique feature for a picture house.
The advertisements stated: “The Bioscope sheet is 18 feet square and the auditorium fireproof. A vacuum cleaner will be used daily to ensure perfect sanitation”
A Ballroom was added above the cinema in 1920 and a trio played for the then popular tea dances in the café.
This being the age of silent films, Wades Orchestra provided the musical accompaniment, and a two-manual Estey Organ was installed in 1921, and rose in all its glory for intermissions. The instrument was played by Miss Ena Baga and her sister Celesta, also Florence de Jong played at Garons. (When a new (larger) organ was purchased, the Estey organ was given to St. Luke's Church.)
Admission was still only 1/-, which was increased to 1/6 only shortly before the cinema’s closure on 4th May, 1963. (Around 10 new pence or 7½ pence before the evening performance.)
The last films to be shown were "Atlantis, The Lost Continent" starring Anthony Hall, and "It Started In Naples" starring Joyce Taylor, and supported by Clark Gable and Sophia Loren.
The building was promptly demolished and shops and offices built on the site.
The Victoria (Victoria Hall, Alexandra Street).
The Gem opened in 1911 on the site of Garon's Stores, Victoria Circus. The Gem Electric Theatre enjoyed only a short life; it closed in 1922, and became the Gem Bazaar. The building was demolished in the mid twenties to make way for the Victoria Arcade complex. The site was later developed into the Hammerson shopping centre.
The Kursaal Cinema was built in 1913, but closed during the First World War, when the Kursaal was used by the troops. .
The Plaza, in Southchurch Road opened on Wednesday, 6th March, 1929. It seated 1,250; the auditorium being decorated in scarlet, gold and mahogany. Prices of admission were 6d, 9d, 1/- and 1/3d. The Plaza had a novel heating system with hot water pipes running between every other row of seats. The building was complete with a fireproof roof.
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.
In 1896, the Princes Hall was built in Tylers Avenue, at the rear of the London Public House. It was converted into a cinema in 1908 and in 1910 was renamed the Princes Picturedrome. In 1921, the cinema became The Avenue, and during 1925 became The Lyric, finally closing in 1929. The building was demolished c1963.
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, with full-time film entertainment. This lasted until 1937, when the building reverted back to a variety theatre. During the early 1950s, it specialised in nude reviews which were generally poor, and at the first house there were seldom many patrons. By then the Regal was losing money and had been placed in the hands of the liquidators. The theatre closed on Saturday 23rd October, 1954. In August 1963 the Regal was demolished, together with the surrounding buildings and the site became a car park.
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 to this, 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 by the eminently great and well know British actor, Bernard Miles who founded the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959 amongst other great achievements. 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 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 had an annexe which occupied the upper floor of the shops in Southchurch Road, by the Queensway underpass, as a further centre for students of art, photography, and retail display. The Engineering College in London Road, opposite the Eastern National Bus Depot (where Sainsbury's is now) was demolished and, after a period of time as a temporary car park, was re-developed bewteen 2009 and 2010, and is the site of the new student accommodation.
The Carnarvon Road 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 continued 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 was 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 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 Luker's Brewery which closed in 1934). The college is now in partnership with the University of Essex.
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.
The growth of rail transit also gave birth to that Victorian mainstay, the seaside resort. As the Industrial Revolution progressed, working hours decreased, and the introduction of Bank Holidays meant that workers had the time to take trips away from the cities to the seaside. The seaside resorts introduced the amusement pier to entertain visitors.
Sea Bathing
The Bathing machines themselves were a noble invention that was claimed by many, but credit may as well go to Mr. Benjamin Beale (a Quaker and an inhabitant of the Isle of Thanet) if, for no better reason, was ruined for his pains, though his descendants reaped great advantage.
Beale’s bathing machine was, in the 1760s, considered simple in structure and quite convenient. These wooden wagons were drawn by horses to a suitable depth into the sea, under the conduct of a careful guide. At the back of the machine was a door through which the bather descended a few steps and, above it, a huge umbrella of canvas which, when opened, covered door, steps and bather, who now dipped himself, or was dipped by the attendant crony, in the modest confines of his canvas privacy. Click picture for larger image.
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.
It was not until 1885 that the Cliffs 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, where there were roundabouts, swings, a scenic railway, Roly Poly ride, fortune tellers, boxing booths and other amusements. - 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. Palmeira Mansions and the other contemporary buildings in Palmeira Avenue, were built in 1901-2. The Sun shelter below Clifton Drive was typical of the 1920’s design for seaside resorts.
Take a ride up in the Cliff Lift here
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 wooden 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'.
Happy Valley was a glade in the Cliffs formerly used for open-air entertainments. Mr. C. H. Chirgwin had the tenancy until 30th September 1908. Happy Valley 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.
Along the shoreline, the illuminations, which started in 1935, 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).
The area next to the Pier was originally a small harbour at the beginning of the 19th century, and the Sunken Gardens were constructed in 1918 from the reclaimed land. It was landscaped like an extension of the Shrubbery of the Royal Terrace across the road, and, a small pond, long wooden picnic tables that catered for the afternoon strollers, and on the eastern end, a raceway with electrically-driven cars. As more rides were added, became a children's playground in 1924. There was a children's theatre there for a while, but as more rides were added, but always more popular was Peter Pan's Playground.
Peter Pan's Playground in 1960
It had a wide variety of amusements including the 'speedway track'; the "Jigsaw Train" with its drum like carriages that spun as they turned a corner; a miniature Zoo and Pet's Corner. Greeting visitors at the entrance were outsize models of Popeye and Olive Oyl. One of the oldest attractions remaining is the "Crooked House" (the rickety old House that Jack Built), which also stands as a memorial to the floods of 1953 (it bears a mark indicating the level the tide reached as the flood of 1st February 1953 breached the sea defences).
In 1995, the park expanded east of the Pier, with foundation work covering the site of the original wooden pier.
It was renamed Adventure Island and is run by local entrepreneur Philip Miller. The speedway track is still there, but other rides have come and gone. Past rides have included "Blackbeard's Pirate Adventure", "Mr. Smee's Boat Ride" and "Raging River". New rides are added and older ones replaced almost every year. The 2007 season included "Rage", with its 75ft vertical drop and 360 degree barrel roll, the only coaster of its kind in England, plus unique rides "Ramba Zamba", "Archelon" and "Beelzee Bob's Trail". In the same year, Philip bought the "Three Shells Café" from John Barber, one of the town's longest-serving traders.
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 with stations and mountains and bridges. The model castle was at the entrance and it had lights in the windows and a little rowing boat crossing the lake at the bottom. 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 Good Night Club, Never Never Land
The remains of Never Never Land in 2008

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 (though with sub-standard animations of He-Man and She-Ra). 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, despite there were plans to renovate the Never-Never Land Fairy Castle.

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. Palmeira Towers was demolished in 1978, having been occupied for some years by Customs & Excise.
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 (on the site where the Hotel Metropole would be built) 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 the grand opening on 24th July. 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 considerable heights and plunged to great depths as the mile-long track twisted and turned through its intricate, complicated, jigsaw of a mighty wooden structure.

The 1920s saw the introduction of the zoo and water chute rides were bought from America. Many side shows were managed by a Mr Stumke and included a snake handler, Dick Harrow the worlds heaviest man and many similar amusements. Morehouse passed the Kursaals on to his son David de Forest Morehouse, who was renown as a great showman. He bought some new side-shows from America.
Greeting everyone in the entrance hall was the Laughing Policeman. There were rides like the famous 'Water Chute', having been brought directly from Earls Court in 1921. It was basically two ramps, one leading up to a tower and the other going down from the tower. Real wooden boats that took a dozen or so passengers were hauled up the 100 feet or so to the top of the tower, around and then down the 'freefall' slide into the lake at the bottom. Each boat had a man on the back of the boat as it went up and came down. All he had was a long pole that he used like a brake to stop the boat before it hit the wall of the lake, and then use it to manoeuvre the boat back to the jetty, help the passengers off and on and then move the boat back onto the ‘up’ ramp.
The 'Dive Bomber' ride had a long arm and a bomb shape on each end. You had to be strapped in because it turned over. This ride was relatively short-lived. Other rides were the 'Caterpillar' and the 'Aerial Flight'.
The Kursaal's cylindrical Wall of Death was a great innovative attraction since it first appeared there in 1929. The most famous owner and daredevil was George Smith (A.K.A. Tornado).

This extrovert, entertainer, daredevil eccentric, stuntman and showman supreme, rode the Wall for some four decades until he retired and sold up a few years before his death in 1972. George Smith was never recognised with any permanent plaque or memorial in his name, despite the astonishing contribution he had made towards the success of the seaside resort.
The Kursaal was also home to gangster Al Capone's Armoured 'Killer' Car. It was a really interesting exhibit with its various excellent devices for taking the other fellow's life.

The Caterpillar Ride
These and the literature of American crime and crime warfare was pasted all around you - and you got the whole show for sixpence. David de Forest Morehouse also brought in Eric the Whale, who at 50ft long and weighing 65 tons was a sight to behold in the 1930s.
There was also wrestling in the Coronation Dome, which was purpose built, but as housing developments began to spring up around the Kursaal grounds, the wrestling moved into the ballroom, then finally away to the Cliffs Pavilion.
During the Second World War, the Kursaal was closed from June 1940. The water chute basin was closed to the public.
The Water Chute basin was tarred to ensure it was watertight, and was to be used as a reserve water supply for the fire brigade.
The old cinema building was converted to a factory for the manufacture of waterproof clothing for the troops (the 'Swallow' raincoat factory), and the ballroom was used as a storeroom for the NAAFI for the South East.
The longest-serving ride at the Kursaal was the Harton Scenic Railway, one of the earliest rollercoasters, which opened in 1910, and lasted until the decline and then closure of the park in 1973.
New rides, such as the French-built Harry Gray's Swirl (which had been moved down from Battersea), were still being installed at the Kursaal into the 1970s.
The Kursaal closed in 1986, but before that, much of the site had been sold to make way for the Kursaal Housing Estate. The Kursaal re-opened again in May 1998, after a £12 million pound redevelopment, with the actor and dyed-in-the-wool fan of Southend Warren Mitchell adding his enthusiasm to the well-publicised event. The Kursaal, formerly a ballroom and amusement complex, now hosts Southend's 20-lane ten-pin bowling alley (formerly on the Pier until the fire of 1995). It is now a listed building, forming part of the Kursaal Conservation Area (a compact area including The Minerva and The Britannia).
Built on the site of the former brickfields bordered by Sutton Road, Stadium Road, Maldon Road and Grainger Road, Southend Greyhound Stadium was opened on 19th May 1933, featuring a glazed grandstand, and boasting a track that was suitable for any races from 300 yards to 750 yards having been built on such foundations and gradient, that it was expected to be the fastest greyhound track in the country. It was the second track in the area after the failure of the Kursaal. Within the dog track was an oval piece of ground ideal for a football pitch.
In 1934, Mr. Moorhouse, owner of the Kursaal where Southend United played, and was chairman, died. Captain J. McEwan, who was secretary of the Greyhound Stadium, took his place.

Although two years were still left on the Kursaal lease, Southend United Football Club moved to the stadium on an initial seven year lease. Unfortunately the ground lacked atmosphere as the pitch was separated from the spectators. However, crowds averaged around 7,000 with a record attendance in 1936 of nearly 24,000 for a Wednesday afternoon replay against Tottenham Hotspur in the F.A. Cup.

After Southend United went to Roots Hall in 1955, other local teams continued to play there. Dog racing also continued into the 1960s with two weekday and Saturday evening meetings.
In 1970 plans were submitted to allow speedway and stock car racing but much local opposition saw permission being refused.

By the 1980s, dwindling attendances (under 500) for the summer-season-only meetings made dog racing unprofitable, and at the end of 1985, Southend Stadium was closed. The land was sold and is now a retail park.
Carnival was created exclusively to raise funds for the Southend Victoria Cottage Hospital in Warrior Square in 1906. The procession consisted mainly of horse-drawn floats, and this has always been the key to Carnival.
In 1923 a one-day event was added. This, and the events that followed during the next few years, were so successful that in 1926 the Southend-on-Sea Carnival Association was formed, with its original objective of raising money to finance an extension to Southend General Hospital, and, after many years, the target of £85,000 was raised. The first Carnival Queen was Miss Ena Bone of Westcliff, who reigned from 1928-1929.
By 1930, Carnival had become a full week of events which included an 'All Sorts Dog Show', the Beautiful Legs Parade, a daylight procession on Wednesday and a most anticipated torchlight procession on the final day of Carnival.
Southend Fire Brigade collecting for the Victoria Hospital in 1924
There was something for all the family to take part in including the children's Fancy Dress Parade, Beautiful Toddlers competition, and a Circus and Fête in Chalkwell Park.
Every event was graced by the attendance of the Southend Carnival Queen and her Court.
The spirit of Carnival permeated every event; it was not unusual for the procession to take as long as two to three hours to pass. This was a golden era for Carnival in Southend.
The event was abandoned for the duration of the war, but in 1946 a one-day event was held at the Kursaal Amusement Park, raising money for hospitals.
In 1947 the National Health Service was formed and took over the financing of the Hospital. After this, the reinstated Carnival Association set itself new targets including the building of the Carnival Estate at Eastwood.
The Kursaal Flyer
At the height of its popularity, the afternoon procession of decorated floats, the Carnival Queen and her court together with visiting Carnival Queens, Marching Bands, Majorettes, and pedestrians in fancy dress, started at Chalkwell Station at 3.30 pm working along the Ridgeway, down Chalkwell Avenue, and along the Western Esplanade and Marine Parade to the Kursaal - a distance of just over 2½ miles.
More and more local businesses supported the event during the 1970s and 1980s but after a fatality, stringent rules were put into place and the sale or consumption of alcohol was banned. Public interest and investment by its supporters dwindled over the next decade.
Taking this into account, it was decided in the 1990s to stop the daylight procession in favour of giving more effort towards the evening Illuminated procession.
The result was that it gave the event a definite focal point for the town and on the Carnival Calendar, and since then attracted significantly higher numbers of participants and onlookers each year. The procession at the time ran contraflow to the event today - starting at the Kursaal at 8.15pm and finishing at the Chalkwell Shelter around 9.45pm.
2006 was a special year when the town celebrated 100 years of Carnival in Southend, and the event marked a massive upturn in interest and support. Currently, the procession starts at 7.45pm from the bottom of Chalkwell Avenue and arriving at the Kursaal around 9.15pm, when a large fireworks display marks the end of Carnival week..
Carnival Queen and Court in 2008
Boating and Yachting      Back to Top

Southend, by reason of the magnificent expanse of the Estuary, was, and do a degree, still is, famous as a yachting centre, for both sailing craft and motor-boating. Southend Yachting Week was one of the Premier Yacht Racing Association's annual fixtures, usually held in June.
There were (as at 1939) five recognised yacht clubs: Alexandra Yacht Club, founded in 1873; the Nore Yacht Club, founded in 1902; the Westcliff Yacht Club, founded in 1900; the Essex Yacht Club (Leigh), founded in 1890; and the Leigh Sailing Club, founded in 1911), providing facilities for sportsmen interested in amateur yacht racing and sailing.

Alexandra Yacht Club c1905

The sheltered waters and creeks of Hevengore, The Roach, Swale, and the Medway provided unrivalled facilities for cruising. Motor-boat racing was well to the fore, with the Nore Yacht Club making a feature of that branch of sport. Mayor B. Heckstall Smith was quoted as stating that..."the Pier Head is the finest position on the coast from which to see a yacht race..." There were Motor Boat trips daily from the Pier Head, Marine Parade and Western Esplanade to Canvey Island, Sheerness, Nore Lightship, and Kent shore. Rowing boats were on hire at various parts of the front, both east and west of the Pier.

In 1877 a yacht race around England started and finished at Southend Pier. By the early 1920s Southend Yachting Week had become one of the principle features of the Yacht Racing Association's calendar. It has attracted thousands of visitors, including George V and other royalty. The Nore Yacht Club was destroyed by enemy action during the Second World War, and amalgamated with the Westcliff Yacht Club in 1944-45. The Yachting Week was resumed in 1946, and included the famous Royal Thames Yacht Club race from Harwich to Southend Pier.
Southchurch Hall & Park         Back to Top
Situated at the east end of York Road is Southchurch Hall. Between the Battle of Hastings In 1066 and the Domesday Survey of 1086 it was enrolled as four hides and pastures, woodlands and two fisheries. It is of early-mid 14th century and (based on dendro dating) stands on the site of an earlier building of the seventh century (referred to as the Manor of Sudcera in the Domesday survey of 1086).
During the 13th and 14th centuries it was the residence of the powerful de Southchurch family, Sir Richard de Southchurch being Sheriff of Essex in A.D. 1265. Here the family built their manor house and a stone chapel (now the parish church): it was the centre of a large estate covering properties from Shoebury and Sutton to Leigh and Canvey Island (part of Canvey being acquired in the 13th century as additional pasture for a second flock of sheep). By the time of his death in 1294 Richard held tenancy not only of the manor but of lands in the adjoining manors of North Thorpe, Prittlewell, Leigh, Sutton, North Shoebury, and Shopland.
Until the time of Henry VIII, Southchurch Manor was controlled by the Monks of Canterbury. This link was broken when Henry VIII broke with Rome, and dissolved the monasteries.
Richard went on to trade Southchurch with Lord Riche, for other lands he owned in Essex. The manor remained in the possession of Lord Riche's descendants, the Earls of Warwick, and later passed to the Earl of Nottingham.
George Asser was Lord of the Manor in 1738 and eventually Southchurch Hall became part of the estate of the first mayor of Southend, Alderman Thomas Dowsett, who presented Wiffen's Farm (as it was known since 1900) to the town in 1925.
In 1928-1929 it was restored to serve as a local library and the surrounding medieval earthworks were turned into public gardens until 1974, when the local library moved to a new building in Lifstan Way, and it was converted into a period house museum.
It is one of the finest examples of a moated homestead now surviving in the eastern counties. The building consists of a timber-framed hall, and much of the old decoration, lath and plaster, and some interesting interior woodwork, still remains.
The Hall, moat and earthworks have been restored to feature their original appearance 650 years ago. Southchurch Hall is now laid out in a series of period rooms, the great open hall reflecting life in the later middle ages. In the south wall is a fourteenth-century doorway with a richly carved arch. Two pieces of fourteenth-century timber framing, now exhibited in one of the lower rooms, are thought to have been taken from the rood screen which, in pre-Reformation times, spanned the chancel arch of Holy Trinity Church, Southchurch. The solar wing displays life in Tudor and Stuart times, while the service wing is devoted to domestic life through several centuries.

Southchurch Park is huge, covering 31 acres, and with two lakes.
Paddle-boats on the lakes
Southchurch Park was presented to the town in 1895 from three landowners, Messrs. Baxter, Dowsett, and Ingram, and has continued to develop, combining formal and informal areas. Relaxing gardens, recreational facilities including, sports and play equipment keep the Park popular with all who visit.
Throughout the year the gardens are awash with colour as the bedding plants, herbaceous perennials and shrubs mark the changes in the season, providing joy to those who visit. Bowls, Tennis, Croquet, Football and Cricket all play a part in the yearly sporting calendar.
The park was, until 2008, also home to an annual Bus Rally. It is the only 'seaside' venue still used by Essex County Cricket Club each year, but is also the pitch upon where Essex suffered its most crushing defeat when in May 1948 they played Don Bradman's Australians and were all out for 721 - a record still unbeaten. The park has always housed examples of horticultural excellence, with shrubs and bedding displays, and was a Green Flag Winner. Today the park features facilities for a range of outdoor sports, ornamental gardens and an all-year-round café.
The lakes are the only remnant of the Great Western Mere, which was drained in the 1870s from the Southchurch Marsh (a large lagoon that consisted of two Meres that stretched from the Kursaal to Bournes Green and Thorpe Hall Avenue), and has one lake used for boating, the other for model boat sailing.
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