Basildon

Basildon Essex UK Hub

Approximate Population: 99,876

The first historical reference to Basildon is in records from 1086.   It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Belesduna’.  The name ‘Basildon’ means ‘Beorhtel’s hill’ and is derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name ‘Beorhtel’ and the Anglo-Saxon word ‘dun’, meaning hill.   In historical documents, this name had various forms over the centuries, including Berdlesdon, Batlesdon and Belesduna.

By the beginning of the 1900s, Basildon had evolved with much of the land having been sold in small plots during a period of land speculation and development taking placed haphazardly with building by plotowners ranging from shelters created from recycled materials to brick-built homes and with amenities such as water, gas, electricity and hard-surfaced roads lacking.

In the 1940s, Billericay and Essex County Councils, who were concerned about the lack of amenities on the area and how it had evolved, petitioned the Government to create a New Town, and on January 4 1949, Lewis Silkin, Minister of Town and Country Planning, officially designated Basildon as a ‘New Town’.  

Basildon Development Corporation was formed in February 1949 to transform the designated area into a modern new town.   The New Town incorporated Laindon and Pitsea and was laid out around small neighbourhoods with the first house being completed in June 1951.  The first tenants moved into homes on 18 June 1951, in numbers 59, 61, and 63 Redgrave Road in Vange.

Basildon Essex UK

Brentwood

Brentwood Essex UK Hub

Approximate Population: 44,800

Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, part of Essex in England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles (30 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in London and near to the M25 motorway.

Brentwood is a suburban town with a small, but expanding, shopping area and high street. Beyond this is extensive sprawling residential development entirely surrounded by open countryside and woodland; some penetrating to within only a few hundred yards of the town centre. It is perhaps most widely known for Brentwood School and for several businesses based in the town.

Several notable businesses are located in Brentwood. The Ford Motor Company UK headquarters are located in the nearby suburb of Warley and SOSS hinge manufacturers NV Tools are still based here. The headquarters of Amstrad are located in Brentwood, despite TV show The Apprentice using overhead views of One Canada Square and the Canary Wharf business complex in London as an accompaniment to interior shots of the Amstrad offices.; in 2008, the firm announced a move of HQ to Loughton[citation needed]. Countryside Properties, the property developer, also have a substantial HQ in the town.

Brentwood town centre does not have a railway station because it is situated on a hill. Brentwood Station is located to the south of the town and is served by National Express East Anglia stopping services between Liverpool Street in the City of London and Shenfield railway station, which is located to the north of Brentwood. National Express East Anglia also operate fast direct services from Shenfield to Liverpool Street. The area is served by a network of local bus routes. The A12 road bypasses the town to the north and the M25 motorway is located 2 miles (3 km) to the south west of the town. London Buses route 498 links Romford with Brentwood and operates Daily (every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday, and Sundays every 60 minutes).

Brentwood Essex UK Hub

Braintree

Braintree Essex UK Hub

Approximate Population: 42,393

Braintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is ten miles north-east of Chelmsford and fifteen miles west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.

The origin of the name Braintree is obscure. It is believed by some scholars that the name of the River Brain came later, and so was named after the town, rather than the other way round. One theory is that Braintree was originally Branoc’s tree, Branoc apparently being an old personal name. Another theory is that the name is derived from that of Rayne, which was actually a more important settlement in Norman times. Braintree was called Branchetreu in the Domesday Book. Other scholars say the “Brain” element in the word is accepted to be derived from “Brid/ Brigantia/ Bride/ Bigit/ Britain”.

Braintree dates back over 4,000 years when it was just a small village. When the Romans invaded, they built two roads; a settlement developed at the junction of these two roads but was later abandoned when the Romans left Britain. The town was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1085 when it was called Branchetreu and consisted of 30 acres in the possession of Richard, son of Count Gilbert. Pilgrims used the town as a stop-over, the size of the town increased and the Bishop of London obtained a market charter for the town in 1190. The town prospered from the 1600s when Flemish immigrants made the town famous for its wool cloth trade. In 1665, the Great Plague killed 865 of the population of just 2,300 people.

Braintree lies in north Essex, about 40 miles from London, with factories and housing to the south and rural areas to the north, where arable crops are grown. It lies about 50 metres above sea level. Essex is rather flat on the whole, and the Braintree area is no exception; however, there is a general downward trend in the height of the ground from the northwest towards the coast to the southeast. Two rivers flow through Braintree in this direction. Pod’s Brook approaches the western side of the town, forms a natural boundary between Braintree and the neighbouring village of Rayne about two miles to the west. Pod’s Brook becomes the River Brain as it passes under the Roman road, before running through the southern part of Braintree. The River Pant (or Blackwater) runs roughly parallel to it, through the north of Bocking, and away to the east of the town. The Brain eventually flows into the Blackwater several miles away, near Witham.

Braintree Essex UK Hub

Southend

Southend Essex UK Hub

Approximate Population: 162,000

Southend is known for its seafront. Since 1986, a diesel-hydraulic railway has run the length of pier, replacing the electric service which opened in 1890.   A fire in October 2005 damaged the far end of the pier.   The pier has been beset by fires; a fire in 1995 destroyed the bowling alley at the start of the pier.   The pier was also run through by a boat in 1984.

The Kursaal was one of the earliest theme parks, built at the start of the 20th century.   It closed in the 1970s and much of the land was developed as housing.   The entrance hall, a listed building, is a bowling alley arcade operated by Megabowl and casino.   A newer theme park, Adventure Island, developed on land formerly occupied by Peter Pan’s Playground, straddles the pier entrance. It has grown into a large amusement park with 50 rides. The seafront also houses the “Sea-Life Adventure” aquarium.

The cliff gardens, which included Never Never Land and Victorian bandstand were an attraction until slippage in 2003 made parts of the cliffs unstable, and the bandstand has been removed.  The council wants to re-erect the bandstand but a location has to be found.

A cliff lift links the base of the High Street with the new pier entrance.   The older lift, a short funicular, is a few hundred metres away, closed because structural and mechanical work needs to be done in order to meet European Union legislation which classes it as a cablecar. In August Southend Carnival opens along the Golden Mile with the lighting of the Southend Illuminations. On the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, Southend hosts a farmers’ market.

Southend Essex UK Hub

Colchester

UK Hub Colchester Essex

Approximate Population: 104,390

Colchester is 56 miles (90 km) northeast of London. It is connected to the capital by the A12 road and the Great Eastern Main Line.

Colchester is claimed to be the oldest recorded town in Britain on the grounds that it was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in AD 77. Its Celtic name was Camulodunon, meaning ‘the fortress of (the war god) Camulos’. Following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, a Roman legionary fortress was established and the name Camulodunon was modified to the Roman spelling of ‘Camulodunum’. Camulodunum served as the first Roman capital of Britain, but was attacked and destroyed during Boudica’s rebellion in AD 61. Sometime after the destruction, London became the capital of the province of Britannia but it would seem that the council of the provincial natives still met at Colchester, where the Temple to the Divine Claudius served as the seat of this council. Later, when the Roman frontier moved north (c. AD 49), Camulodunum became a colonia known as Colonia Claudia Victricensis. In 2004 Colchester Archaeological Trust discovered the remains of a Roman Circus (chariot race track) underneath the Garrison in Colchester, a unique find in Britain.

Colchester has been an important military garrison since the Roman era. The Colchester Garrison is currently home to the 16th Air Assault Brigade. The army’s only Military Corrective Training Centre, known colloquially within the forces and locally as ‘The Glasshouse’ after the original military prison in Aldershot, is in Berechurch Hall Road, on the outskirts of Colchester. The Centre holds servicemen and women from all three services who are sentenced to serve periods of detention.

UK Hub Colchester Essex

Colchester

Colchester Essex UK Hub

Approximate Population: 104,390

Colchester claims to be the oldest town in Britain. It was for a time the capital of Roman Britain and also claims to have the United Kingdom’s oldest recorded market. Colchester is 56 miles (90 km) northeast of London. It is connected to the capital by the A12 road and the Great Eastern Main Line.

Colchester is claimed to be the oldest recorded town in Britain on the grounds that it was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in AD 77. Its Celtic name was Camulodunon, meaning ‘the fortress of (the war god) Camulos’. Following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, a Roman legionary fortress was established and the name Camulodunon was modified to the Roman spelling of ‘Camulodunum’. Camulodunum served as the first Roman capital of Britain, but was attacked and destroyed during Boudica’s rebellion in AD 61.

Sometime after the destruction, London became the capital of the province of Britannia but it would seem that the council of the provincial natives still met at Colchester, where the Temple to the Divine Claudius served as the seat of this council. Later, when the Roman frontier moved north (c. AD 49), Camulodunum became a colonia known as Colonia Claudia Victricensis. In 2004 Colchester Archaeological Trust discovered the remains of a Roman Circus (chariot race track) underneath the Garrison in Colchester, a unique find in Britain.

The £22.7m eight-mile A120 Colchester Eastern Bypass opened in June 1982. Colchester and the surrounding area is currently undergoing significant regeneration. Colchester Town Watch was founded in 2001 to provide a ceremonial guard for the Mayor of Colchester and for civic events such as the Oyster Feast. The historic re-enactors wear a livery based on late Elizabethan dress. Colchester Town Watch is accompanied by the musicians of the Colchester Town Waits - a musical tradition dating back to the 14th century.

Colchester Essex UK Hub

Loughton

Loughton Essex UK Hub

Approximate Population: 30,340

Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles (21 km) north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Buckhurst Hill, Theydon Bois, Waltham Abbey, and Chigwell. Loughton includes 3 conservation areas and there are 56 listed buildings in the town, together with a further 50 locally listed.

Loughton has a population of 30,340 and covers about 3,724 acres (15 km2), of which over 1,300 acres (5 km2) are part of Epping Forest. The ancient parish contained over 3,900 acres (16 km2), but some parts in the south were transferred in 1996 to Buckhurst Hill parish, and small portions to Chigwell and Theydon Bois. After Canvey Island, it is the second most populous separately administered town in Essex and is also the most populous town within the Epping Forest district and the second largest in area.

Much of the housing in Loughton was built in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, with significant expansion in the 1930s. The Great Eastern Railway Company would not offer workmen’s fares to and from Loughton, so development was of a middle-class character. Loughton was a fashionable place for artistic and scientific residents in Victorian and Edwardian times, and a number of prominent residents were also socialists, nonconformists, and social reformers. Debden is a post-war development intended to ease the chronic housing shortage in London in the 1940s

From 1900 to 1933, Loughton was governed by the Loughton Urban District Council. From 1933 to 1974 together with Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell it formed the Chigwell Urban District. Since 1996, Loughton has had its own town council.

Loughton is home to two important national archives. The British Postal Museum Store houses objects ranging from the desk of Rowland Hill (founder of the Penny Post), to Mobile Post Office vehicles and an astounding assortment of letter boxes. The archive has public open days once a month. The disused signal box at Loughton is owned by the London Transport Museum and occasionally, guided tours are offered. Funding was pledged in 2006 to help establish a Street Museum in Loughton. There is also an Epping Forest District Museum store in the town, but this is not open to the public.

Loughton Essex UK Hub

Southend

UK Hub Southend Essex

Approximate Population: 162,000

Southend is known for its seafront. Since 1986, a diesel-hydraulic railway has run the length of pier, replacing the electric service which opened in 1890.   A fire in October 2005 damaged the far end of the pier.   The pier has been beset by fires; a fire in 1995 destroyed the bowling alley at the start of the pier.   The pier was also run through by a boat in 1984.

The Kursaal was one of the earliest theme parks, built at the start of the 20th century.   It closed in the 1970s and much of the land was developed as housing.   The entrance hall, a listed building, is a bowling alley arcade operated by Megabowl and casino.   A newer theme park, Adventure Island, developed on land formerly occupied by Peter Pan’s Playground, straddles the pier entrance. It has grown into a large amusement park with 50 rides. The seafront also houses the “Sea-Life Adventure” aquarium.

The cliff gardens, which included Never Never Land and Victorian bandstand were an attraction until slippage in 2003 made parts of the cliffs unstable, and the bandstand has been removed.  The council wants to re-erect the bandstand but a location has to be found.

A cliff lift links the base of the High Street with the new pier entrance.   The older lift, a short funicular, is a few hundred metres away, closed because structural and mechanical work needs to be done in order to meet European Union legislation which classes it as a cablecar.

In August Southend Carnival opens along the Golden Mile with the lighting of the Southend Illuminations. On the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, Southend hosts a farmers’ market.

UK Hub Southend Essex

Grays

Grays Essex UK Hub

Approximate Population: 36,601

Grays is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex and one of the Thurrock’s traditional (Church of England) parishes. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32km) to the east of London on the north bank of the River Thames.

The Grays and Chafford Hundred areas are set within three Victorian chalk pits; the largest two being the Lion Gorge, and the Warren Gorge. The area of the Chafford Hundred residential development is built on a Victorian landfill site.

Local sites of interest include the Thameside Theatre, the Thurrock History Museum, Grays Beach and the now-disused State Cinema (which was used as a location in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and for sections of Jamiroquai’s video of “Deeper Underground” for the film Godzilla). The ancient local manor of Grays Thurrock was granted by Richard I in 1195 to Henry de Gray, a descendant of the Norman knight Anchetil de Greye.

Schools in Grays include; Chafford Hundred Campus, Gateway Academy, Grays Convent High School, William Edwards School & Sports College, Grays School Media Arts College, Deneholm Primary, Little Thurrock Primary, Quarry Hill Infant and Junior, St Thomas Of Canterbury Catholic Primary, Stifford Clays Infant and Junior, Stifford Primary, Thameside Infant and Junior School, Warren Primary School, Chafford Hundred Primary School and Treetops School.

The local sixth form college is Palmer’s College, whilst other colleges in Grays include Thurrock & Basildon College (Woodview Campus) and Thurrock Adult Community College.

Grays Essex UK Hub

Chelmsford

UK Hub

Chelmsford Essex

Approximate Population: 120,000

Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England - the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford.   It is located 32 miles (51 km) northeast of Charing Cross in London.   Chelmsford is steeped in history and was one of the original settlements in the United Kingdom.   Residents of Chelmsford are known as ‘Chelmsfordians’.   The town has a population of roughly 120,000 and is still growing.   It is a modern, well placed town that has a large number of commuters who work in the City of London financial sector.

The town is surrounded by many small villages that retain their original charm (examples of these are Writtle, Good Easter, Roxwell, Mashbury, Chignal Smealy, Broomfield, Great and Little Baddow, Great and Little Waltham, Pepper’s Green and Pleshey). Chelmsford is home to three active local radio stations. Essex FM has been on air since 12 September 1981 and is owned by Global Radio. It moved to studios in Glebe Road in late 2004, having previously been based in Southend.

UK Hub Chelmsford Essex