h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Havering-atte-Bower

The Palace at Havering was a great favourite of Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinson, William the Conqueror and many later kings. It was close enough to London to be convenient and far enough away to be free from the demands of government. The hunting was good and so were the views across the lower Thames. The wildfowl marshes of south Essex to the rolling hills of north Kent were breathtaking. Today the view includes Tilbury Docks, the Queen Elizabeth Bridge at Dartford, the Ford Motor Works, Canary Wharf and the Millennium Dome. The price of progress is high.

Rainham Hall

This impressive building completed in 1729 for the merchant and shipowner Captain John Harle. The Hall was built to exceptionally high standards and much of the original survives. Now owned by the National Trust. There is ornamental stonework, along with immense mulberry tree and a Victorian doghouse. The Hall and gardens are open to the public Wednesday and Saturday afternoons by written arrangement with the tenant.

Upminster Windmill, Upminster
A fine example of a smock mill dating from 1803. The original machinery is intact but is not in working order. Open from 14.00 - 17.00, one weekend (Saturday and Sunday) per month between April and September.

Upminster Tithe Barn - Agricultural and Folk Museum
It is situated in Hall Lane, Upminster. The Tithe Barn with a large isle has been dated from the late 14th Century. Open from 14.00 - 18.00, one weekend (Saturday and Sunday) per month between April and October. The smock mill and barn are owned by the London Borough of Havering and is administered by the Hornchurch and District Historical Society.

The Essex Archaeological and Historical Congress was founded in 1964 to bring together all the organisations in the county interested in archaeology, local history, family history and civic life. Today the Essex Congress has nearly 100 member groups and actively promotes awareness and study of the rich heritage of this county.

On a summer night in 1851 three Essex policemen laid in wait as three burglars approached a lonely Essex farmhouse. According to the newspaper for 13th June 1851 a farmer of the parish, was burglared by three men. It appears that the premises were under police surveillance, after an attempt to burgle the premises a month previously.

The local police had vigilantly guarded them and on Tuesday night were on watch, when the parties appeared and having tried at several places, ineffectually, with a long iron chisel, to gain an entrance, they at last succeeded in removing an iron bar from a back kitchen window and entered.

One of them went to the front parlour, followed closely by a second, who on being stopped by a police constable 115 who had received a terrible blow on the his head with a chisel. The robber in the parlour was then attacked by a labouring man in the employ of Mr Cook which then a fight broke out.

The constable became conscious and then succeeded the man down in the passage and handcuffing one of his wrists, whilst the labourer called loudly for his master. Mr Cook, hearing his cries, came with his loaded gun and then the robber seized the gun, and in the scuffle left off the trigger, which a bullet/bullets unhappily entered one of the arms of the labourer. The gun was then snatched from Mr Cook, who received a blow from it. The policeman then had now to contend with both the burglars, with whom he fought single handed.

The labourer received medical aid but because of the seriousness of the injury it was necessary to amputate the wounded man's arm. The names of the caught burglars were Stephen Prike, William Poole and James Dawson, all of whom, it was believed, would be identified by the police. Superintendent Hoy, on inspecting Mr Cook's premises, found that part of the dwelling in which the encounter took place was in a state resembling a slaughter house because the violent nature of the burglary.

Dunton, which means 'hill farm' the second element being tun, which is by far the commonest word for a settlement in English place-names which is less common in Essex than in most counties. Bowers is a rare habitative name which occurs also in Bures which straddles the Suffolk/Essex boundary and in some minor names in Essex. The final -s of Bowers and Bures does not necessarily mean that the names were originally plural; both that they are Bura in Domesday Book, and the short names often acquire an inorganic -s in Middle English.

Thurrock is thought to mean'the bilge of a ship'. It is a good name for a stretch of marsh. Vange is a part of a fen (which is the second element of Bulphan) and ge 'district' a word believed to have become obsolete at an early date in Old English.

Benfleet means 'tree-trunk creek', which could be referring to a bridge. Bulphan from the French is 'fen by a fortification'. Chadwell means 'cold spring'. Lee probably means 'wood.

History

Until the Iron age there was little agriculture due to the hardwood forests which covered most of Essex, even today in areas such as Epping Forest there is land that has never ever been cultivated.

The Romans captured Camulodunum (or Colchester) in AD43 under Emperor Claudius I. In AD60-61 queen Boudicca (or Boadicea) rebelled against them and destroyed the colony. However she later committed suicide, to avoid capture by the Romans, and they took the city back again. The walls, around the city, built by the Romans can still be seen in places.

Essex got its name because the area was conquered by the Saxons around the 6th century and it became the kingdom of the East Saxons. In the 9th and 10th centuries Essex was occupied by the Danes.

Stone was a scarce and so timber was used as the chief building material. It was generally agreed that if a ship was built from wood from an area, then once that ship was de-commissioned the wood came back to the area for re-use. This is the reason why that many old buildings, such as pubs, have beams which are curved, or have slots and holes in them. Bricks that were used from the 16th century for large houses such as Audley End. There are two surviving Norman castles, at Colchester and Castle Hedingham.

Essex has always been an agricultural county, with an excellent corn-growing countryside. From the corn-grain giving rise to associated milling, malting and brewing industries. The rich soil was also used to grow the much-need gardener’s seeds and is remembered in such names as the ‘Kelvedon Wonder’ pea. Essex is also the jam (soft fruit) capital of Britain, with both ‘Wilkin and Son’ and ‘Elsenham’ producing their preserves here. Saffron Walden gets part of its name from the ‘Saffron Crocus’ which was once grown in that area, and was used for dyeing, medicine and flavouring. The coastline has also brought great wealth, with important trading, fishing and ship building centres. Many goods that were carried in the famous Thames Sailing Barges. Today you can try sea salt from Maldon, oysters from Colchester and cockles at Leigh-on-Sea. To the north of the county came the prosperous medieval wool, and later on the lace and silk weaving industries. While to the south of the county there was cement works and brick-making at Grays, and also there was gravel extraction in the Lee Valley. Today Essex is home to Tilbury Docks, the Port of Harwich and Bradwell Power Station. Famous company names include - Britvic (beverages), Ford (car manufacturing), GEC Marconi (engineering/research) and Ridleys (brewing).

There is a coastline around the south-east edge of the county which is deeply indented, but flat, due to several river estuaries. These include those of the River Stour to the north and the River Thames to the south. Along the coastline are many seaside resorts, ports and harbours. The largest resort is Southend-on-Sea, and there are docks at Harwich, Colchester and Tilbury.

The land is gently rolling lowland. The soil is mostly clay based but is a fertile soil. Wheat, barley, and oil-seed rape are among the most common agricultural crops. Arable livestock is also common. Plant nurseries and market gardens abound where the clay soil is covered by lighter, more fertile soils. Oyster fishing is also an important industry around the coast

The area of Essex is 1418 sq ml (3672 sq Km), its population around 1.5 million.

The county is divided into administrative districts of: Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Southend-on-Sea, Tendring, Thurrock and Uttlesford. Chelmsford is the administrative centre of the whole county. The University of Essex is based in Colchester.

The population is growing both residentially and industrially. House prices are high throughout Essex, but in general terms the more closer you get to London the higher the prices are. Commuters to London live in most towns of Essex now, with easy access to the city on electrified trains. Some towns, such as Basildon and Harlow, have been deliberately designed and built to carry the over-spill of London. Fifty years ago these towns were just being started from small villages.

Clockwork Mice (1995) - Poignant drama starring Art Malik and Ian Hart. Shot at Chipping Ongar.

Essex Boys (2002) - Gangland thriller starring Sean Bean and Alex Kingston. Filming took place at Brightlingsea, Jaywick, Clacton and Southend.

The Fourth Protocol (1987) - Spy thriller starring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan. Shot in Essex at Colchester and Chelmsford (where there is a memorable car chase scene).

Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994) - Romantic Comedy, with scenes shot at St. Clement’s Church, West Thurrock.

Golden Eye (1995) - James Bond adventure, with scenes shot Stansted Airport.

Killing Dad (1989) - Drama starring Richard E. Grant. Filmed at the Pier and Palace Hotels in Southend.

Brothers In Trouble (BBC) - Immigration drama, shot at Clacton and Mistley Quay.

Eastenders (BBC) - Soap opera, which has featured both Southend-on Sea and Clacton-on-Sea in past episodes.

Hi-de-Hi (BBC) - Comedy series centred around Maplins Holiday Camp. Scenes for the show were filmed on the Essex Sunshine coast at Dovercourt.

Ivanhoe (BBC) - Classic adventure tale, filmed at Hedingham castle, Castle Hedingham.

Jonathan Creek (BBC) - Comedy drama. One episode featured Stansted airport.

Lady Audley’s Secret (ITV) - Scandalous Victorian tale of a mans obsession with a woman. Ingatestone Hall became Audley’s house, which is where the novel was actually written.

Lovejoy (BBC) - Based on the books by Essex writer Jonathan Gash, this comedy drama was set around the adventures of antiques rouge ‘Lovejoy’ played by Ian McShane. Filmed throughout Essex including Braintree, Chelmsford, Coggeshall, Colchester, Finchingfield, Gosfield Hall, Halstead, Hedingham Castle, Ingatestone Hall, Kelvedon, Layer Marney Tower, Maldon, Moyns Park, Saffron Walden, Thaxted and Wakes Colne.

Plotlands (BBC) - 1920’s drama films at Wivenhoe.

Sharpe’s Regiment (ITV) - Military adventure starring Sean Bean. Scenes filmed at Tilbury Fort.

Upminster railway history


Thursday 11 October 1883 at noon that day an eminent party left Fenchurch Street by train changed at Rainham Station to a 74 coach trin which brought them to Upminster. The distinguised group of people were to be met by the "leading gentry of the neighbourhood" and villagers who gave them a "hearty welcome" and accompanied them to a hilltop just north of Upminster windmill where the ceremonial cutting of the first turf of the Barking to Pitsea extension of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway was to be performed. After the benediction from the Rector of Chadwell, the Rev A E Clementi-Smith, Mr Arthur L Stride, Engineer and General Manager of the Company, invited Mrs Doughty Browne, the Chairman's wife, to turn the first turf, using the silver spade and "miniature barrow of walnut" which was presented by Mr W H Knight of the contractors Kirk and Parry.

Upminster had been chosen as the venue as a ceremony as Barking or Pitsea did not hold the same importance. The view that the disadvantage Upminster's isolation from the railway network was to be overcome.

Harold Hill district history

The A12 is an ancient pass that has its beginnings in Roman times. Housing in 1786 was mainly rural and very sparse, with the land to the left of what is Straight Road (previously called Rumford Common), The residential area called Gooses (now called Gooshayes Drive) placed between Nook Hill and New Hall.

Gallows Corner was called the ‘Site of Gallows’.
Duck Wood, Hatters Wood and Shoulder of Mutton Wood (woods surrounding Harold Hill/Harold Wood) Long Wood and Sage Wood are now part of what is known as Central Park. Most of the Park was in Dagnam Park as it is known today.

The land of the eastern Saxons, is how the County of Essex got its name. It comes from the Old English meaning ëland of the East Saxonsí. The first recorded usage was in 604 as East Seaxe. Found in the South East of England the county covers an area of some 1,417 square miles and in Harwich provides a direct link, albeit over the sea, to Holland and the continent of Europe.

The main towns and cities of Essex are Chelmsford, the administration centre of Essex, Colchester, known in Roman times as Camulodunum, Harwich, Tilbury, Clacton and Southend-on-Sea.

Colchester was the earliest recorded Roman town in England and, despite being destroyed by Bodicea and the Iceni tribes, remains a garrison town to this day.

The County Town is Chelmsford and its Victorian railway viaduct took over 10 million bricks to build.

The Parish of Great Waltham is situated west of Chelmsford, the county town and administrative centre of Essex.

The name Waltham is of Saxon origin "walt" meaning "wood" and "ham" meaning "home" literally "wood-home" or home in the wood. In Saxon times much of Essex was covered in dense forest. The earliest known settlement dates from the Iron Age 300-100 B.C. remains of these early settlements were found in 1971 on the bank of the River Chelmer in what is now Little Waltham. The Romans had settlements in the area and the tiles would have been most probably salvaged from ruined Roman buildings. Roman coins have been found at the Ford in Bury Lane during the repairs to the road surface of the lane some years ago.

Hi Kat , as you may have noticed, I've taken over the editing of the 'Essex Researchers Group' page. I've not had a chance yet to go through all of the threads, but I have noticed you've posted some interesting tidbits of information, is it ok if I copy and paste some of them to 'Essex - Bits'n'Pieces' - A20185526 - it's sort of the over-flow for the Essex Researchers page, and both are to each other, I've also added you as a creditor on that page.

Emmily

Hi Emmily


It is alright to copy and paste them to 'Essex - Bits'n'Pieces' - A20185526

Kat, though it might take a couple of days, I'm trying to do loads of stuff at once here.

Emmily