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Wallasea Island

Wallasea Island photos (2 available)

Old photo of Wallasea Island

Wallasea Island maps (2 available)

Old map of Wallasea Island

Wallasea Island books (13 available)

Wallasea Island memories

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You can also read memories of nearby places in Essex below.

Essex memories

Home memories.

Paglesham, the Stores c1955

I moved into these cottages with my family in 1935 and my parents were there until 1959. Originally it was a barn hence the name 'Barn Row' and was converted into cottages in 1836 as marked in the brickwork on the other side of the cottages. All the time my parents lived there, there was no sewerage and only a stand tap in the middle yard to serve all four cottages. But times have changed and the village has been renovated and one or two new houses have been built.
A memory of Paglesham contributed by Mrs A Turner

Jacqueline Oldman

While researching my family history I came across this article in the Eastern Counties Advertiser 18th October 1879. It is the coroner's report relating to my great great grandfather's brother Thomas Brassett 1815 - 1879 an agricultural labourer of Southminster Essex. He was born 2nd August 1871 and baptised 5th August the son of Thomas and Amelia.

Southminster
Found Drowned - On Saturday afternoon an inquest was held at the White Hart Inn, by Mr W Codd, touching the death of Thomas Brassett aged 64 years of age, whose body was found in a ditch early on Thursday morning last, near Plumbro House, on the Southminster marshes. The witnesss examined were Benjamin Boosey and George Sams; but there was no ...read more here
A memory of Southminster contributed by First name Last name

The Yogi Bear test

Hi, I was born in 1960 next to Little Wakering church, my dad Dennis, mum Babs and big sis Sue. The Yogi Bear test refers to a large square of trees at the end of the Parry that you had to climb round without touching the ground, many years were spent doing this and if you did complete the task you had to go round the opposite way which was very difficult for some reason. Without a doubt the Parry and the Wick gave me some of my greatest memories of Little Wakering. Mark Deeks.
A memory of Little Wakering contributed by mark deeks

Mill Lane

We lived at number 11 Mill Lane and later moved to number 7. My late father, Joe Clarke was the chemist at the Mill. I remember my early childhood lived in Rochford so very fondly. We were very happy carefree children with a wonderful countryside to play in. My sister, Samantha, narrowly escaped drowning when (at the age of 3) she fell off the wharf into the creek at high tide. She was pulled out by her arm by one of the 'big boys'. I think his name was Peter. We were the 'Clarke Family', two boys and three girls. We left Rochford when I was 11 and when I returned approximately 10 years later (all grown ...read more here
A memory of Rochford contributed by Nicola Scott

Extracts From Wallasea Island & Essex books

Laindon, Church Road c1955

In the medieval manorial rolls there are references to ancient roads and lanes that carry the same names today. A field known as Joiners Hill on the south corner of St Nicholas Lane at the entrance from High Road is shown on the 1839 Laindon Tithe Map, and it is thought that the route via Laindon High Road and St Nicholas Way was used by many pilgrims on their way to Canterbury; it was a busy trade route from the 1500s. In addition to the difficulty of travelling over bad roads in the 18th and 19th centuries, murderers and thieves abounded, and farmers coming home from market would travel together for protection. In 1815 two Laindon men were robbed on their way home from Rumford (now Romford) market.
An extract from from"Basildon - A History & Celebration".

Basildon, Town Square c1965

In the medieval manorial rolls there are references to ancient roads and lanes that carry the same names today. A field known as Joiners Hill on the south corner of St Nicholas Lane at the entrance from High Road is shown on the 1839 Laindon Tithe Map, and it is thought that the route via Laindon High Road and St Nicholas Way was used by many pilgrims on their way to Canterbury; it was a busy trade route from the 1500s. In addition to the difficulty of travelling over bad roads in the 18th and 19th centuries, murderers and thieves abounded, and farmers coming home from market would travel together for protection. In 1815 two Laindon men were robbed on their way home from Rumford (now Romford) market.
An extract from from"Basildon - A History & Celebration".

Laindon, Wash Road c1955

Laindon and Langdon Hills had always been separate villages with long histories, and even appeared as separate entries in the 1086 Domesday Book. Laindon took its name from the River Lyge, a lost tributary of the River Crouch, which rose from the hill on which St Nicholas’s Church stands and is responsible for the extreme dampness of the graves dug in the churchyard. The Lynge, a road in Laindon, was named after it, but no longer exists. In 1777 Chapman and Andre refer to Langdon clay, a clear indication of the nature of the soil here. The first part of the name Langdon Hills means ‘long hill’, which it certainly is, and the highest point in Essex.
An extract from from"Basildon - A History & Celebration".

Basildon, the Industrial Estate c1965

Built on the site of the Old Rectory, the Basildon tractor plant was finally completed on 20 February 1964. It covered 60 acres of the 100-acre site, and had 1,360,000 square feet of buildings. Its most recognisable feature was its distinctive 125ft-high water tower holding 200,000 gallons (right); nicknamed ‘the onion’, it is still regarded as a local landmark.
An extract from from"Basildon - A History & Celebration".

Laindon, St Nicholas's Church c1955

Picturesquely perched on top of its steep knoll and surrounded by a sea of 20th- century housing, the church of St Nicholas, Laindon, possibly dates from the 12th century. It incorporates the stout original timbers of its 14th-century belfry with broach spire, weather-boarded outside in true Essex style. The timber is about 700 years old, and the bell turret rests on an arched frame of timber. It is rumoured that the timbers supporting the belfry came from ships of the Armada, but they are more likely to have grown in the nearby woods. The chancel and south aisle were added later. From Saxo-Norman times Basildon was closely associated with Laindon, and Laindon parish was always described as Laindon-cum-Basildon. St Nicholas’s and Holy Cross, Basildon have similar curious primitive 15th-century carvings on the spandrels of their porches.
An extract from from"Basildon - A History & Celebration".