Southchurch Hall is a moated house, clearly rather grand, dating back to the Middle Ages (14th Century) with extensions added in the Tudor era and 1930s. The de Southchurch family were the original residents of the house, and its great hall was likely to have been built on the site of a Saxon hall. Solars…
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The building originates back to 1905, when the site was first opened as the towns first free library. The Grade II listed site remained as a library until 1974 when it moved to the brutalist-style concrete-faced building to the left of it. Much of its early Edwardian Victorian-style architecture both inside and out remains relatively…
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Prittlewell Priory is a medieval priory founded in the 12th Century by monks of Cluniac Priory of St. Pancreas. It became a private residence after Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. at this time much of the building was destroyed so much of it was altered in the 1700s, and again a century later. In 1842…
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1-15 Royal Terrace and the Royal Hotel were built well before the Victorian era – in the time of Georgian rule in the 1790s. Originally Southend was a place popular with fishermen, and it was not actually known as ‘Southend’ until this time when it was called ‘New South End’. Southend previously only referred to…
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Liam from Beyond the Point has worked with school to produce a feature-length documentary on the school’s history including both an insight into life there and behind the scenes areas of the building with kind permission and help from the Headmaster, staff, and caretaker. As well as video footage and interviews, we also took extensive…
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Brutalism is an architectural style that resulted from post-war space-age and post-modernist design influences seen in buildings from the 1950s up to 1970s and rarely later. It is notable for its iconic bare concrete finish and angular block-like shapes. Southend’s second central library was built in 1974 to replace the 1905 library which is now…
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Abbey remains today only through an extremely archaic and peculiar chapel located on the outskirts of the quaint market town of Coggeshall in North Essex. It was founded in 1140 by King Stephen of England and Matilda of Boulogne. Its religious order changed from Savigniac to Cistercian Christianity in 1147. In 1216, the abbey was…
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Why is Grange Barn important? Grange Barn lies in the small market town of Coggeshall, North Essex. It is one of the oldest timber-framed buildings in Europe, dating back to the 13th Century. It was heavily altered a century later. Whilst considered world treasures, these medieval timber barns are actually fairly common in Essex. Cressing…
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Why is Paycocke’s House nationally important? Paycocke’s House in Coggleshall is not simply an old house; it actually reflects some of the national changes to the design of houses that were occurring in the 17th Century. The Great Rebuilding is a phenomenon occurring said to arguably have occurred between 1570 and 1640 in the south,…
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Prior to the construction of the Colvin opening bridge in 1931, a ferry and stepping stones at low tide were used to get from Benfleet to Canvey and back. The stepping stones were cast into buckets originally and were removed in 1931 and held in the old Canvey Council Offices down Long Road for a…
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