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…
View More
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…
View More
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…
View More
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…
View More
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…
View More
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,…
View More
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…
View More
St. Johns’ Abbey was a very wealthy Benedictine abbey situated in Colchester, Essex. It functioned between 1096 and 1539. All that survives today is this stunning gatehouse built around 1400. It is now owned by English Heritage and is Grade I listed – you can walk through it publicly today. The structure is architecturally beautiful;…
View More
Turn back the clock to 1850 and Canvey Island little more than farmland and a small village, much like the Wild West. Only few of these actually remain today, with Brickhouse Farm being one of the only still in operation. So, where did all the rest go? Well, a majority became left abandoned due to…
View More
In the early 17th century, Canvey Island was inhabited by a community of Dutch settlers who whilst living both alongside and at times at loggerheads with the locals helped to shape the islanders topography today. Two houses built in a contemporary Dutch cylindrical shape survive to this day at Northwick seen below, and at Canvey…
View More