Known as either Canvey Island’s Heritage Centre or St Katherine’s Church, this building stands proud along Long Road. Towards the second-half of the 19th Century, Victorian Canvey was undergoing true establishment as a village, rather than just farmland. With a new church, St. Katherine’s, built in 1875, a village well, constructed in 1879, and numerous other…
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The current seawall that encircles Canvey Island was a late 1970s upgrade to the 1950s wall that was the first to be made out of concrete in response to the dated earthen mounds that failed to stand the test of the tide in the 1953 floods. The current wall, finished in the early 1980s, was…
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Several years ago BTP Joe was on Shell Beach, Canvey, when he came across this old piece of pottery. It clearly belonged to the company ‘Cox’s’ who set up a major establishment on Canvey. Aside from the main building, there was a small cafe hut on the beach at one time, from which we speculate…
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Lt. Col. Horace Percy Fielder could be considered the man to whom established Canvey as a residential area. A few decades before, at the turn of the century, Frederick Hester established Canvey as a tourist plotland area (read more here). However, Fielder could be considered the first to put Canvey on the map as a day…
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Who are Dr. Feelgood? Dr. Feelgood are a band formed in 1971 originating from Canvey; headlining the pub rock genre which was a revival of blues and rock and roll music popular in the 1950s and 60s from band such as the Rolling Stones. The scene’s back to basics attitude and intense energy; displayed by Dr. Feelgood,…
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Battlesbridge may not appear to be a very large place, but it is historic. It sits on the River Crouch where it narrows and heads towards its source. The small bridge over the river is where the village gets its name from. The original timber bridge stood for a long while since c.1351 when the…
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Rayleigh Dutch Cottage at Crown Hill has a past as strange as it’s appearance. Whilst a sign above its door denotes ‘1621’, analysis suggests it was instead likely to have been built around 1740. It is aesthetically similar to the two dutch cottages on Canvey Island dating from the early 17th Century. Whilst the exact…
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Rayleigh Windmill is a grade II-listed mill which was built in 1809 for local timber trader Thomas Higgs. He became bankrupt in 1815 and the mill was sold on to numerous individuals. It was the last of five mills which served the town throughout history. The mill had to be repaired in or just after…
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Layer Marney Tower is a Grade I gigantic Tudor palace not too far from Colchester in North Essex. The main structure visible is actually an elaborate gatehouse and main range, and there is also a contemporary barn and church on the grounds. It is in fact the tallest Tudor gatehouse in Britain. Like other palaces…
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Every year 80 million people file in and out of Heathrow Airport on their way around the world. While many take the Tube or train to get there, very few will be aware of a secret station that’s been built beneath their feet. When Terminal 5 was planned, the airport decided to include the structure…
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