111-501: Milton is an electoral ward of Southend-on-Sea , in the ceremonial county of Essex , England, covering the seafront area west of Southend town centre and the eastern side of the inner city area of Westcliff-on-Sea . It is represented by three local government councillors, each elected to serve a four-year term. The ward borders Chalkwell , Kursaal and Victoria and the Castle Point ward of Canvey Island East . In 2021 it had
222-543: A "high class suburban retreat". Milton Hall (demolished 1900) was on the site of the what is now Nazareth House on the London Road. Hamlet Court was a large house in the area between Hamlet Court Road, Canewdon Road, and Ditton Court Road and was demolished in 1929. Westcliff-on-Sea is covered by several wards under Southend-on-Sea City Council , including some that fall outside of the designated area of Westcliff. The wards are: The ward starts at Southbourne Grove in
333-467: A ball in the hotel assembly room in honour of Lord Nelson . The visit of Princess Caroline boosted Southend's popularity with tourists. Travellers would often arrive by sailing boat or later by Thames steamer , which presented problems as boats could only dock during high tide. The Southend coast consists of mudflats that extend far from the shore, with a high tide depth that seldom exceeds 5.5 metres (18 ft). Large boats were unable to port near to
444-519: A brick works for the development. The first house in Grove Terrace was completed by January 1792 and it was reported that the hotel had been roofed and 60 dwellings had been started on. By the summer two public houses, the Duke of York and the Duke of Clarence had opened. However, by September that year The Times was reporting that the resort was likely to attract the lower and middle classes, not
555-460: A child's injury prompted a survey, leading to repairs and replacement to much of the pier railway throughout the decade. In response, the council allocated £370,000 over two years, starting in 1972, to ensure the pier remained maintained, however the pier head burnt down in 1976 and in 1978 the pier railway was closed due to its poor condition. Prior to the pier railway closure, the Kursaal closed
666-471: A coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in south-eastern Essex , England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary , 40 miles (64 km) east of central London . It is bordered to the north by Rochford and to the west by Castle Point . The city is one of the most densely populated places in the country outside of London. It is home to the longest pleasure pier in
777-517: A dormitory town for the capital. On 14 April 1955, Air Charter inaugurated its first vehicle ferry service between Southend and Calais using a Bristol 170 Mark 32 Super Freighter. It was the sign of the future for tourism in the town, with the British public moving from UK holidays to foreign vacations that saw the start of the downturn on for the British seaside towns, though Southend still had strong numbers visiting. Between 1948 and 1962, it
888-574: A dumping ground for their bomb loads during the war if their primary target was not possible to hit. In 1942, the area along the seafront from the Pier to Chalkwell was transformed into HMS Westcliff , a huge naval transit and training camp run by Combined Operations . The police helped the Combined Operations Service find the owners of the empty properties so they could requisition properties to billet their staff. HMS Westcliff
999-509: A further 33 deaths. When peace was confirmed in 1919, official celebrations were organised by the town. A large Naval review off the Southend shore took place, with a twenty-one gun salute being fired on Peace Day on the 23 July. The town organised a carnival, fetes and a firework display. After the war Southend continued to grow in both residents and visitors, with many moving out of London to live in better conditions. Its population in 1921
1110-550: A growing population. Southend's development as a resort however seem to stall, until the Bank Holidays Act of 1871 with holidays becoming available to more of the population. The growth in visitor numbers due to the new bill saw the Local Board purchase the pier in 1873, construct Marine Parade in 1878, while the cliffs west of the pier were purchased and transformed into tree lined walkways during 1886. In 1889,
1221-475: A large house was built, which by 1764 had become the Ship Inn. The area was further developed by the building of oystermen cottages called Pleasant Row in 1767, and a year later the settlement was recorded in the parishes records for taxation purposes for the first time. The records also recorded a salt works and a lime kiln. A visitor to the settlement in 1780 said "not anything in the worth place notice" , but
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#17327977068901332-473: A long-time supporter of city status for the borough, who was murdered on 15 October 2021. Southend was granted city status by letters patent dated 26 January 2022. On 1 March 2022, the letters patent were presented to Southend Borough Council by Charles, Prince of Wales . Southend was first recorded in 1309 as Stratende , a small piece of land in the Manor of Milton (now known as Westcliff-on-Sea ), within
1443-555: A new road towards in Rochford in 1937. The London Taxi Drivers Charity for Children completed their first taxi drive to Southend in 1931, with 40 Hackney Carriages bringing children to the town, who were given 6d to spend on the seafront. At the 1931 Census the population of Southend was recorded at 110,790, however the town would grow further by absorbing South Shoebury district and parts of Rochford district in 1933. Southend tried their first autumn illuminations during 1935, following
1554-534: A noisy fashionable seaside town, with Benjamin Disraeli visiting regularly between 1833 and 1884, Prince Arthur visiting in 1868, while the Empress of France, Eugénie and her son, Louis-Napoléon, Prince Imperial also came to the town. However the growth of Southend saw a Local Board of Health be created in 1866, and the large steam powered Middleton brewery was opened by Henry Luker & Co in 1869 to serve
1665-577: A peak of 7 million the following year. Southend would use the Kursaal and Pier as nodal attractions to promote the town to tourists during the 50s and 60s. On 31 January 1953, Southend seafront was affected by the North Sea flood , with Peter Pan's Playground left underwater. However the town was not affected as badly as other parts of Essex. The town however was more joyous in June, with the town holding
1776-575: A population of 11,692. The wards boundaries are the seafront in the south, the Queensway ring road in the east, Valkyrie Road in the west and London Road in the north. The ward is defined by the seafront and urban areas it covers, the area covers parts of Westcliff and southend town centre. While covering a large part of the less active part of Southend Seafront. These are the councillors elected for Milton ward. Indicates Councillor elected that year. Indicates Councillor defected to
1887-459: A rank of 32,482). Victoria and Milton wards have the highest proportion of ethnic minority residents – at the 2011 Census these figures were 24.2% and 26.5% respectively. Southend has the highest percentage of residents receiving housing benefits (19%) and the third highest percentage of residents receiving council tax benefits in Essex. As of May 2024, The Office of National Statistics have recorded
1998-465: A visit from the Princess of Wales , Caroline of Brunswick , and the construction of both the pier and railway, allowing easier access from London. From the 1960s onwards, the city declined as a holiday destination. After the 1960s, much of the city centre was developed for commerce and retail, and many original structures were lost to redevelopment. As part of its reinvention, Southend became the home of
2109-540: A week of celebrations to commemorate the Coronation of Elizabeth II . This included an air race at the airport featuring aerobatic displays by supersonic jets, a military tattoo, a coronation ball at the Kursaal featuring Ted Heath and his Music and a grand fireworks display on the seafront. In 1956, the Great Eastern line was electrified which encouraged more Londoners move to the town, further making it into
2220-483: A year later the first bathing machine was brought to the hamlet. By 1785, the Chelmsford Chronicle were reporting that plans were being contemplated to build a hotel with the plan to make South-end, equal, if not rival any of the watering places to which the genteelest company usually resort; there being nothing wanted but a place of accommodation, where the agreeable distance from the metropolis, and
2331-727: A £1 million regeneration in the early 2000s and a further regeneration in 2010. Further plans have been put forward by Southend-on-Sea City Council to pedestrianise half of the street, while the local historical organisation, the Milton Society is campaigning to regenerate the road on the lines of Margate and the Cathedral Quarter in Derby. The Milton Ward in Westcliff is one of the most deprived areas in England. The ward
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#17327977068902442-405: Is a unitary authority , performing the functions of both a county and district council. There is one civil parish within the city at Leigh-on-Sea , which has a Town Council that was established in 1996. The rest of the city is an unparished area . The city is split into seventeen wards, with each ward returning three councillors. The 51 councillors serve four years and one third of the council
2553-438: Is elected each year, followed by one year without election. As of the 2024 local elections a coalition led by Labour run the council. Southend's first elected council was a local board , which held its first meeting on 29 August 1866. Prior to that the town was administered by the vestry for the wider parish of Prittlewell . The local board district was enlarged in 1877 to cover the whole parish of Prittlewell. The town
2664-850: Is mostly in the top 20% most deprived areas in the East of England, but some of the ward is in the top 10% most deprived areas in the country. The two main theatres in Westcliff are the Cliffs Pavilion , which overlooks the seafront, and the Palace Theatre situated on the London Road. Westcliff-on-Sea is also home to the Thames Estuary Yacht Club and the Genting Casino Westcliff . Westcliff RFC currently play in National League 2 East,
2775-505: Is now managed by c2c . Westcliff is served by two selective secondary schools: Westcliff High School for Girls and Westcliff High School for Boys , two Catholic secondary schools: St Thomas More High School for boys and St Bernard's High School, Westcliff-on-Sea for girls, and the non selective Chase High School . Several areas of Westcliff have been classified as conservation areas: Clifftown bordering Southend town centre and including Prittlewell Square gardens, Shorefield and
2886-571: Is one of Essex's most deprived areas. Out of 32,482 Lower Super Output Areas in England, area 014D in the Kursaal ward is 99th, area 015B in Milton ward is 108th, area 010A in Victoria ward is 542nd, and area 009D in Southchurch ward is 995th, as well as an additional 5 areas all within the top 10% most deprived areas in England (with the most deprived area having a rank of 1 and the least deprived
2997-457: The 2011 census , it had a population of 295,310. Save the Children 's research data shows that for 2008–09, Southend had 4,000 children living in poverty, a rate of 12%, the same as Thurrock , but above the 11% child poverty rate of Essex as a whole. The Department for Communities and Local Government 's 2010 Indices of Multiple Deprivation Deprivation Indices data showed that Southend
3108-399: The 2024 United Kingdom general election , Bayo Alaba of Labour won 38.8% of the vote to win the seat of Southend East and Rochford, with a 57% turnout. The new MP for Southend West and Leigh is David Burton-Sampson of Labour, who won 35.6% of the vote on a turnover of 63%. This was the first time since the initial seat in parliament was created in 1918, that Labour have been elected, as
3219-575: The Access credit card , due to its having one of the UK's first electronic telephone exchanges . An annual seafront airshow, which started in 1986 and featured a flypast by Concorde , used to take place each May until 2012. On 18 October 2021, it was announced that Southend would be granted city status , in memorial to the Conservative Member of Parliament for Southend West, Sir David Amess ,
3330-500: The Countess of Warwick a year later. The site had previously been planned to be home to a new joint town hall, library and school but spiraling costs had seen the town hall and library being dropped. In 1903, it was reported that around 1 million people had paid admission to use the pier, while 250,000 passengers had alighted from pleasure steamboats. Further facilities were built for the growing visitor numbers, including extending
3441-589: The Dunkirk evacuation . The town itself was first hit by German bombing in May 1940, when the Nore Yacht club was hit while 10 soldiers were killed near the airport. Southend High School for Boys was hit in a raid in June 1940. By June 1940, much of the town was sealed off, with all bar 10% of the population that were engaged in essential services, evacuated and only military personnel remaining. A cordon of 20 miles
Milton Ward - Misplaced Pages Continue
3552-494: The Great Eastern Railway opened its station at Southend Victoria, and a new iron built replacement for the pier opened. The town was officially incorporated in 1892, with the Local Board of Health being replaced by a municipal corporation, and a year later added the on-sea to the town's name. During 1892, the famous Southend department store Keddies opened its doors for the first time. Between 1871 and 1901
3663-506: The Ice age by sand, gravel and river alluvium. The cliffs have been affected by slip planes affected by groundwater, with major slips having occurred in 1956, 1962, 1964 and 1969. In 2001, a small slippage occurred, which was followed by a major slippage in November 2002, which irreparably damaged the cliffs bandstand and restaurant. At a later date, a report came to light from a month before
3774-604: The National Heritage List for England . The main shopping area in Westcliff-on-Sea is Hamlet Court Road, where the department store Havens established itself in 1901, and remained the anchor store until its closure in 2017. Hamlet Court Road took its name from a manor house called the Hamlet Court, which stood on land now occupied by Pavarotti's restaurant and adjoining shops, facing towards
3885-529: The Western Front . The pier was frequently used to reach troop ships, with the Admiralty stationing a war signal station at the pierhead, and Southchurch Park was taken over as an army training ground. During the war, the public could still walk the length of the pier. As the war drew on, Southend also became an evacuation point for casualties and several hotels were converted to hospitals, including
3996-509: The 1st July 1793, and most of Grove Terrace was available to let. Later that year New South-End was listed for the first time by the parish for the annual rate, and by the summer of 1794 the Terrace, Grove Terrace, the Mews and Library had finally been completed. However, by February 1795, Thomas Holland had been declared bankrupt, and the property he owned was not sold by auction until 1797, with
4107-601: The 2024 election. Paul Channon , son of Henry replaced his father as the MP for Southend West from 1959 until he stepped down in 1997. He was replaced by Sir David Amess, who served from 1997 until his murder in 2021. Anna Firth of the Conservatives had replaced Amess at the by-election in January 2022 with 86% of the vote but lost her seat at the 2024 election. Southend is the seventh most densely populated area in
4218-461: The Bill and it received Royal Assent on the 14 May. By July, Lord Mayor of London, Sir William Thompson laid the foundation stone, and the first section of the pier opened a year later. However, Southend was still a quiet health resort, as the pier did not extend far enough out and visitors had issues disembarking. In June 1852, after several attempts at building a railway to Southend, Royal Assent
4329-721: The British war machine. In 1939, the Royal Navy had commandeered Southend Pier, renaming it HMS Leigh , with the army building a concrete platform on the Prince George extension to house anti-aircraft guns. The navy also took over the Royal Terrace for its personnel. The pier was used by the navy to help control the River Thames , along with the Thames Estuary boom that was built at Shoebury Garrison during 1939, and organised over 3,000 East Coast convoys by
4440-523: The Central Museum and Beecroft Art Gallery, but in 2018 it was abandoned due to rising costs. The town's commercial growth during the 60s and 70s, declined with the departure of many of their former tenants, including HM Revenue and Customs in 2022, and many of the former offices have been converted to apartments. On 15 October 2021, the Member of Parliament for Southend West, Sir David Amess,
4551-817: The Church of Saint Alban the Martyr in St John's Road, the former Havens department store in Hamlet Court Road, Marteg House in Annerley Road, Westcliff Library in London Road and the Palace Theatre . Westcliff Library, designed by Patrick Burridge, the councils architect in 1956, built on a site damaged by bombing in World War II . The building was listed as Grade II in 1998. The official list entries for these are available from Historic England on
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4662-400: The Conservatives. Green party candidate compared to 2018 election. No For Britain (-5.3) as previous. Milton was a ward of the county borough of Southend-on-Sea. In 1976 it was reformed and again in 2000. City of Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea ( / ˌ s aʊ θ ɛ n d ɒ n ˈ s iː / ), commonly referred to as Southend ( / s aʊ ˈ θ ɛ n d / ), is
4773-572: The Guinness connection, the seat became known in the media as "Guinness-on-Sea". In 1950, the one seat was split into two, Southend East and Southend West due to the growth in the town. Sir Stephen McAdden served as the MP for Southend East from 1950 until his death in 1979. His replacement Sir Teddy Taylor served Southend East, then its replacement seat Rochford and Southend East from 1980 until he retired in 2005. James Duddridge served as Sir Teddy's replacement from 2005 until stepping down at
4884-569: The Heygate family purchasing the buildings. John Sanderson, the other developer was also declared bankrupt, with only Grove House built, and his estate was not sold until 1802, with much of the site still open land. In contrast, Old South-end doubled in size during the same period including two public houses, the Ship Inn and the Anchor and Hope Inn, five shops and the Caroline baths. A large house
4995-794: The Leas towards the sea front, and Milton focused on the Park Estate between Park Street and Milton Road. The Milton Conservation Area includes the Grade II listed building which was formerly the Wesleyan Chapel (Park Road Methodist Church) it was completed in 1872 to the design of Elijah Hoole (1837-1912) and was Southend's first permanent Methodist Church. Westcliff contains a number of other Grade II listed buildings , Our Lady Help of Christians and St Helen's Church in Milton Road,
5106-626: The Metropole into the Queen Mary Naval Hospital. Arthur Maitland Keddie, from the Keddies department store organised day trips for wounded soldiers from the Queen Mary Naval Hospital to Thundersley and Runwell . The town was first bombed by German Zeppelins on 10 May 1915 with the death of one woman, while a second attack happened on the 26 May again with one death. Another bombing raid by Gothas took place in 1917 with
5217-597: The North and Valkyrie Road/ London Road/ Southbourne Grove in the west. Traditionally Westcliff included Chalkwell . The cliffs formed by erosion of the local quaternary geology give views over the Thames Estuary towards the Kent coastline to the south. The coastline has been transformed into sandy beaches through the use of groynes and imported sand. The estuary at this point has extensive mud flats . At low tide,
5328-545: The Parish of Prittlewell . Its next recorded mention was in a will from 1408, where the area south of Prittlewell was called Sowthende . In March 1665, the British naval ship, The London, blew up while moored just of South-end on its way to fight in the Second Anglo-Dutch War . The hamlet of South-end, a few fishermen's huts and Thames Farm farmhouse stayed this way until the mid 18th century, when in 1758
5439-565: The Pavilion on the pier. In 1944, while towing a Mulberry harbour caisson to Goole in Hampshire, it was found to be leaking so it was brought into the Thames Estuary off Thorpe Bay to be checked, but after being left by the tugs, it moved partially into the channel, and without support of the mudflat snapped in half and remains there to this day. Further disaster happened when in August 1944,
5550-534: The United Kingdom outside of the London Boroughs, with 38.8 people per hectare compared to a national average of 3.77. The greater urban area of Southend spills outside of the borough boundaries into the neighbouring Castle Point and Rochford districts, including the towns of Hadleigh , Benfleet , Rayleigh and Rochford , as well as the villages of Hockley and Hullbridge . According to
5661-576: The West, Prittlewell Brook to the North, Wenham Drive in the East and London Road/West Road in the south. The ward borders Blenheim Park , Prittlewell and Victoria . In 2021 it had a population of 11,284. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway route passing through the suburb was completed to Southend in 1856 but the Westcliff railway station in Station Road was not opened until 1895. It
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#17327977068905772-508: The beach and no boats could approach at low tide. Many potential visitors would travel beyond Southend on to Margate or other resorts with better docking facilities. Due to this, local dignitaries led by the former Lord Mayor of the City of London Sir William Heygate , campaigned in the early 1820s to gain permission from parliament to build a pier. On the 7 May 1829, the House of Lords passed
5883-477: The city had previously been held by the Conservatives. From the creation of the first Member of Parliament seat for Southend in 1918, there has been a history of long serving MPs. Rupert Guinness of the Guinness family was Southend's first MP, and only stepped down when he was given a peerage. His wife, Gwendolen Guinness replaced him in 1927, until she retired and her son-in-law Henry Channon replaced her in 1935, serving until his death in 1958. Because of
5994-440: The council using Section 4 of the Town and Country Act 1962 to compulsory purchase the remaining properties. The development, which became Victoria Circus Shopping Centre, opened in 1970 and saw a large area of much loved Southend demolished. Further developments put forward by the council included building a ring road around the town centre. First discussed by the council in 1955, plans were started to be developed in 1961, with
6105-436: The declaration of war , the British government began the internment of German citizens and several thousand were held on three ships, the Royal Edward, Saxonia and the Ivernia which were moored off the pier until May 1915. The War Office selected a piece of land north of the town in 1914 for a new aerodrome, with Squadron no. 37 of the Royal Flying Corps moving in a year later. Many soldiers passed through Southend en route to
6216-431: The drawing board. In 1980, the town's reinvention as a commercial centre had seen it shrug off its tag as a dormitory town for London, however the future of the pier was in doubt and a campaign, which included Sir John Betjeman, pushed the council to keep the pier open. The pier may have been saved, now run by Lecorgne Amusements, but the town lost another attraction in 1983, when the Southend Aircraft Museum closed for
6327-406: The electrification of the London, Tilbury and Southend railway line acting as impetus as bridges over the line which were on the route of the planned ring road needed replacing. In 1965, the Ministry of Transport gave the council a grant of £869,986 to the planned cost of £1.2 million to build the North and East sections of the ring road. The council used compulsory purchase orders to buy up many of
6438-465: The end of the war. HMS Leigh was attacked by the Germans on the 22 November when they dropped magnetic mines and machine gunned the pier, but none of the mines caused any damage and the navy's anti-aircraft guns destroyed one of the German planes. It was the last time there was a concentrated attack on the pier. Southend Airport was requisitioned by the RAF at the outbreak of war, becoming a satellite of Hornchurch and being renamed RAF Rochford. The town
6549-416: The esplanade to Chalkwell in 1903, and in 1909 adding the "wedding cake" bandstand at the top of the cliffs, opposite Prittlewell Square, which was one of six bandstands that stood in Southend. In 1909, an indoor roller-skating rink was opened in Warrior Square. The new facilities were not only serving the growing visitor numbers, but also the residents, with the inhabitants having grown by 1911 to 62,723,
6660-448: The example set in 1913 by Blackpool. The town became a favourite with motorcycle riders during the 1930s, with the phase, Promenade Percy , coming from this pastime. In the same year, the council purchased land on the Cliffs at Westcliff to build a 500 seater theatre and concert venue to be called Shorefield Pavilion with working starting four years later only to be suspended by the start of the war. Southend became an essential part of
6771-406: The excellence of the roads, added to the incomparable fineness of the water, have induced so much polite company down these last two summers Nothing came of the subscription but the Chronicle reported in 1787, "Southend is likely to become a place of fashionable resort, and that there are a greater number of genteel families there this season than was ever known before" . By the end of the decade,
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#17327977068906882-415: The fastest growing population in England, and was being regarded an Eastern suburb of London. During 1913, the Day Technical School split, with the girls moving to the new Southend High School for Girls at Boston Avenue, while the day technical school was renamed Southend High School for Boys. In 1914, the town gained county borough status, and the corporation formed the first police force. Shortly after
6993-414: The final time. However in the same year the council put up £800,000 with the Historic Buildings Fund investing £200,000 in restoring the pier. Further invest saw a new narrow gauge railway fitted to the pier, which was reopened by Princess Anne on 2 May 1986. A contract was given to Brent Walker to run the pier in 1986, but in September of that year it was damaged by the ship Kings Abbey , destroying
7104-461: The following employment, unemployment and economic inactivity in Southend-on-Sea. In the 2021 census, it was reported that 69.1% of the working population work in full-time employment, with 10.9% working more than 48 hours a week. As of the 2021 census, the population was recorded as 180,686, with 51.3% of the population being female, and 48.7% recorded as male. Westcliff-on-Sea Westcliff-on-Sea (often abbreviated to Westcliff , and in
7215-463: The liberty ship SS Richard Montgomery , with over 6,000 tonnes of explosive on board, lost its mooring off the Isle of Sheppey, opposite Southend, in strong winds and wedged itself onto the mudflat, breaking its back. Prior to this, HMS Leigh had been the mustering point for 576 ships in June 1944 before they headed for Normandy and D-Day. Force L, the follow up forces that were to follow the initial D-Day invasion force were located at Southend. After
7326-422: The lifeboat station . Two years later, management of the pier returned to the council. The seafront would see several plans put forward in the late 70s and the 1980s to build a marina on the seafront by numerous developers including Brent Walker, including an artificial island alongside the pier, though the council ended the plans after they were objected to by the RSPB due to loss of intertidal areas for wildlife
7437-435: The majority of the amusement park in 1973. The town became one of the earliest to receive an electronic telephone exchange in 1971, and by 1972 Access , Britain's second credit card, opened their offices in the former EKCO site in Priory Crescent. A year later HM Customs and Excise opened the central offices for the collection of VAT . In 1972, Southend Air Museum opened its doors for the first time at Aviation Way. This
7548-422: The men who worked them still being enlisted. It wasn't until 1946 that the town started to return to normal, and by 1949-50 visitor numbers had returned with over 5.75 million visiting the pier alone. The visitors would have used the replaced pier railway, newly installed in 1949, or may have visited the newly opened Golden Hind replica containing waxworks by Louis Tussaud next to the pier. These numbers grew to
7659-481: The municipal coat of arms, translates as 'By [the] Sea, By [the] Church', reflecting Southend's position between the church at Prittlewell and the sea as in the Thames estuary. The city has been twinned with the resort of Sopot in Poland since 1999 and has been developing three-way associations with Lake Worth Beach, Florida . Due to boundary changes, the seats in Southend changed at the 2024 election to Southend East and Rochford and Southend West and Leigh. In
7770-419: The number of bathing machines had increased, the hamlet was recorded as containing the Ship Inn and 25 houses and cottages, and reported visitors such as Lord Cholmondley . In 1790, the local lord of the Manor of both Prittlewell and Milton (now Westcliff-on-Sea) and landowner Daniel Scratton set aside 35-acres of land at the top of the cliffs to the west of South-end called Grove Field and the Grove. The site
7881-432: The past spelt as Westcliffe-on-Sea ) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea , located within the ceremonial county of Essex , England. It is on the north shore of the lower Thames Estuary , about 37 miles (55 km) east of London . The Westcliff-on-Sea area is described by Southend-on-Sea City Council as having a border in the east with Milton Road, Hamlet Court Road and Gainsborough Drive; Prittlewell Chase to
7992-412: The perfect location for office development, and the council in 1960 finally started work on a new Civic Centre on land previously purchased to build a new further education college. The Civic Centre would encompass a new police station that opened in 1962, a courthouse in 1966, council offices and chamber in 1967, a new College in 1971 and a Library in 1974. The planned fire station was dropped and
8103-524: The plans included redeveloping the area north of the High Street, which included the Talza and Victoria Arcades, had been discussed with developer Hammerson . Although the plans were rejected by central government, Hammerson started a programme of buying property in the area, and in 1964 the council accepted Hammerson's plans for the site. Hammerson had by this point had purchased 93% of the freeholds, with
8214-519: The properties along the planned route and work started in 1966, with the first section opening in 1967 with the first high pressure sodium street lamps in Britain. The West and South sections of the ring road were never completed. In the same year, work was started on dualing Victoria Avenue to Carnarvon Road, while part of the High Street was pedestrianised by 1968. By this point Victoria Avenue had seen further development, with offices opening along
8325-412: The proprietors, being only 42 miles from London and two coaches, and the post passes through it three times a week; water carriage is also convenient, being only eight hours sail, with a fair wind, from London Scratton leased the parcels of land to building firm Pratt, Watt & Louden and John Sanderson, an architect, both of Lambeth. Another site was leased from Scratton by Pratt, Watt & Louden for
8436-647: The railway construction, hired architects Banks & Barry to design Clifftown . The first houses were made available for sale in 1871, with even the smaller properties offering a glimpse of the sea, and eventually the development would include the Clifftown Congregational Church, the Nelson Road shopping parade and Prittlewell Square, Southend's first park. The arrival of the railway did not at first greatly increase visitor numbers, with Southend still being seen as quiet resort and not
8547-696: The same month, a bombing raid damaged houses in the Fleetwood Avenue in Westcliff. During 1941, Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited Shoebury Garrison twice for weapon demonstrations, with the Experimental Establishment carrying out numerous trials of weird and wonderful weapons. An air raid in February 1941 destroyed the London Hotel in the High Street, while the foreshore was often used by German bomber aircraft as
8658-491: The sea with sweeping gardens down to the rail line. The road later developed into a strong independent retail area and quickly became famous outside the area as the Bond Street of Essex. There were many haberdashers and specialist shops, and it was not too unusual to see chauffeurs waiting for their employers to emerge from the shops. The economic recessions of the 1980s and 1990s saw the area decline. The road underwent
8769-470: The section opposite the Civic Centre including Portcullis House in 1966, the first offices opened by HM Customs and Excise in the town. In 1969, Southend-on-Sea Borough Police amalgamated with Essex Constabulary to become the Essex and Southend-on-Sea Joint Constabulary . This merger was campaigned against by the council and the local MPs . The town's decline as a holiday resort continued, with
8880-437: The settlement said to be from where Leigh Road meets Chalkwell Park to the mayor's residence at Porters. The protestant martyr John Frith was captured on the shore at Milton trying to escape in 1532. By the time the station opened in 1895, it was named Westcliff not Milton. The area between Milton Road and Hamlet Court Road was named The Hamlet by the original developers Brassey, Peto, Betts & Co. when they developed it as
8991-554: The show. An attempt to revive the show for September 2015, as the Southend Airshow and Military Festival, failed. The town started to regenerate its visitor attractions, with the Sealife Centre opening in 1993. In 1995, the owners of Peter Pan's Playground purchased the land East of the pier and started to expand, creating Adventure Island , being rated best-value amusement park in Britain in 2024. The Kursaal,
9102-411: The site of where the current Cliff lift is. To celebrate Queen Victoria 's diamond jubilee, a statue of her pointing out to sea was placed at the top of Pier Hill, although the locals stated she was pointing at the gents toilets! A foundation stone was laid by Lord Avebury in 1901 for the new Day Technical School, School of Art and Evening Class Institute with the completed building being opened by
9213-507: The slip which showed there was already signs of a slippage. A £2.8 million cliffs stabilisation programme was completed in 2013. In May 2023, work started to investigate further slippage at Belton Hills in Leigh-on-Sea, with remedy work said to cost £500,000. The British Geological Survey provided a summary in 1986 of the geology of the country around Southend and Foulness: Southend is governed by Southend-on-Sea City Council, which
9324-503: The time of his death. A "City Week" was held throughout the town between 13 and 20 February 2022, beginning with the inaugural "He Built This City" concert named in honour of Amess. The concert was held at the Cliffs Pavilion and included performers such as Digby Fairweather , Lee Mead , and Leanne Jarvis . Other events such as a city ceremony and the Southend LuminoCity Festival of Light were held during
9435-411: The town. In 1990, Southend was the first local authority to outsource its municipal waste collection to a commercial provider. However, in 1998 it again became the single tier of local government when it became a unitary authority . Upon receiving city status on 1 March 2022, the council voted to rename itself ' Southend-on-Sea City Council '. The Latin motto, 'Per Mare Per Ecclesiam', emblazoned on
9546-543: The towns population grew 100 fold from 2,800 to 29,000. Marine Park & Gardens opened during 1894, which in 1901 was redeveloped into The Kursaal amusement park. In the same year, the Metropole Hotel opened on Pier Hill, which would later be renamed the Palace Hotel, while the town first received both electric street lighting and trams, and had fitted an electric staircase fitted by Jesse W. Reno on
9657-399: The visitor numbers on the pier falling to a million during 1969-70 and the attraction lost £45,000. The town saw the number of visitors had fallen from the 1950s by 73%, which was against the backdrop of more Brits travelling abroad, growing from just 1.5 million holidays in 1951, to 4.2 million by 1971. The pier slowly began to decline and with it the structure began to deteriorate. In 1971,
9768-588: The war Southend soon opened up to visitors again, with pier officially being given permission to open by the Home Office in March 1945, although the Prince George Extension was still out of bounds to the public. The Chelmsford Chronicle reported that the public returned in their droves, with 79,000 visitors turning up in the first nineteen days, though it wasn't until 30 September that the pier
9879-495: The water typically retreats some 600 m from the beach, leaving the mud flats exposed. The southern area of what is now known as Westcliff, south of the London Road, was known as Milton or Milton Hamlet until the period 1860–1880 when the Milton Estate and surrounding land was sold to speculators who preferred the name Westcliff-on-Sea. The name Milton was derived from being in the middle between Leigh and Southchurch, with
9990-468: The wealthy clientele that was being aimed at. At this time, Pratt, Watt & Louden transferred the lease to Thomas Holland, a builder and solicitor from Grays Inn , however his finances were not sound and he was soon selling off building materials. By December 1792, the operators of the Duke of York, brewers Sea and Woollet closed the public house, but by September 1793 it was still in their ownership. The Grand Hotel, now known as The Royal Hotel opened on
10101-531: The week. Sam Duckworth , who knew Amess personally, performed at some of the events. On 1 March, Southend Borough Council was presented letters patent from the Queen, by Charles, Prince of Wales, officially granting the borough city status. Southend became the second city in the ceremonial county of Essex, after Chelmsford, which was granted city status in 2012. The seven kilometres of cliffs from Hadleigh Castle to Southend Pier consist of London Clay overlaid in
10212-407: The world, Southend Pier , while London Southend Airport is located to the north of the city centre. Southend-on-Sea originally consisted of a few fishermen's huts and farm at the southern end of the village of Prittlewell . In the 1790s, the first buildings around what was to become the High Street of Southend were completed. In the 19th century, Southend's status as a seaside resort grew after
10323-560: Was fatally stabbed during a constituency meeting in Leigh-on-Sea . On 18 October 2021, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson , announced that the Queen had agreed to grant Southend-on-Sea with city status as a memorial to Amess, who had long campaigned for this status to be granted. Preparations, led by Amess, for Southend to enter a competition for city status in 2022 as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee were underway at
10434-552: Was against the backdrop of the government planning to build a new airport on Maplin Sands at Foulness Island , which the council purchased a share in the consortium of developers hoping to shape the benefits for the town, but the airport plans were pulled by the new Labour government in 1974. During 1976, plans called Prospects 1976 was released to improve the town's ability to attract holidaymakers, including bastions with facilities at Chalkwell and Westcliff, but they never got off
10545-530: Was believed to be the most heavily defended place in Essex, ranging from three and half miles of anti-tank cubes on the seafront, machine gun and anti-aircraft posts, road blocks and barrage balloons. On 31 May 1940, six cockle fishing boats: the Endeavour , Letitia , Defender , Reliance , Renown and the Resolute were joined by the Southend lifeboat Greater London at the pier on their way to assist at
10656-644: Was built by Abraham Vandervord in 1792 in Old South-end which would later become the Minerva public house. Due to the bad transportation links between Southend and London, there was not rapid development during the Georgian Era as there was in Brighton . Margate , although further away from London than Southend, offered cheaper boat and stagecoach fares and had more to offer the visitor. Development
10767-421: Was deemed to much. Plans were resurrected again in 2020 for a marina off the coast at Shoeburyness. In May 1986, the Southend Airshow was started, featuring a fly past by Concorde , and after the first year where entry was charged by the council, it would grow to become Europe's biggest free airshow. The final show took place on 2012, with the council announcing in January 2013 it could no longer afford to run
10878-481: Was enlarged in 1929 with the Prince George extension, at a cost of £58,000, to manage the increasing number of visitors arriving by paddle steamer. A Southend icon, EKCO, opened their large factory at Priory Crescent on the site of a former cabbage patch in 1930. To cope with the increase demand for housing, estates like Earls Hall were built during 1930, with the Manners Way estate joining it just north along with
10989-551: Was enlarged in 1933 by the former area of Shoeburyness Urban District and part of Rochford Rural District . Southend Civic Centre was designed by borough architect, Patrick Burridge, and officially opened by the Queen Mother on 31 October 1967. On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 , Southend became a district of Essex, with the county council once more providing county-level services to
11100-644: Was eventually built in Sutton Road. These replaced cramped facilities located in Alexandra Road and Clarence Street. The council in 1960 put forward a redevelopment plan, called Prospect of Southend to central government, to improve both the commercial and retail growth in the town, but the original plan and an amendment, which requested compulsory purchase orders, were both rejected by the Minister for Housing Development and Local Government. Part of
11211-532: Was found dating from the 6th century, with a display of the finds displayed at Southend Central Museum since 2019. The road widening was cancelled after a campaign known as Camp Bling . A year earlier there was a slippage on the Cliffs, which saw the bandstand close. The cliffs were stabilised in 2013, with the council planning to build a new museum at the location to host the Anglo Saxon discoveries, as well as
11322-583: Was given to build the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway with the line finally opening at Southend in 1856. The line had been planned to terminate opposite the pier, however residents in The Royal Terrace opposed this, and the station was built further back. In 1859, the Grove Field area was leased to Sir Morton Peto , and with a consortium which included Thomas Brassey , the contractors for
11433-416: Was made a municipal borough in 1892. In 1897 the borough was enlarged to also include the neighbouring parish of Southchurch , with further enlargement in 1913 by taking over the area formerly controlled by Leigh-on-Sea Urban District Council . In 1914 the enlarged Southend became a county borough making it independent from Essex County Council and a single-tier of local government. The county borough
11544-457: Was officially derequisitioned by the Navy. The town, which had been heavily fortified, slowly started to remove the defences during 1945, however the dust and noise attracted unhappiness with the holidaymakers, with two elderly ladies complaining to the police that it should be stopped while they were on their vacation for the week. Many of the fairground attractions only opened at weekend due many of
11655-468: Was officially opened, in secret, by Lord Mountbatten in 1943. The well known jeweller R.A. Jones store was damaged by bombing in October 1942. An amusing moment during the war was Lord Haw-Haw announcing in his radio broadcasts that German forces had sunk the British ships HMS Westcliff and HMS Leigh. The town started to fall under constant V1 and V2 rocket attacks until December 1944, with one hitting
11766-501: Was piecemeal in the early 19th century, with a Theatre being built in Old South-end by Thomas Trotter in 1804. Southend was however mentioned in Jane Austen 's novel Emma of 1815. The resort first received Royal patronage in 1801 when Princess Charlotte of Wales visited to sea bathe on the order of her physician. Her mother, Princess Caroline of Brunswick stayed at 7-9 The Terrace during 1803, and in 1805 Lady Hamilton held
11877-533: Was purchased by Brent Walker in 1988 with plans to redevelop the site as a water theme park, but the company entered liquidation and the site remained empty. The council purchased the Kursaal, and after a multimillion-pound redevelopment by the Rowallan Group, the main Kursaal building was reopened in 1998 with a bowling alley, a casino and other amusements. In 2003, during excavations for a road widening scheme at Priory Crescent, an Anglo-Saxon royal burial
11988-502: Was recorded as 106,050, but as the census was postponed to the summer months due to a planned general strike, it was greatly inflated by holidaymakers. The Corporation purchased three former German U-boat engines to generate power for the tram network, siting them at Leigh, London Road and Thorpe Bay. During 1924, the Sunken Gardens at the side of the pier became Peter Pan Playground, a children's pleasure garden. The pier head
12099-403: Was recorded that 22% of the town's population were working in holiday related industries. The council were concerned that the town was too reliant on tourism and being a dormitory town, that they decided to try and grow the commercial industry in the town, which coincided with plans in central government to de-centralise services. The Miles Report of 1944 had already identified Victoria Avenue as
12210-489: Was set up, with the town being designated part of the coastal defence area, but with the risk of invasion dropping, in 1941 it was reduced to 10 miles. By 28 October 1940, RAF Rochford had been renamed RAF Southend, no longer being a satellite of Hornchurch, although they still had Fighter Control at the base. A day later 264 Squadron arrived for night fighter duties equipped with the Boulton Paul Defiant . In
12321-414: Was split into three leasehold sites with 99 year leases, with the development called New South-End, and the original settlement being renamed Old South-end. A new road was created that cut through the development, which would later become the High Street. The Chelmsford Chronicle wrote at the time, There seems but little doubt of its becoming a place of fashionable resort, and answering the expectations of
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