History of Essex

Essex is a county in the East of England which originated as the ancient Kingdom of Essex and one of the seven kingdoms, or heptarchy, that went on to form the Kingdom of England.

Origins

The name Essex derives from the Kingdom of the East Seaxe or Kingdom of Essex which was traditionally founded by Aescwine in AD 527, occupying territory to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea.

In AD 825 it became part of the Kingdom of Wessex and was later ceded under the Treaty of Wedmore to the Danelaw under the Kingdom of East Anglia. In AD 991 the Battle of Maldon resulted in complete defeat of the Anglo-Saxons by the Vikings, and is commemorated in the poem The Battle of Maldon.

Hundreds

The county was divided into the hundreds of:

Iron Age

In the Iron Age, Essex and parts of southern Suffolk were controlled by the local Trinovantes tribe. Their production of their own coinage marks them out as one of the more advanced tribes on the island, this advantage (in common with other tribes in the south-east) is probably due to the Belgic element within their elite. Their capital was the oppidum (a type of town) of Colchester, Britain's oldest recorded town, which had its own mint. The tribe were in extended conflict with their western neighbours, the Catuvellauni, and steadily lost ground. By AD 10 they had come under the complete control of the Catuvellauni, who took Colchester as their own capital.^[1]

Roman period

The Roman invasion of AD 43 began with a landing on the south coast, probably in the Richborough area of Kent. After some initial successes against the Britons, they paused to await reinforcements, and the arrival of the Emperor Claudius. The combined army then proceeded to the capital of the Catevellauni-Trinovantes at Colchester, and took it.

Claudius held a review of his invasion force on Lexden Heath where the army formally proclaimed him Imperator. The invasion force that assembled before him included four legions, mounted auxiliaries and an elephant corps – a force of around 30,000 men.^[2] At Colchester, the kings of 11 British tribes surrendered to Claudius.^[3]

Colchester became a Roman Colonia, with the official name Colonia Claudia Victricensis ('the City of Claudius' Victory'). It was initially the most important city in Roman Britain and in it they established a temple to the God-Emperor Claudius. This was the largest building of its kind in Roman Britain.^[4]^[5]

The establishment of the Colonia is thought to have involved extensive appropriation of land from local people, this and other grievances led to the Trinovantes joining their northern neighbours, the Iceni, in the Boudiccan revolt.^[6] The rebels entered the city, and after a Roman last stand at the temple of Claudius, methodically destroyed it, massacring many thousands. A significant Roman force attempting to relieve Colchester was destroyed in pitched battle, known as the Massacre of the Ninth Legion.

The rebels then proceeded to sack London and St Albans, with Tacitus estimating that 70–80,000 people were killed in the destruction of the three cities. Boudicca was defeated in battle, somewhere in the west midlands, and the Romans are likely to have ravaged the lands of the rebel tribes,^[7] so Essex will have suffered greatly.

Despite this, the Trinovantes' identity persisted. Roman provinces were divided into civitas for local government purposes – with a civitas for the Trinovantes strongly implied by Ptolemy.^[8] Christianity is thought to have been flourishing among the Trinovantes in the fourth century, indications include the remains of a probable church at Colchester,^[9] the church dates from sometime after 320, shortly after the Constantine the Great granted freedom of worship to Christians in 313. Other archaeological evidence include a chi-rho symbol etched on a tile at a site in Wickford, and a gold ring inscribed with a chi-rho monogram found at Brentwood. ^[10]

The late Roman period, and the period shortly after, was the setting for the King Cole legends based around Colchester.^[11] One version of the legend concerns St Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. The legend makes her the daughter of Coel, Duke of the Britons (King Cole) and in it she gives birth to Constantine in Colchester. This, and related legends, are at variance with biographical details as they are now known, but it is likely that Constantine, and his father, Constantius spent time in Colchester during their years in Britain.^[12] The presence of St Helena in the country is less certain.

Medieval period

Anglo-Saxon England

Main article: Kingdom of Essex

The name Essex originates in the Anglo-Saxon period of the Early Middle Ages and has its root in the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) name Ēastseaxe ("East Saxons"), the eastern kingdom of the Saxons who had come from the continent and settled in Britain. Excavations at Mucking have demonstrated the presence of Anglo-Saxon settlers in the early fifth century, however the way in which these settlers became ascendent in the territory of the Trinovantes is not known. Studies suggest a pattern of typically peaceful co-existence, with the structure of the Romano-British landscape being maintained, and with the Saxon settlers believed to have been in the minority.^[13]

The first known king of the East Saxons was Sledd in 587, though there are less reliable sources giving an account of Aescwine (other versions call him Erkenwine) founding the kingdom in 527. The early kings of the East Saxons were pagan and uniquely amongst the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms traced their lineage back to Seaxnēat, god of the Saxons, rather than Woden. The kings of Essex are notable for their S-nomenclature, nearly all of them begin with the letter S.

The Kingdom of the East Saxons included not just the subsequent county of Essex, but also Middlesex (including the City of London), much of Hertfordshire and at times also the sub-Kingdom of Surrey. The Middlesex and Hertfordshire parts were known as the Province of the Middle Saxons since at least the early eighth century but it is not known if the province was previously an independent unit that came under East Saxon control. Charter evidence shows that the Kings of Essex appear to have had a greater control in the core area, east of the Lea and Stort, that would subsequently become the county of Essex. In the core area they granted charters freely, but further west they did so while also making reference to their Mercian overlords.

The early kings were pagan, together with much and perhaps by this time all of the population. Sledd's son Sebert converted to Christianity around 604 and St Paul's Cathedral in London was established. On Sebert's death in 616 his sons renounced Christianity and drove out Mellitus, the Bishop of London.^[14] The kingdom re-converted after St Cedd, a monk from Lindisfarne and now the patron saint of Essex, converted Sigeberht II the Good around 653. Around this time the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall was built in Bradwell-on-Sea, which ranks among the oldest English churches still in use today.^[15]^[16]

From the seventh century onwards, Essex was often under the overlordship of foreign kings, beginning with Caedwalla of Wessex by 686.^[17] By the early ninth century, overlordship was claimed by Offa and Coenwulf of Mercia, with the latter reducing the kings of Essex to ealdorman status. In AD 824, Ecgberht, the King of the Wessex and grandfather of Alfred the Great, defeated the Mercians at the Battle of Ellandun in Wiltshire, fundamentally changing the balance of power in southern England. The small kingdoms of Essex, Sussex, Surrey and Kent were subsequently absorbed into Wessex.^[18] From this time onwards, Essex was often ruled - along with the other smaller kingdoms of eastern England - by a son of the king of Wessex.^[19]

The coming of the Great Heathen Army in 865 saw Essex among the English counties which were conquered by the pagan Norse king Guthrum. Following Alfred the Great's victory at the Battle of Edington in 878, Guthrum converted to Christianity, and a border was drawn between his realm and Alfred's along the River Lea; separating London from the rest of Essex.^[20] In 894 Alfred's son Edward campaigned into Essex and defeated a Viking army at the Battle of Benfleet, but did not advance further.^[21] He returned as king of Wessex in 917, and brought the country back under Wessex's control; his son Athelstan was to become the first king of the English.^[22]

The later Anglo-Saxon period shows two further major battles fought with the Norse in Essex; the Battle of Maldon in 991,^[23] and the Battle of Assandun (probably at either Ashingdon or Ashdon) in 1016.^[24]

The county of Essex was formed from the core area, east of the River Lea,^[25] of the former Kingdom of the East Saxons in the 9th or 10th centuries and divided into groupings called Hundreds. Before the Norman conquest the East Saxons were subsumed into the Kingdom of England.

Post-Norman conquest

Having conquered England, William the Conqueror initially based himself at Barking Abbey, an already ancient nunnery, for several months while a secure base, which eventually became the Tower of London could be established in the city. While at Barking William received the submission of some of England's leading nobles. The invaders established a number of castles in the county, to help protect the new elites in a hostile country. There were castles at Colchester, Castle Hedingham, Rayleigh, Pleshey and elsewhere. Hadleigh Castle was developed much later, in the thirteenth century.

After the arrival of the Normans, the Forest of Essex was established as a royal forest, however, at that time, the term^[26] was a legal term. There was a weak correlation between the area covered by the Forest of Essex (the large majority of the county) and the much smaller area covered by woodland. An analysis of Domesday returns for Essex has shown that the Forest of Essex was mostly farmland, and that the county as a whole was 20% wooded in 1086.^[27]

After that point population growth caused the proportion of woodland to fall steadily until the arrival of the Black Death, in 1348, killed between a third and a half of England's population, leading to a long term stabilisation of the extent of woodland. Similarly, various pressures led to areas being removed from the legal Forest of Essex and it ceased to exist as a legal entity after 1327,^[28] and after that time Forest Law applied to smaller areas: the forests of Writtle (near Chelmsford), long lost Kingswood (near Colchester),^[27] Hatfield, and Waltham Forest.

Waltham Forest had covered parts of the Hundreds of Waltham, Becontree and Ongar. It also included the physical woodland areas subsequently legally afforested (designated as a legal forest) and known as Epping Forest and Hainault Forest).^[29]

Peasants Revolt, 1381

The Black Death significantly reduced England's population, leading to a change in the balance of power between the working population on one hand, and their masters and employers on the other. Over a period of several decades, national government brought in legislation to reverse the situation, but it was only partially successful and led to simmering resentment.

By 1381, England's economic situation was very poor due to the war with France, so a new Poll Tax was levied with commissioners being sent round the country to interrogate local officials in an attempt to ensure tax evasion was reduced and more money extracted. This was hugely unpopular and the Peasants' Revolt broke out in Brentwood on 1 June 1381. The revolt was partly inspired by the egalitarian preaching of the radical Essex priest John Ball.

Several thousand Essex rebels gathered at Bocking on 4 June, and then divided. Some heading to Suffolk to raise rebellion there, with the rest heading to London, some directly – via Bow Bridge and others may have gone via Kent. A large force of Kentish rebels under Wat Tyler, who may himself have been from Essex, also advanced on London while revolt also spread to a number of other parts of the country.

The rebels gained access to the walled City of London and gained control of the Tower of London. They carried out extensive looting in the capital and executed a number of their enemies, but the revolt began to dissipate after the events at West Smithfield on 15 June, when the Mayor of London, William Walworth, killed the rebel leader Wat Tyler. The rebels prepared to fire arrows at the royal party but the 15 year old King Richard II rode toward the crowd and spoke to them, defusing the situation, in part by making a series of promises he did not subsequently keep.^[30]

Having bought himself time, Richard was able to receive reinforcements and then crush the rebellion in Essex and elsewhere. His forces defeated rebels in battle at Billericay on 28 June, and there were mass executions including hangings and disembowellings at Chelmsford and Colchester.^[31]

Wars of the Roses

In 1471, during the Wars of the Roses a force of around 2,000 Essex supporters of the Lancastrian cause crossed Bow Bridge to join with 3,000 Kentish Lancastrian supporters under the Bastard of Fauconberg.

The Essex men joined with their allies in attempting to storm Aldgate and Bishopsgate during an assault known as the Siege of London. The Lancastrians were defeated, and the Essex contingent retreated back over the Lea with heavy losses.^[32]

Early modern period

Spanish Armada

In 1588 Tilbury Fort was chosen as the focal point of the English defences against King Philip II's Spanish Armada, and the large veteran army he had ordered to invade England. The English believed that the Spanish would land near the Fort,^[33] so Queen Elizabeth's small and relatively poorly trained forces gathered at Tilbury, where the Queen made her famous speech to the troops.

I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.

Civil War

Essex, London and the eastern counties backed Parliament in the English Civil War, but by 1648, this loyalty was stretched. In June 1648 a force of 500 Kentish Royalists landed near the Isle of Dogs, linked up with a small Royalist cavalry force from Essex, fought a battle with local parliamentarians at Bow Bridge, then crossed the River Lea into Essex.

The combined force, bolstered by extra forces, marched towards Royalist held Colchester, but a Parliamentarian force caught up with them just as they were about to enter the city's medieval walls, and a bitter battle was fought but the Royalists were able to retire to the security of the walls. The Siege of Colchester followed, but ten weeks' starvation and news of Royalist defeats elsewhere led the Royalists to surrender.^[34]

Victorian era

Much of the development of the county was caused by the railway. By 1843 the Eastern Counties Railway had connected Bishopsgate station in London with Brentwood and Colchester. In 1856, they opened a branch to Loughton (later extended to Ongar) and by 1884 the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway had connected Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London to Grays, Tilbury, Southend-on-Sea and Shoeburyness. Some of the railways were built primarily to transport goods but some (e.g. the Loughton branch) were to cater for commuter traffic; they unintentionally created the holiday resorts of Southend, Clacton and Frinton-on-Sea^{[citation needed]}.

County councils were created in England in 1889. Essex County Council was based in Chelmsford, although it met in London until 1938. Its control did not cover the entire county. The London suburb of West Ham and later East Ham and the resort of Southend-on-Sea became county boroughs independent of county council control.

Districts in 1894

Municipal boroughs	Chelmsford, Colchester, Maldon, Saffron Walden, Southend-on-Sea
Urban districts	Barking Town, Braintree, Buckhurst Hill, Chingford, Clacton, East Ham, Grays, Halstead, Ilford, Leyton / Leytonstone, Romford, Shoeburyness, Waltham Holy Cross, Walthamstow, Walton on the Naze, Wanstead, Witham, Woodford
Rural districts	Belchamp, Billericay, Braintree, Bumpstead, Chelmsford, Dunmow, Epping, Halstead, Lexden and Winstree, Maldon, Ongar, Orsett, Rochford, Romford, Saffron Walden, Stanstead, Tendring

Twentieth Century

Second World War

During the Second World War, Essex played a key role in the Battle of Britain, playing host to a number of RAF Fighter Command airfields in 11 Group, most notably three sector airfields at Hornchurch, North Weald, and Debden.^[35] Later in the war a series of new airfields were built across northern Essex, for use by RAF Bomber Command and the United States Army Air Forces in the Combined Bomber Offensive against German-occupied Europe.

Post-war

Much of Essex is protected from development near to its boundary with Greater London and forms part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. In 1949 the new towns of Harlow and Basildon were created. These developments were intended to address the chronic housing shortage in London but were not intended to become dormitory towns, rather it was hoped the towns would form an economy independent of the capital. The railway station at Basildon, with a direct connection to the City, was not opened until 1974 after pressure from residents.

The proximity of London and its economic magnetism has caused many places in Essex to become desirable places for workers in the City of London to live. As London grew in the east places such as Barking and Romford were given greater autonomy and created as municipal boroughs.

Finally in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963 the County Borough of West Ham and the County Borough of East Ham were abolished and their area transferred to Greater London to form the London Borough of Newham.

Also at this time the Municipal Borough of Ilford and the Municipal Borough of Wanstead and Woodford were abolished and their area, plus part of the area of Chigwell Urban District (but not including Chigwell itself), were transferred to Greater London to form the London Borough of Redbridge. The Municipal Borough of Romford and Hornchurch Urban District were abolished and their area transferred to Greater London to form the London Borough of Havering.

The Municipal Borough of Leyton, the Municipal Borough of Chingford and the Municipal Borough of Walthamstow were abolished and their area transferred to Greater London to form the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The Municipal Borough of Barking and the Municipal Borough of Dagenham were abolished and their area transferred to Greater London to form the London Borough of Barking, renamed London Borough of Barking and Dagenham on 1 January 1980.

The 1990s

Essex became part of the East of England Government Office Region in 1994 and was statistically counted as part of that region from 1999, having previously been part of the South East England region.

In 1998 the boroughs of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea were given unitary authority status and ceased to be under county council control. They remain part of the ceremonial county.

Historical buildings

The importance of the Anglo-Saxon culture in Essex was only emphasized by the rich burial discovered at Prittlewell in 2003,^[36] but the important Anglo-Saxon remains in Essex are mostly churches. St. Peter's straddles the wall of a Roman seafort at Bradwell (Othona), and is one of the early Anglo-Saxon, "Kentish" series of churches made famous by its documentation by Bede. Later Anglo-Saxon work may be seen in an important church tower at Holy Trinity, Colchester, an intact church at Hadstock, and elsewhere. At Greensted the walls of the nave are made of halved logs; although still the oldest church timber known in England, it is now thought to be early Norman.

Being a relatively stone-less County, it is unsurprising that some of the earliest examples of the mediaeval revival of brick-making can be found in Essex; Layer Marney Tower, Ingatestone Hall, and numerous parish churches exhibit the brickmakers' and bricklayers' skills in Essex. A two-volume typology of bricks, based entirely on Essex examples, has been published. Similarly, spectacular early-mediaeval timber construction is to be found in Essex, with perhaps the two Templars' barns at Cressing Temple being pre-eminent in the whole of England. There is a complete tree-ring dating series for Essex timber, much due to the work of Dr. Tyers at the University of Sheffield.

Mediaeval "gothic" architecture in timber, brick, rubble, and stone is to be found all over Essex. These range from the large churches at Chelmsford, Saffron Walden and Thaxted, to the little gem at Tilty. The ruined abbeys, however, such as the two in Colchester and that at Barking, are disappointing in comparison to those that can be found in other counties^{[citation needed]}; Waltham is the exception^{[citation needed]}.

While the truncated remnant of Waltham Abbey was considered as a potential cathedral, elevation of the large parish church at Chelmsford was eventually preferred because of its location at the centre of the new diocese of Essex c.1908. Waltham Abbey remains the County's most impressive piece of mediaeval architecture.

Quite apart from important towns like Colchester or Chelmsford, many smaller places in Essex exhibit continuity from ancient times. Perhaps the most amusing is the Anglo-Saxon church at Rivenhall, just north of Witham. A nearby, ruined Roman villa probably served as a source for its building materials, and the age of this church was underestimated by Pevsner by about a thousand years.

The villages of Wanstead and Woodford saw the French family setting up a brick making works adjacent to the road from Chelmsford to London, now known as Chigwell Road. This industry closed in 1952.

References

^ Dunnett, Rosalind (1975) [1975]. The Trinovantes. London: Duckworth. p. passim. ISBN 0-7156-0843-6.
^ Described in 'The Essex Landscape', by John Hunter, Essex Record Office, 1999. Chapter 4
^ Life in Roman Britain, Anthony Birley, 1964
^ Crummy, Philip (1997) City of Victory; the story of Colchester – Britain's first Roman town. Published by Colchester Archaeological Trust (ISBN 1 897719 04 3)
^ Wilson, Roger J.A. (2002) A Guide to the Roman Remains in Britain (Fourth Edition). Published by Constable. (ISBN 1-84119-318-6)
^ Dunnett, Rosalind (1975) [1975]. The Trinovantes. London: Duckworth. p. 48. ISBN 0-7156-0843-6.
^ Dunnett, Rosalind (1975) [1975]. The Trinovantes. London: Duckworth. p. 51. ISBN 0-7156-0843-6.
^ Rippon, Stephen (2018) [2018]. Kingdom, Civitas, and County. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-19-875937-9.
^ Details on the church, Colchester Archaeologist website https://www.thecolchesterarchaeologist.co.uk/?p=34126 Archived 11 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine
^ Dunnett, Rosalind (1975) [1975]. The Trinovantes. London: Duckworth. p. 58. ISBN 0-7156-0843-6. the reference relates to the flourishing nature of Christiantity in fourth century Essex and the finds at Wickford and Brentwood
^ Gray, Adrian (1987) [1987]. Tales of Old Essex. Berkshire: Countryside Books. p. 27. ISBN 0-905392-98-1.
^ Dunnett, Rosalind (1975) [1975]. The Trinovantes. London: Duckworth. p. 51. ISBN 0-7156-0843-6. The source states that the earliest record in the 14th century Colchester Oath Book, but recounted by Daniel Defoe and others
^ Yorke, Barbara (2005) [1990]. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London and new York: Routledge. p. 45. ISBN 0-415-16639-X.
^ Morris, Marc (2021). The Anglo-Saxons - A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066. Pegasus Books. ISBN 9781643135359.
^ Morris, Marc (2021), p. 95
^ "Bradwell on Sea St Peter on the Wall Church | National Churches Trust". National Churches Trust. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
^ Morris, Marc (2021), p. 130
^ Morris, Marc (2021), p. 179-180
^ Morris, Marc (2021), p. 188
^ Morris, Marc (2021), p. 219
^ Morris, Marc (2021), p. 240
^ Morris, Marc (2021), p. 257
^ Morris, Marc (2021), p. 326-329
^ Morris, Marc (2021), p. 358
^ Vision of Britain Archived 26 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine – Essex ancient county boundaries map
^ forest
^ ^a ^b Rackham, Oliver (1990) [1976]. Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape. New York: Phoenix Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-8421-2469-7.
^ The Essex Landscape, a study of its form and history. John Hunter, pub Essex Record Office 1999. ISBN 1-898529-15-9
^ Raymond Grant (1991). The royal forests of England. Wolfeboro Falls, NH: Alan Sutton. ISBN 0-86299-781-X. OL 1878197M. 086299781X. see table, p224 for Essex Stanestreet and p221-229 for details of each forest
^ The English: A Social History 1066-1945. p36-37 Christopher Hibbert, Paladin Publishing 1988, ISBN 0 586 08471 1
^ Commentary on the Battle of Billericay and the aftermath of the revolt in Essex: Whybra, Julian. "The Battle of Norsey Wood, 1381" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2021.
^ Overview of the events of 1471: Rickard, J (27 February 2014). "Siege of London, 12-15 May 1471". Military History Encyclopedia on the Web. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020.
^ Connatty, Mary (1987) [1987]. The National Trust Book of the Armada. London: Kingfisher Books. p. 25. ISBN 0-86272-282-9.
^ Royle, Trevor (2006). Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1638–1660. Abacus. pp. 449–452. ISBN 978-0-349-11564-1.
^ Bungay, Stephen (2000). The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain. Aurum Press. p. 62. ISBN 9781854107213.
^ Morris, Marc (2021), p. 64

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