Essex facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Essex
Ceremonial county
Ceremonial Essex within England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East
Established	Ancient
Time zone	UTC±00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time)
Members of Parliament	18 Members of Parliament Con: 10 Lab: 5 Reform: 2 Lib Dem: 1
Police	Essex Police
Largest city	Southend-on-Sea
Ceremonial county Lord Lieutenant Jennifer Tolhurst Area 3,670 km2 (1,420 sq mi)  • Ranked 11th of 48 Population (2005 est.) 1,645,900  • Ranked 6th of 48 Density 448/km2 (1,160/sq mi) Ethnicity 90.8% White British 3.6% Other White 2.5% Asian 1.3% Black 1.5% Mixed 0.3% Other (2011) Non-metropolitan county County council Essex County Council Executive Conservative Admin HQ Chelmsford Area 3,465 km2 (1,338 sq mi)  • Ranked of 26 Population 1,340,000  • Ranked 2nd of 26 Density 386/km2 (1,000/sq mi) ISO 3166-2 GB-ESS ONS code 22 GSS code E10000012 ITL UKH33 Unitary authorities Councils Southend-on-Sea City Council Thurrock Council Districts Districts of Essex   Unitary   County council area Districts Uttlesford Braintree Colchester Tendring Harlow Epping Forest Chelmsford Maldon Brentwood Basildon Rochford Castle Point Southend-on-Sea Thurrock

Essex (/ˈɛsɪks/ ESS-iks) is a ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the south, Greater London to the south-west, and Hertfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is Southend-on-Sea, and the county town is Chelmsford.

The county has an area of 3,670 km² (1,420 sq mi) and a population of 1,832,751. After Southend-on-Sea (182,305), the largest settlements are Colchester (130,245), Basildon (115,955) and Chelmsford (110,625). The south of the county is very densely populated, and the remainder, besides Colchester and Chelmsford, is largely rural. For local government purposes Essex comprises a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and two unitary authority areas: Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea. The districts of Chelmsford, Colchester and Southend have city status. The county historically included north-east Greater London, the River Lea forming its western border.

Essex is a low-lying county with a flat coastline. It contains pockets of ancient woodland, including Epping Forest in the south-west, and in the north-east shares Dedham Vale area of outstanding natural beauty with Suffolk. The coast is one of the longest of any English county, at 562 miles (905km). It is deeply indented by estuaries, the largest being those of the Stour, which forms the Suffolk border, the Colne, Blackwater, Crouch, and the Thames in the south. Parts of the coast are wetland and salt marsh, including a large expanse at Hamford Water, and it contains several large beaches.

What is now Essex was occupied by the Trinovantes tribe during the Iron Age. They established a settlement at Colchester, which is the oldest recorded town in Britain. The town was conquered by the Romans but subsequently sacked by the Trinovantes during the Boudican revolt. In the Early Middle Ages the region was invaded by the Saxons, who formed the Kingdom of Essex; they were followed by the Vikings, who after winning the Battle of Maldon were able to extract the first Danegeld from King Æthelred. After the Norman Conquest much of the county became a royal forest, and in 1381 the populace of the county were heavily involved in the Peasants' Revolt. The subsequent centuries were more settled, and the county's economy became increasingly tied to that of London; in the nineteenth century the railways allowed coastal resorts such as Clacton-on-Sea to develop and the Port of London to shift downriver to Tilbury. Subsequent development has included the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, the development of the Harwich International Port, and petroleum industry.

History

The name Essex originates in the Anglo-Saxon period of the Early Middle Ages and has its root in the Anglo-Saxon i.e. Old English name Ēastseaxe (i.e. the "East Saxons"), the eastern kingdom of the Saxons who had come from the continent and settled in Britain (cf. Middlesex, Sussex and Wessex) during the Heptarchy. Originally recorded in AD 527, Essex occupied territory to the north of the River Thames, incorporating all of what later became Middlesex (which probably included Surrey) and most of what later became Hertfordshire. Its territory was later restricted to lands east of the River Lea.

Colchester in the northeast of the county is Britain's oldest recorded town, dating back to before the Roman conquest, when it was known as Camulodunum and was sufficiently well-developed to have its own mint. In AD 824, following the Battle of Ellandun, the kingdoms of the East Saxons, the South Saxons and the Jutes of Kent were absorbed into the kingdom of the West Saxons, uniting Saxland under King Alfred's grandfather Egberht. In changes before the Norman conquest the East Saxons were subsumed into the Kingdom of England and, following the Norman conquest, Essex became a county.

During the medieval period, much of the area was designated a Royal forest, including the entire county in a period to 1204, when the area "north of the Stanetreet" was disafforested. Gradually, the areas subject to forest law diminished, but at various times included the forests of Becontree, Chelmsford, Epping, Hatfield, Ongar and Waltham.

County-wide administration

Essex County Council was formed in 1889. However County Boroughs of West Ham (1889–1965), Southend-on-Sea (1914–1974) and East Ham (1915–1965) formed part of the county but were unitary authorities (not under county council control). 12 boroughs and districts provide more localised services such as rubbish and recycling collections, leisure and planning, as shown in the map on the right.

Parish-level administration – changes

A few Essex parishes have been transferred to other counties. Before 1889, small areas were transferred to Hertfordshire near Bishops Stortford and Sawbridgeworth. At the time of the main changes around the turn of the 19th/20th centuries; parts of Helions Bumpstead, Sturmer, Kedington and Ballingdon-with-Brundon were transferred to Suffolk and Great Chishill, Little Chishill and Heydon were transferred to Cambridgeshire. Later, part of Hadstock, part of Ashton and part of Chrishall were transferred to Cambridgeshire and part of Great Horkesley went to Suffolk and several other small parcels of land were transferred to all those counties.

Boundaries

The boundary with Greater London was established in 1965 when East Ham and West Ham county boroughs and the Barking, Chingford, Dagenham, Hornchurch, Ilford, Leyton, Romford, Walthamstow and Wanstead and Woodford districts were transferred to form the London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest. 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.

Two unitary authorities

In 1998 the boroughs of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock were granted autonomy from the administrative county of Essex after successful requests to become unitary authorities (numbered 13 and 14 on the map to the right).

Essex Police covers the administrative county and the two unitary authorities. The county council chamber and main headquarters is at the County Hall in Chelmsford. Before 1938 the council regularly met in London near Moorgate, which with significant parts closer to that point and the dominance of railways had been more convenient than any place in the county. It currently has 75 elected councillors. Before 1965, the number of councillors reached over 100. The County Hall, made a listed building in 2007, dates largely from the mid-1930s and is decorated with fine artworks of that period, mostly the gift of the family who owned the textile firm Courtaulds.

Geography

The highest point of the county of Essex is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, close to the Hertfordshire border, which reaches 482 feet (147 m). The ceremonial county of Essex is bounded to the south by the River Thames and its estuary (a boundary shared with Kent); to the southwest by Greater London; to the west by Hertfordshire with the boundary largely defined by the River Lea and the Stort; to the northwest by Cambridgeshire; to the north by Suffolk, a boundary mainly defined by the River Stour; and to the east by the North Sea.

The pattern of settlement in the county is diverse. The Metropolitan Green Belt has effectively prevented the further sprawl of London into the county, although it contains the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, originally developed to resettle Londoners following the destruction of London housing in World War II, since which significantly developed and expanded. Epping Forest also acts as a protected barrier to the further spread of London. Because of its proximity to London and the economic magnetism which that city exerts, many of Essex's settlements, particularly those on or within short driving distance of railway stations, function as dormitory towns or villages where London workers raise their families.

Part of the southeast of the county, already containing the major population centres of Basildon, Southend and Thurrock, is within the Thames Gateway and designated for further development. Parts of the southwest of the county such as Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell are contiguous with Greater London neighbourhoods and so for some purposes these are included in the statistical unit the Greater London Urban Area.

A small part of the southwest of the county (Sewardstone), is the only settlement outside Greater London to be covered by a postcode district of the London post town (E4). To the north of the green belt, with the exception of major towns such as Colchester and Chelmsford, the county is rural, with many small towns, villages and hamlets largely built in the traditional materials of timber and brick, with clay tile or thatched roofs. This region tends to have more similarities with East Anglia than the southern and western parts of the county.

Administrative history

Before the County Council

Before the creation of the county councils, county-level administration was limited in nature; lord-lieutenants replaced the sheriffs from the time of Henry VIII and took a primarily military role, responsible for the militia and the Volunteer Force that replaced it.

Most administration was carried out by justices of the peace (JPs) appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant of Essex based upon their reputation. The JPs carried out judicial and administrative duties such as maintenance of roads and bridges, supervision of the poor laws, administration of county prisons and setting the County Rate. JPs carried out these responsibilities, mainly through quarter sessions, and did this on a voluntary basis.

At this time the county was sub-divided into units known as Hundreds. At a very early but unknown date, small parts of the county on the east bank of the Stort, near Bishops Stortford and Sawbridgeworth were transferred to Hertfordshire

County Councils

Essex County Council was formed in 1889. However, County Boroughs of West Ham (1889–1965), Southend-on-Sea (1914–1974) and East Ham (1915–1965) formed part of the county but were county boroughs (not under county council control, in a similar manner to unitary authorities today). 12 boroughs and districts provide more localised services such as rubbish and recycling collections, leisure and planning, as shown in the map on the right.

The north-west tip of Essex, the parishes of Great Chishill, Little Chishill and Heydon, were transferred to Cambridgeshire when the County Councils were created in 1889. Parts of a number of other parishes were also transferred at that time, and since.

Greater London established

The boundary with Greater London was established in 1965, when East Ham and West Ham county boroughs and the Barking, Chingford, Dagenham, Hornchurch, Ilford, Leyton, Romford, Walthamstow and Wanstead and Woodford districts as well as a part of Chigwell were transferred to form the London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.

Two unitary authorities

In 1998, the boroughs of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock were separated from the administrative county of Essex after successful requests to become unitary authorities.

Governance

National

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.

Essex is represented by eighteen seats in the House of Commons, each electing one Member of Parliament (MP). As of the 2024 general election, the county is represented by ten Conservative Party MPs, five from the Labour Party, two from Reform UK and one Liberal Democrat.

The Conservatives have historically dominated in the county. In 2017, the party won all eighteen Essex seats, and repeated this in 2019, receiving over 50% of the vote in every Essex constituency and almost 65% of the county's total votes. In this election, Castle Point recorded the highest Conservative vote share of any constituency in the United Kingdom with 76.7%, and the most marginal seat in the county was Colchester, which the Conservatives still held by a majority of over 9,400 votes. Essex has previously elected a small number of Labour MPs, with the party winning in Thurrock in all but one general election between 1945 and 2005, and also holding Harlow and Basildon from 1997 until 2010. The Liberal Democrats held the seat of Colchester from 1997 until the 2015 election. The 2015 election saw a large vote in Essex for the UK Independence Party (UKIP); the county was the site of UKIP's only victory in the election, with Douglas Carswell retaining the seat of Clacton that he had won in a 2014 by-election. The party also gained support in other Essex constituencies, receiving over 30% of the vote in Thurrock and Castle Point. UKIP's vote share declined in 2017 and the party lost their only seat.

The Conservatives experienced a marked fall in support in Essex at the 2024 general election, receiving fewer than half the votes they did in 2019. Reform UK, led by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, received over 20% of the votes in the county. Two of the party's five MPs elected in 2024 represent Essex constituencies, including Clacton, which was won by Farage. The Labour Party recovered Thurrock and Harlow, gained Colchester and won seats in Southend-on-Sea for the first time in their history. The Liberal Democrats also won in Chelmsford for the first time.

In the 2016 EU referendum, 62.3% of voters in Essex voted to leave the EU, with all 14 District Council areas voting to leave, the smallest margin being in Uttlesford.

e•d {{{2}}}

Party		Votes				% Votes				Seats
		2015	2017	2019	2024	2015	2017	2019	2024	2015	2017	2019	2024
	Conservative Party	436,758	528,949	577,118	270,382	49.6	59.0	64.8	32.9	17	18	18	10
	Labour Party	171,026	261,671	189,471	235,891	19.4	29.2	21.2	28.7	0	0	0	5
	Reform UK				179,977				21.9				2
	Liberal Democrats	58,592	46,254	95,078	78,238	6.6	5.1	10.6	9.5	0	0	0	1
	Green Party	25,993	12,343	20,438	42,582	3.0	1.3	2.3	5.2	0	0	0	0
	UKIP	177,756	41,478		273	20.2	4.6		0.0	1	0		0
	Other parties	3,718	1,662	2,278	3,984	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.5	0	0	0	0
	Independents	6,919	4,179	10,224	10,059	0.7	0.4	1.1	1.2	0	0	0	0
Total		879,918	896,231	894,608	821,386	100%	100%	100%	100%	18	18	18	18

County-wide

Essex Police and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service covers the ceremonial county. The county council governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, some of which elect more than one member, but before 1965, the number of councillors reached over 100. The council is currently under Conservative majority control, with the party holding 52 of the 75 council seats. ^[2] The council meets at County Hall in the centre of Chelmsford.

At the time of the 2011 census it served a population of 1,393,600, which makes it one of the largest local authorities in England. As a non-metropolitan county council, responsibilities are shared between districts (including boroughs) and in many areas also between civil parish (including town) councils. Births, marriages/civil partnerships and death registration, roads, libraries and archives, refuse disposal, most of state education, of social services and of transport are provided at the county level.^[3]

The county council was formed in 1889, governing the administrative county of Essex. The county council was reconstituted in 1974 as a non-metropolitan county council, regaining jurisdiction in Southend-on-Sea; however, the non-metropolitan county was reduced in size in 1998 and the council passed responsibilities to Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Thurrock Council in those districts. For certain services the three authorities co-operate through joint arrangements, such as the Essex fire authority.

At the 2013 County Council elections the Conservative Party retained overall control of the council, but its majority fell from twenty-two to four councillors. UKIP, Labour and the Liberal Democrats each won nine seats. Out of those three parties, UKIP gained the largest share of the county-wide vote, more than 10% ahead of Labour.^[3] The Liberal Democrats remain as the official Opposition, despite winning fewer votes.^[3] The Green Party gained two seats on the council, despite its overall share of the vote falling. The independent Loughton Residents Association and the Canvey Island Independent Party both returned one member and an Independent candidate was also elected.

The 2017 County Council elections saw a county-wide wipeout of UKIP. The Conservative Party profited most from this loss, regaining many of the seats it had lost at the previous election. Labour, despite a slight rise in its share of the vote, had fewer councillors elected. The Liberal Democrats also saw a notable revival, but were unable to translate this into seats. The Conservatives retained firm control of the council. The next election will be in 2021.

e•d {{{2}}}

Party		Votes cast				%				Seats
		2009	2013	2017	±	2009	2013	2017	±	2009	2013	2017	±
	Conservative	169,975	112,229	184,901	72,672	43.3	34.4	49.3	14.9	60	42	56	14
	Labour	42,334	57,290	63,470	6,180	10.8	16.4	16.9	0.5	1	9	6	3
	Liberal Democrat	79,085	35,651	51,524	15,873	20.1	11.6	13.7	2.1	12	9	7	2
	UKIP	18,186	90,812	29,796	61,016	4.6	27.6	7.9	19.7	0	9	0	9
	Green	26,547	15,187	15,187		6.8	4.8	4.3	0.5	0	2	1	1
	Independents	5,845	4,631	12,506	7,875	1.5	0.6	2.4	1.8	0	1	2	1
	Residents for Uttlesford	N/A	N/A	5,231		N/A	N/A	1.4		0	0*(1)	0	1
	Canvey Island Independents	1,655	2,777	3,654	877	0.4	0.9	1.0	0.1	1	1	2	1
	Loughton Residents	2,764	3,286	2,824	462	0.7	1.1	0.8	0.3	1	1	1
	Tendring First	5,866	4,093	1,332	2,761	1.5	1.4	0.4	1.0	0	0	0
	BNP	35,037	909	847	62	8.9	0.3	0.2	0.1	0	0	0
	English Democrats	5,212	835	58	164	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	0	0	0
	TUSC	N/A	431	N/A		N/A	0.1	N/A		0	0	0
	National Front	N/A	304	N/A		N/A	0.1	N/A		0	0	0
Total		392,506	328,435	372,834		100%	100%	100%		75	75	75

County Hall

The county council chamber and main headquarters is at the County Hall in Chelmsford. Before 1938, the council regularly met in London near Moorgate, which with significant parts of the county close to that point and the dominance of railway travel had been more convenient than any place in the county. The County Hall, made a listed building in 2007, dates largely from the mid-1930s and is decorated with fine artworks of that period, mostly the gift of the family who owned the textile firm Courtaulds.

Borough and district level

The county of Essex is divided into 12 district and borough councils with 2 unitary authorities (Southend on Sea and Thurrock). The 12 councils manage housing, local planning, refuse collection, street cleaning, elections and meet in their respective civic offices. The local representatives are elected in parts in local elections, held every year.

Youth councils

The Essex County Council also has a Youth Assembly, 75 members aged between 11 and 19 who aim to represent all young people in their districts across Essex. They decide on the priorities for young people and campaign to make a difference. With this, some district and unitary authorities may have their own youth councils, such as Epping Forest, Uttlesford and Harlow.

All these councillors are elected by their schools. The elections to the Young Essex Assembly occur in the respective schools in which the candidates are standing, likewise for the youth councils at a district and unitary level. These young people will then go on to represent their school and their parish/ward or (in the case of the Young Essex Assembly) their entire district. The initiative seeks to engage younger people in the county and rely on the youth councillors of all status to work closely with schools and youth centres to improve youth services in Essex and help promote the opinions of Essex youth.

Town and parish level

Town and parish councils vary in size from those with a population of around 200 to those with a population of over 30,000. Annual expenditure can vary greatly, depending on the circumstances of the individual council. Parish and town councils (local councils) have the same powers and duties, but a town council may elect a town mayor, rather than a chairman, each year in May.

There are just under 300 town and parish councils within Essex. These Councils have no statutory duties but can contribute to local life in a range of ways, such as maintaining allotments and open spaces, to crime prevention and providing recreation facilities. They can also influence other decision makers and can deliver services to meet local needs. Their powers and duties range

Town and parish councils have the right to become statutory consultees at both district and county level and, although the decision remains with the planning authorities, local councils can influence the decision-making process by making informed comments and recommendations.

Economy

A high proportion of the population, especially in the south, work outside the county, commuting to London and elsewhere by rail and by road. These London-based jobs are often well paid and complement the contribution made by the employers based within Essex.

Industry is largely limited to the south of the county, with the majority of the land elsewhere being given over to agriculture. Harlow is a centre for electronics, science and pharmaceutical companies. Chelmsford has been an important location for electronics companies, such as the Marconi Company, since the industry was born; it is also the location for a number of insurance and financial services organisations and, until 2015, was the home of the soft drinks producer Britvic. Basildon is home to New Holland Agriculture's European headquarters as well as the Ford Motor Company's British HQ. Debden, in Loughton, is home to a production facility for British and foreign banknotes.

Other businesses in the county are dominated by mechanical engineering, including but not limited to metalworking, glassmaking and plastics and the service sector. Colchester is a garrison town and the local economy is helped by the Army's personnel living there. Basildon is the location of State Street Corporation's United Kingdom HQ International Financial Data Services and remains heavily dependent on London for employment, due to its proximity and direct transport routes. Southend-on-Sea is home to the Adventure Island theme park and is one of the few still growing British seaside resorts, benefiting from modern and direct rail links from Fenchurch Street railway station and Liverpool Street station (so that housing is in high demand, especially for financial services commuters), which maintains the town's commercial and general economy.

Parts of eastern Essex suffer from high levels of deprivation; one of the most highly deprived wards is in the seaside town of Clacton. In the Indices of deprivation 2007, Jaywick was identified as the most deprived Lower Super Output Area in Southern England. Unemployment was estimated at 44% and many homes were found to lack very basic amenities. The Brooklands and Grasslands area of Jaywick was found to be the third-most deprived area in England; two areas in Liverpool and Manchester were rated more deprived. In contrast, mid, west and south-west Essex is one of the most affluent parts of eastern England, forming part of the London commuter belt. There is a large middle class here and the area is widely known for its private schools. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph found Ingatestone and Brentwood to be the 14th- and 19th-richest towns in the UK respectively.

Transport

Much of Essex lies within the London commuter belt, with radial transport links to the capital an important part of the area's economy. There are nationally or regionally important ports and airports and these also rely on the Essex infrastructure, causing an additional load on the local road and rail links.

Railway

Essex's railway routes to London are, running clockwise:

• The West Anglia Main Line from Liverpool Street to Harlow, Stansted Airport and onward to Cambridgeshire.
• The southern part of Epping Forest district is served by the London Underground Central line.
• The Great Eastern Main Line from Liverpool Street to Shenfield, Chelmsford, Colchester and onto East Anglia. The Great Eastern includes branch lines to:

1. Harwich and its port. The nearby port of Felixstowe in Suffolk is served by a separate branch.
2. The Sunshine Coast Line linking Colchester to the seaside resorts of Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze via the picturesque towns of Wivenhoe and Great Bentley.
3. Braintree.
4. Branch from Marks Tey to Sudbury (Suffolk) and villages in-between.
5. In the densely populated south, there is a branch to Southend Victoria, the Rochford Peninsula and several south Essex towns. This branch has a sub-branch – the Crouch Valley Line – linking Wickford to the remote Dengie Peninsula, including Burnham-on-Crouch and Southminster.

• Like the Southend Victoria branch, the London, Tilbury & Southend Railway also serves Southend (Southend Central), the Rochford Peninsula and many towns in the densely populated south of the county. The London terminus is Fenchurch Street and heading eastward from Barking, the line separates into three, which later merge back into one by the time the railway reaches Pitsea.

The Essex Thameside franchise is operated by c2c. The Greater Anglia routes (both the West Anglia and Great Eastern Main Line and their branches) are operated by Greater Anglia.

Road

Essex has six main strategic routes, five of which reflect the powerful influence exerted by London.

The M25 is London's orbital motorway which redistributes traffic across the London area. It includes the Dartford Road Crossings, over the Thames Estuary, linking Essex to Kent.

There are four radial commuter routes into the capital:

• M11 motorway, which also serves Stansted Airport and provides commuter links to Cambridge.
• A12, to East Anglia via Chelmsford and Colchester. It also serves the ports of Harwich and Felixstowe (Suffolk).
• A127, to the Rochford Peninsula, including Southend and Southend Airport. This is no longer maintained as a trunk road.
• A13, to the Rochford Peninsula, also including Southend. It also serves the expanding Tilbury and London Gateway ports.

The A120 is a major route heading west from the ports of Harwich and Felixstowe (Suffolk) and, like the A12, the route was in use during the Roman period and, in part at least, before then.

Ports and waterborne transport

The Port of Tilbury is one of Britain's three major ports and has proposed a major extension onto the site of the former Tilbury power stations. The port of Harwich has passenger and freight services to the Hook of Holland and a freight service to Europoort. A service to Esbjerg, Denmark ceased in September 2014 and earlier a service to Cuxhaven in Germany was discontinued in December 2005.

The UK's largest container terminal London Gateway at Shell Haven in Thurrock partly opened in November 2013; final completion date is yet to be confirmed. The port was opposed by the local authority and environmental and wildlife organisations.

The ports have branch lines to connect them to the national rail network. These freight movements conflict with the needs of commuter passenger services, limiting their frequency and reliability.

East of the Dartford Road Crossing to Dartford in Kent, across the Thames Estuary, a pedestrian ferry to Gravesend, Kent operates from Tilbury during limited daily hours; there are pedestrian ferries across some of Essex's rivers and estuaries in spring and summer.

Airports

The main airport in Essex is Stansted Airport, serving destinations in Europe, North Africa and Asia. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, formed in May 2010, agreed not to allow a further runway until a set time period, so curtailing the operator's ambitions for expansion. London Southend Airport, once one of Britain's busiest airports, opened a new runway extension, terminal building and railway station in March 2012. It has a station on the Shenfield to Southend Line, with a direct link to London.

Southend Airport has scheduled flights to Ireland, the Channel Islands and multiple destinations in Europe. Essex has several smaller airfields, some of which owe their origins to military bases built during World War I or World War II, giving pleasure flights or flying lessons; these include Clacton Airfield, Earls Colne Airfield and Stapleford Aerodrome.

Culture and community

Symbols

Both the Flag of Essex and the county's coat of arms comprise three Saxon seax knives (although they look rather more like scimitars), mainly white and pointing to the right (from the point of view of the observer), arranged vertically one above another on a red background (Gules three Seaxes fesswise in pale Argent pommels and hilts Or, points to the sinister and notches to the base). The three-seax device is also used as the official logo of Essex County Council; this was granted in 1932.

The emblem was attributed to Anglo-Saxon Essex in Early Modern historiography. The earliest reference to the arms of the East Saxon kings was by Richard Verstegan, the author of A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence (Antwerp, 1605), claiming that "Erkenwyne king of the East-Saxons did beare for his armes, three [seaxes] argent, in a field gules". There is no earlier evidence substantiating Verstegan's claim, which is an anachronism for the Anglo-Saxon period seeing that heraldry only evolved in the 12th century, well after the Norman Conquest.

John Speed in his Historie of Great Britaine (1611) follows Verstegan in his descriptions of the arms of Erkenwyne, but he qualifies the statement by adding "as some or our heralds have emblazed".

The cowslip is the county plant of Essex.

Patron saint

The East Saxon royal house had converted the Christianity around 604 AD, but subsequently apostasised. In the mid 7th century, a new Christian king, Sigeberht the Good, requested help from the monks of Lindisfarne in promoting Christianity among his people.

St Cedd, an Irish trained Northumbrian monk, sailed south and established a chapel, dedicated to St Peter, on the site of the old Roman fort of Othona (modern Bradwell-on-Sea), a chapel which still stands. Cedd, who was well known for confronting political authority, filled the vacant position of Bishop of London – the Bishop of the East Saxons. The feast day of St Cedd, also known as Essex Day, is marked on 26 October.

Speech

The county has its own Essex dialect, though this has lost ground to other forms so that it is now chiefly spoken in parts of the north and among older residents. It has been partially replaced by Received Pronunciation (RP) and Cockney, a form originally heavily influenced by the Essex dialect.

The prevalence of Cockney, particularly in the south, is the result of the large-scale migration of East Londoners to Essex, the Cockney Diaspora, particularly after World War II. A blend of RP and Cockney is widely heard, and known as Estuary English.

Traditions

Essex is also home to the Dunmow Flitch Trials, a traditional ceremony that takes place every four years and consists of a test of a married couple's devotion to one another. A common claim of the origin of the Dunmow Flitch dates back to 1104 and the Augustinian priory of Little Dunmow, founded by Lady Juga Baynard. Lord of the Manor Reginald Fitzwalter and his wife dressed themselves as humble folk and begged blessing of the Prior a year and a day after marriage. The prior, impressed by their devotion, bestowed upon them a flitch of bacon. Upon revealing his true identity, Fitzwalter gave his land to the priory on condition that a flitch should be awarded to any couple who could claim they were similarly devoted.

By the 14th century, the Dunmow Flitch Trials appear to have achieved a significant reputation outside the local area. The author William Langland, who lived on the Welsh borders, mentions it in his 1362 book The Vision of Piers Plowman in a manner that implies general knowledge of the custom among his readers.

Television

The county is served by BBC East and ITV Anglia, but southern parts of Essex are also served by BBC London and ITV London.

Radio

Local radio stations are BBC Essex, Heart Essex, Greatest Hits Radio East (formerly Dream 100 FM), Radio Essex (covering Mid and South Essex), Actual Radio (covering Colchester and North East Essex) and Phoenix FM (covering Brentwood and Billericay).

Sport

The county is also home to the Romford Raiders and Chelmsford Chieftains ice hockey teams.

Ball

West Ham United, which London Stadium, is located within the historical Essex boundaries, as are Leyton Orient and Dagenham & Redbridge. The ceremonial county is home to two professional sides, Southend United and Colchester United. Essex also has a number of other clubs which play below English football's fifth tier. Braintree Town and Chelmsford City play in the National League South. The highest domestic trophy for non-league teams, the FA Trophy, has been won on three occasions by Essex teams: Colchester United (1992), Canvey Island (2001) and by Grays Athletic in 2006. The FA Vase has been won three times by Billericay Town in 1976, 1977 and 1979, and by Stansted in 1984.

It is home to the amateur rugby league football teams the Eastern Rhinos and Brentwood Eels (Essex Eels).

The county's basketball team is Essex Leopards, a defunct teams include the Essex Pirates basketball team. Team Essex Volleyball Club is Chelmsford's national league volleyball club. It has four teams which play in Volleyball England's national volleyball league. Its men's 1st team currently competes in the top division in the country, the Super 8s, while the women's 1st team competes one tier below the men. The club has a strong junior programme and trains at The Boswells School in Chelmsford.

Essex County Cricket Club became a first-class county in 1894. The county has won eight County Championship league titles; six of these were won during the dominant period between 1979 and 1992, with a gap of 25 years before the county's next titles in 2017 and 2019.

Racing

Speedway teams in the county were Lakeside Hammers (formerly Arena Essex Hammers), the Rayleigh Rockets and the Romford Bombers.

During the 2012 London Olympics, Hadleigh Farm played host to the mountain bike races.

Essex has one horse racing venue, Chelmsford City Racecourse at Great Leighs. Horse racing also took place at Chelmsford Racecourse in Galleywood until 1935. The county has one current greyhound racing track, Harlow Stadium. Rayleigh Weir Stadium and Southend Stadium are former greyhound venues.

Notable people

Many famous sports stars have come from or trained in Essex. These have included swimmer Mark Foster; cricket stars Trevor Bailey, Nasser Hussain, Alastair Cook and Graham Gooch; footballers Peter Taylor, James Tomkins, Justin Edinburgh, Nigel Spink; tennis stars John Lloyd and David Lloyd; Olympic Gold-winning gymnast Max Whitlock; Olympic sailing champion Saskia Clark; World Champion snooker stars Stuart Bingham and Steve Davis; world champion boxers Terry Marsh, Nigel Benn and Frank Bruno; London Marathon winner Eamonn Martin; international rugby players Malcolm O'Kelly and Stuart Barnes; Formula 1 sports car drivers Johnny Herbert and Perry McCarthy.

Education

Education in Essex is substantially provided by three authorities: Essex County Council and the two unitary authorities, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock. In all there are some 90 state secondary schools provided by these authorities, the majority of which are comprehensive, although one in Uttlesford, two in Chelmsford, two in Colchester and four in Southend-on-Sea are selective grammar schools. There are also various independent schools particularly, as mentioned above, in rural parts and the west of the county.

The University of Essex, which was established in 1963, is located just outside Colchester, with two further campuses in Loughton and Southend-on-Sea.

Anglia Ruskin University has a campus in Chelmsford. Lord Ashcroft International Business School, Faculty of Medical Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Anglia Law School, Faculty of Health, Social Care & Education and School of Medicine are located in the campus area.

Writtle University College, at Writtle, near Chelmsford, offers both higher and further education in land-management subjects.

Landmarks and places of interest

Over 14,000 buildings have listed status in the county and around 1,000 of those are recognised as of Grade I or II* importance. The buildings include the 7th century Saxon church of St Peter-on-the-Wall and the clubhouse of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club which was the United Kingdom's entry in the 'International Exhibition of Modern Architecture' held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1932. Southend Pier is in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest pleasure pier in the world

Key
	Owned by the National Trust
	Owned by English Heritage
	Owned by the Forestry Commission
	A Country Park
	An Accessible open space
	Museum (free)
	Museum (charges entry fee)
	Heritage railway
	Historic House

Notable people

Sister counties and regions

• Jiangsu, China
• Picardy, France
• Thuringia, Germany
• Henrico County, Virginia, United States
• Accra, Ghana

See also

In Spanish: Essex para niños