Essex

Essex corresponds, fairly closely, to the territory of the 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.[4]

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.[5] At Colchester, the kings of 11 British tribes surrendered to Claudius.[6]

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.[7][8]

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.[9] 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 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,[10] 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.[11] The late Roman period, and the period shortly after, was the setting for the King Cole legends based around Colchester.[12]

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 (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.[13]

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 Ecgberht. Before the Norman conquest the East Saxons were subsumed into the Kingdom of England.

After the Norman Conquest, county rather than shire became the more usual term is England's main sub-divisions, but their boundaries and role remained the same.

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, this was a Royal forest which covered the large majority of the county, however it is important to note that at that time, the term[14] was a legal term, and that at this stage had a weak correlation between woods and commons (sometimes known as 'the vert') and the extent of the forest, most of the Forest of Essex was at that time farmland. The naturalist Oliver Rackham carried out an analysis of Domesday returns for Essex and was able to estimate the county was 20% wooded in 1086[15] with the proportion declining steeply between that point and the depopulation associated with the Black Death. In 1204, the area "north of the Stanestreet" was disafforested. Gradually, the areas subject to forest law diminished, until 'in 1878 what remained of the forest of Essex was disafforested', but at various times they included the forests of Writtle (near Chelmsford), long lost Kingswood (near Colchester),[16] Hatfield, and Waltham Forest (which covered parts of the Hundreds of Waltham, Becontree and Ongar and included the physical forest areas subsequently legally afforested (designated as a legal forest) and known as Epping Forest and Hainault Forest).[17]

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.[18] JPs carried out these responsibilities, mainly through quarter sessions, and did this on a voluntary basis.

Essex County Council was formed in 1889. However, County Boroughs of West Ham (1889–1965), Southend-on-Sea (1914–1974)[19] and East Ham (1915–1965) formed part of the county but were unitary authorities (not under county council control).[20] 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.

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 1900, 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.

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[20] 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.

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 (numbered 13 and 14 on the map to the right).[21][22]

Essex Police covers the administrative county and the two unitary authorities.[23] 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.[24] 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.

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 deep estuaries on the east coast give Essex, by some measures, the longest coast of any county.[25]

These estuaries mean the county's North Sea coast, is characterised by three major peninsulas, each named after the Hundred based on the peninsula:

• Tendring[26] between the Stour and the Colne.
• Dengie[27] between the Blackwater and the Crouch
• Rochford[28] between the Crouch and the Thames

A consequence of these features is that the broad estuaries defining them have been a factor in preventing any transport infrastructure linking them to neighbouring areas on the other side of the river estuaries, to the north and south.

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).

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, and Basildon is home to the Ford Motor Company's British HQ. Debden, near 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 direct, modern 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.[29] In the Indices of deprivation 2007, Jaywick was identified as the most deprived Lower Super Output Area in Southern England.[30] 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, 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.[31]

Much of Essex lies within the London commuter belt, with radial transport links to the capital an important part of the areas 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.

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.[32]

• 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 braids which have merged 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 Lines (and branches) are operated by Greater Anglia.

South Essex Rapid Transit is a proposed public transport scheme which would provide a fast, reliable public transport service in and between Thurrock, Basildon and Southend.[33]

Queen Elizabeth II Bridge spanning the Thames from West Thurrock, Essex, to Dartford, Kent

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

The M25 is Londons 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 (in 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.

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.[34] 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[35] 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.[36] The port was opposed by the local authority and environmental and wildlife organisations.[37][38][39]

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.[40]

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

Stansted Airport, in the north west of the county

The main airport in Essex is Stansted Airport, serving destinations in Europe, North Africa and Asia.[41] 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.[42] 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.

The pattern of settlement in the county is diverse. The areas closest to London are the most densely settled, though the Metropolitan Green Belt has prevented the further sprawl of London into the county. The Green Belt was initially a narrow band of land but subsequent expansions meant it was able to limit the further expansion of many of the commuter towns close to the capital. The Green Belt zone close to London includes many prosperous commuter towns, as well as the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, originally developed to resettle Londoners after the destruction of London housing in the Second World War, since which they have been significantly developed and expanded. Epping Forest also prevents the further spread of the Greater London Urban Area. As it is not far from London with its economic magnetism, many of Essex's settlements, particularly those near or within short driving distance of railway stations, function as dormitory towns or villages where London workers raise their families. In these areas a high proportion of the population commute to London, and the wages earned in the capital are typically significantly higher than more local jobs. Many parts of Essex therefore, especially those closest to London, have a major economic dependence on London and the transport links that take people to work there.

The village of Finchingfield in north Essex

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 therefore form part of 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). With the exception of major towns such as Colchester, Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, 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.

Essex is a strongly Conservative county. As of the 2019 general election, all 18 Essex seats are represented by Conservatives, all of which recorded absolute majorities (over 50% of the vote). There have previously been some Labour MPs: most recently, Thurrock, Harlow and Basildon in Labour's 2005 election victory. The Liberal Democrats until 2015 had a sizeable following in Essex, gaining Colchester in the 1997 general election.

Results of the 2017 and 2019 UK General Elections in Essex

The 2015 general election saw a large vote in Essex for the UK Independence Party (UKIP), with its only MP, Douglas Carswell, retaining the seat of Clacton that he had won in a 2014 by-election, and other strong performances, notably in Thurrock and Castle Point. But in the 2017 general election, UKIP's vote share plummeted by 15.6% while both Conservative and Labour vote shares rose by 9%. This resulted in Labour regaining second place in Essex, increasing their vote share across the county and cutting some Conservative majorities in areas which had been unaffected by the 1997 general election, namely Rochford and Southend East and Southend West.

In 2015, Thurrock epitomised a three-party race with UKIP, Labour and the Conservatives gaining 30%, 31% and 32% respectively. In 2017, the Conservatives held Thurrock with an increased share of the vote, but a smaller margin of victory. It was the constituency in which UKIP performed best in 2017, with 20% of the vote while all other areas had been reduced to low single figure vote shares. Several new MPs were elected in the 2017 election, with Alex Burghart, Vicky Ford, Giles Watling and Kemi Badenoch all replacing senior Conservative politicians such as Sir Eric Pickles, Sir Simon Burns, Douglas Carswell and Sir Alan Haselhurst, respectively.

At the 2019 general election, Castle Point constituency recorded the highest vote share for the Conservatives in the entire United Kingdom, with 76.7%. The most marginal constituency in the county is Colchester, however the Conservative Party still command a majority of over 9,400 votes.

In the EU referendum, Essex voted overwhelmingly to leave the EU, with all 14 District Council areas voting to leave, the smallest margin being in Uttlesford.[43]

2019 UK general election in Essex

Party		Votes cast				%				Seats
		2015	2017	2019	±	2015	2017	2019	±	2015	2017	2019	±
	Conservative	436,758	528,949	577,118	48,169	49.6	59.0	64.8	5.8	17	18	18
	Labour	171,026	261,671	189,471	72,200	19.4	29.2	21.2	8.0	0	0	0
	Liberal Democrat	58,592	46,254	95,078	48,824	6.6	5.1	10.6	5.5	0	0	0
	Green	25,993	12,343	20,438	8,095	3.0	1.3	2.3	1.0	0	0	0
	Independents	6,919	4,179	10,224	6,045	0.7	0.4	1.1	0.7	0	0	0
	Monster Raving Loony	N/A	N/A	804	804	N/A	N/A	0.09	0.09	0	0	0
	English Democrats	453	289	532	243	0.05	0.03	0.06	0.03	0	0	0
	SDP	N/A	N/A	394	394	N/A	N/A	0.04	0.04	0	0	0
	Psychedelic Future	N/A	N/A	367	367	N/A	N/A	0.04	0.04	0	0	0
	YPP	80	110	170	60	0.00	0.01	0.02	0.01	0	0	0
	UKIP	177,756	41,478	N/A	41,478	20.2	4.6	N/A	4.6	1	0	0
Total		879,918	896,231	894,608		100%	100%	100%		18	18	18

This is the county council that 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, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party.^[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.

Composition of the Essex County Council in 2017 after the county election

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.

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.[44]

With regard to the two unitary authorities, the county council is not used to conduct business, but works closely with the unitary authorities to deliver the "best value service" to all residents.

2017 Essex County Council election

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

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.[45] With this, some district and unitary authorities may have their own youth councils, such as Epping Forest,[46] Uttlesford[47] and Harlow.[48]

All these councilors 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 councilors of all status to work closely with schools and youth centers to improve youth services in Essex and help promote the opinions of the Essex youth generation.

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.[44]

Local councils play a vital role in representing the interests of their communities and improving the quality of life and the local environment. They can also influence other decision makers and can deliver services to meet local needs. Their powers and duties range from maintaining allotments and open spaces, to crime prevention and providing recreation facilities.

Local 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.[44]