The Victoria History of Essex: Southend

Victorian Town and Resort

Ken Crowe (Author)

Series: VCH Shorts

Published in association with: Institute of Historical Research

The story of Southend’s growth as a town and resort in the Victorian and Edwardian periods is told here in this new history of Southend. As the nearest seaside resort to London, the town’s development has been determined in large part by the impact of its seasonal visitors. Yet it was the year-round movement of people from other parts of Essex, England and from the European continent in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-centuries that was to have a lasting effect on the character of the town.

Richly illustrated and drawing from original sources, this volume offers new perspectives on the developments that laid the foundations of Southend as we know it today. Its thematic chapters chart the physical expansion of housing in the period and the development of the resort’s infrastructure and economy, among other topics. Although concentrating on Southend and its resort, chapters on agricultural depression and land speculation, education, clubs and societies and unemployment expand the book’s regional focus to neighbouring areas, making this valuable reading for anyone interested in the history of Essex and the UK’s seaside towns.

This publication takes a fresh and comprehensive view of Southend, using primary sources to inform areas and themes that have thus far remained largely unexplored. … This publication will prove to be a useful resource for students, academic historians and indeed anyone interested in the history of the locality.

—Sean o’Dell, Retired Senior Lecturer in Contextual Studies and Social History at University Centre Colchester, UK

The Local Historian

Introduction
Southend’s Historic Parishes
Landownership
The Building of Cliff Town
The Victorian Resort
The Expansion of Southend, 1860–1914
Agricultural Depression and the Building of Leigh
Occupations and Occupational Structure
Retail Businesses and Seasonal Occupations
Accommodation and Catering
Brickmaking
Unemployment in Edwardian Southend
Education in Southend, 1802-1902
Clubs and Societies

EPUB: 9781915249883

Paperback: 9781915249876 / 164 pages / 254mm x 178mm

Ken Crowe (Author)

Ken Crowe taught history at a local Comprehensive school before joining the staff of Southend Museum, where he curated, among others, the Local History collections. He gained MAs in both Archaeology and Local and Regional History (London and Essex) and has written extensively on local history and archaeological subjects. Since retiring, in 2014, he has been closely involved with both the VCH Essex Trust and the Friends of Historic Essex.

—Sean o’Dell, Retired Senior Lecturer in Contextual Studies and Social History at University Centre Colchester, UK

The Local Historian

Subject: History, Local History

BISAC codes: HIS015060, HIS052000, HIS054000

Thema codes: JBSD, NHTB, RGL, WQH

Keywords: Daniel Robert Scratton, Edwardian, Essex, Leigh, Southend, Victorian, occupations, population growth, resort, seaside, transport

EPUB accessibility:

Accessibility summary
Table of contents navigation
Index navigation
Short alternative textual descriptions
Print-equivalent page numbering

This publication generally has been produced to meet WCAG Level AA, but it has not been checked for language shifts or for colour contrast within images. Please let us know if you find anything inaccessible within our book as we continue improving our processes. You can contact us at uolp.accessibility@london.ac.uk.