The Early History of Basildon to Modern Times

by Norman Bambridge

Geology.
The only record of the history of our planet lies in the rocks beneath our feet. Here, and only here, can
we trace the cycles of change that have shaped the Earth in the past, and that will continue to do so in
the future. This is true for Essex in general and south Essex including the Basildon area, where the
record of climate change during the Ice Age is preserved in our quarries and coastal cliffs. The bedrock
geology of the district is London Clay, laid down on the floor of a subtropical sea in the Eocene period
some 50 million years ago.

The River Thames in pre-history.
The River Thames has played a vital role in the development and story of London for the last 600,000
years, but throughout time it has shaped and re-shaped the local landscape. It has been used by
humans as a highway, a boundary, a food store and a sacred stream. In prehistory, the river was wider
and shallower, and probably flowed in a number of different channels. It is a tidal river and in AD43
Roman London was founded at the point where fresh water met the incoming sea.

Romano Britain.
Like many of the cities, towns and villages occupied throughout Britian which were developed in
Romano-British times, there is much evidence of the cultures and planning left in the roads including
those identified in modern Basildon.
There once was a Roman fort at Blunts Wall. Many Roman coins dating from between AD 69 and AD
636 have been unearthed together with a collection of pottery. The Roman settlement was destroyed
completely thanks to the efforts of the Saxon invaders. They set up home at Burghstede (Saxon for a
fortified place). It has been suggested that the fort was on the site now occupied by Great Burstead Church.

Marsh Land and Creeks of the area in Saxon and Medieval times.
From what is now Hole Haven Creek and onto Vange Creek, Fobbing Marshes and Vange Marshes
around what is now Wat Tyler Country Park and Pitsea Marsh and a creek leading to what was The Barge area.
Throughout the late Saxon and Medieval periods, Essex Marshland Sheep were a prized source of dairy produce, in particular, cheeses. The rich marshland grazing was also used for the fattening of livestock during the summer months before being taken to London for slaughter.

Vange, Pitsea and Fobbing Marshes
The marshes are natural coastal grassland, dykes and creeks, with a wide variety of maritime herbs and grasses, some of them nationally rare. Insects with restricted distributions include the scarce emerald
damselfly and Roesel Bush Cricket. There are birds at Vange Marsh such as avocets, common terns and black-tailed godwits. Now also, along with Pitsea Marsh, a site of Special Scientific Interest. The
southern half is the Wat Tyler Country Park, and the northern half is private land. The site also has a variety of habitats, such as grassland, scrub, reedbed, fen, ponds and saltmarsh. It was reclaimed in the seventeenth century, when Pitsea Hall Fleet was excavated to construct sea walls.

Recorded History.
During the Saxon period, the men of the hundred met to discuss local issues and to conduct judicial trials. The moot site for the Barstable hundred was said to be close to the former Barstable Hall. The old
hall was near the junction of the boundaries of the parishes of Laindon, Corringham, Vange and Basildon.

A Laindon court roll, dated 1573, mentions a motehill. If the location of the meeting place was close to the site of the now-demolished Basildon Hall, it would have been in Basildon parish.
Basildon was a settlement in Domesday Book, in the hundreds of Barstable and the County of Essex. In all, there were thirty-seven named places in the hundreds of Barstable.
We probably all know, or are aware, that Wat Tyler was one of the leaders of the Peasants Revolt of 1381 but are less aware of the connection to which Basildon has to this period of English history. It is
important that we note some of that history, not only associated with him, and his legacy, but also of the period of time which includes Barstable Hundred through to the creation of the Wat Tyler Country Park.

In the Wake of the Black Death - The Peasants Revolt.
The 14th century in Europe has often been called the Calamitous Century and rightly so. The primary
disruption of that century was obviously the appearance of the Black Death. Whole villages and towns
simply ceased to exist as the plague raged across Europe.

The Statute of Labourers 1351.
This was a law passed at the end of the Black Death to stop the peasants taking advantage of the
shortage of workers and demanding more money. Peasants were forced to work for the same wages as
before, and landowners could insist on labour services being performed.

The outbreak of the rebellion.
Having examined the Poll Tax returns for 1380, the Royal Council headed by John of Gaunt were upset to discover that less money than ever had been collected. Tax collectors were sent out again, with instructions to collect the full amounts. One of these men was Thomas Bampton, who arrived at Fobbing in Essex, and summoned the villagers of Fobbing, Stanford and Corringham to appear.
On 30th May 1381, those law-abiding villagers were shocked to discover that they would have to pay the hated tax a second time, not surprisingly, a riot followed, and Essex peasants led by Thomas Baker, a landowner, chased Thomas Bampton out of Fobbing but not before three of his Tax Collectors were beheaded and their heads placed on poles and paraded around other close-by villages, arguably it was he who started the revolt.

Sir Robert Belknap, a Chief Justice was sent to calm the situation, but he suffered a similar fate. Word spread, and peasants all over Essex banded together and turned on the landowners. It was not long
before Wat Tyler, a former soldier in the Hundred Years War, emerged as the leader of the peasants in Kent. The revolt spreads through Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk.

Walter (Wat) Tyler in Kent.
On 5th June there was a Peasants Revolt at Dartford and two days later Rochester Castle was taken.
The peasants arrived in Canterbury on 10th June. Here they took over the archbishops palace, destroyed legal documents and released prisoners from the townprison. More and more peasants
decided to act.

Jack Straw (probably the same person as John Rakestraw or Rackstraw) was one of the three leaders (together with John Ball and Wat Tyler) of the Peasants Revolt, a major event in the history of England.
It has been suggested that Jack Straw may have been a preacher. Some have argued that the name
was in fact a pseudonym for Wat Tyler or one of the other peasants leaders; all of them appear to have used pseudonyms, adding to the confusion.
On June 12 th both groups of peasants had reached London. The Essex peasants at Mile End, north of
the River Thames. Their numbers are hard to estimate, but both groups could have been made up of up to 50,000 people.

A message, demanding a meeting with the king. It was arranged that he would meet them at Rotherhithe, on the Thames, that afternoon. Richard travelled downriver in the royal barge, but at the sight of the huge crowd of peasants, Richard advisers would not let him land. He returned to the Tower of London.

That night the peasants closed in on London. They were able to enter because the gates of the city, and London Bridge were opened by townspeople sympathetic to their cause. It has been estimated that approximately 30,000 peasants had marched to London. At Blackheath, John Ball gave one of his famous sermons on the need for freedom and equality Wat Tyler also spoke to the rebels. He told
them:

Remember, we come not as thieves and robbers. We come seeking social justice

The King arrived at Rotherhithe on a barge. The rebels demand that the king leading advisers, John of Gaunt, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Hales, John Legge, should be executed. The king is unwilling to leave his barge and returns to the Tower of London.
Earlier on that Thursday the rebels attacked the New Temple, London, which was burned; and on the Savoy Palace, the property of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and uncle of King Richard II.

The Savoy had been plundered and then deliberately blown up with gunpowder.

On Friday June 14th, 1381 (morning): Richard II agrees to meet Wat Tyler and the rebels at 8.00 a.m.
outside the town walls at Mile End. At the meeting Wat Tyler explains to the king the demands of the rebels. This includes the end of all feudal services, the freedom to buy and sell all goods, and a free
pardon for all offences committed during the rebellion.

Wat Tyler put forward the peasants demands:
- land rents were reduced to reasonable levels.
- the Poll Tax was to be abolished.

- free pardons for all rebels.
- charters would be given to the peasants laying down a number of       rights and privileges.
- all  were to be put to death.

Richard agreed to these demands but added that only a royal court could decide if a person was a traitor or not. A group of thirty or so clerks began to copy out charters for the peasants to take home. However, the King had been outwitted by Wat Tyler.

A group of peasants, taking advantage of the Kings absence
at Mile End, raided the Tower of London. Here, they found three of their most hated people; Simon Sudbury, (Archbishop of Canterbury), Sir Robert Hailes (Kings treasurer) and John Legge (the creator of
the Poll Tax). They were dragged out onto Tower Hill, and beheaded.

On Saturday June 15th, 1381, following the granting of charters the previous day, many peasants began to leave London and return home, believing that their demands had been met. However, Wat Tyler and a hard core of peasants remained behind, and they demanded another meeting with the King, to deliver
even more demands.

The King agreed to a meeting at Smithfield, an open space within the city walls. William Walworth, mayor of London, raises an army of about 5,000 men.

Richard II sends a message to Wat Tyler asking to meet him at Smithfield that evening. At Smithfield, the king ask Wat Tyler and his
rebels to leave London. Wat Tyler makes further demands such as the end of tithes, the abolition of bishops, the redistribution of wealth, equality before the law, and the freedom to kill the animals in the
forest.

William Walworth, mayor of London, begins to argue with Wat Tyler. William Walworth stabs and kills Wat Tyler. The rebels obey King Richard's instructions to leave.

The Aftermath and Kings revenge.
As soon as the peasants had left London, messengers were dispatched throughout the country, summoning troops.

The last members of the huge gathering of peasants were encamped at Billericay in Essex. They found themselves cut down by royal troops, vainly flourishing the pardons and charters they
had been given.

Royal forces toured the affected areas, hunting the rebels. Possession of a charter became a virtual
death sentence. In Hertfordshire and Essex, some 500 died, very few with any form of trial, as the Earl of
Buckingham carried out the King's demand for vengeance. In Kent the toll of executions was even
greater, with 1500 peasants sent to the gallows.
The King and the army reached Chelmsford on 2nd July, revoking all charters, pledges and promises made. There would be no amnesty either. A judicial inquiry was set up, with the King and his court
officiating, and despatching orders, deeds and declarations to all parts of the kingdom, for a short time
Chelmsford was to all intents and purposes, the capital of England.
Essex men, in a body of about 500 addressed themselves barefoot to the King for mercy, and had it granted upon condition that they should deliver up to justice, the chief instruments of stirring up the
rebellion, which being accordingly done, they were immediately tried and hanged, ten or twelve on a beam at Chelmsford, because they were too many to be executed after the usual manner which was by
beheading.
Ten Fobbing men were condemned at Chelmsford in the July and at least five were hanged. For his role in the uprising, Thomas Baker was hanged, drawn, and quartered on 4 th July 1381 at Chelmsford along with William Gildebourne. Men from South Benfleet, Leigh, Hadleigh, Bowers Gifford, Rayleigh, Rawreth and Fobbing had joined in the attack of the Manor of Barnhall at Downham on 12 th June. They, too, were tried before Judge Tresilian at Chelmsford.

Pitsea Hall Farm (now Cromwell Manor).
Two arms of the River Thames, form a peninsula, of which the western branch is called Pitsey Creek and from this the parish extends north-eastwards. Before the Norman conquest, Ulueva, the wife of Phin, had this estate and appears to have retained possession till the general survey in 1086; but soon afterwards, belonged to Eudo Dapifer, who gave part of it to St. Johns Abbey in Colchester which in part afterwards believed to what was Pitsea Hall Manor.
The Mansion of Pitsea Hall is at the bottom of the hill, near the creek. In 1539, the manor with the advowson of the church, was granted to Thomas Lord Cromwell.

The Great Puritan and Quaker Migration (1602-1640).
Although Billericay was a flourishing commercial centre during the reign of Henry VIII, religious
persecution led some inhabitants to embark on the famous Mayflower voyage. The expedition was led
by Christopher Martin, who is believed to have lived in what is now known as the Old Chantry in Billericay High Street. Sadly, he perished along with his wife Marie, Solomon Prower and John Langerman shortly after their arrival at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. But this did not deter other Billericay inhabitants from setting sail for the New World and the town of Billerica, Massachusetts, was established
in 1655.

The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway.
In 1852 the London Tilbury and Southend Extension Railway Act was passed which allowed for a new rail route to Southend via Tilbury. During construction a small portion of the grounds was acquired to
enable the route to pass through Pitsea where a new station was then built which opened in 1855 and it was probably at this time that excavations unearthed a Cromwellian helmet from the English Civil War (1642-1651). The hall, which now stands in around 23 acres, has been a listed building since 24th March 1950 (now Grade II) and is now a licenced venue for weddings and hospitality functions.

Alfred Noble and the Explosives Factory.
In 1863 Alfred Nobel patented an invention called Dynamite. The ‘secret’ explosives factory of Pitsea
produced dynamite, gelignite and other explosives based on nitro-glycerine for blasting rocks and for mining. It also made nitro-glycerine as an ingredient to be mixed with guncotton for producing cordite (a smokeless propellant used in ammunition). In 1891 the British Explosives Syndicate built a Factory in
Pitsea in which he was a secret partner to begin with, but eventually was able to trade under his own name.

The First World War.
During the First World War the Army could not have functioned without horses. They were vital for Cavalry roles, but also needed for moving supplies, equipment, guns and ammunition and for
transporting the wounded to hospital. By the end of the conflict, it had purchased over 460,000 horses and mules from across Britain and Ireland. Horses were commandeered by the War Office from all over the country, some 120,000 in the first two weeks of war and some of the local hardships caused for example, were the 80 horses shipped from the Isle of Arran, ferried to the mainland saw trams stopped running as no horses were available to pull them and across the country farmers were particularly hit hard as working horses and thoroughbreds alike had to go. The wharf at Wat Tyler Country Park was used as a loading dock as well as the Rail station at Pitsea for arrivals and transfer of horses whilst other local areas including Canvey Island and Fobbing were used as training and feeding grounds.
Miss Dorothy Gardner who was born at Marsh Farm at Vange in 1904, related her memories of the lead up to the war to the Basildon Heritage Group in 1985. She spoke of nearby Brickfields and mentioned her father had lots of horses and carts and used to carry the bricks for building local houses, including the farmhouse they lived in. She said Barges used to come up the nearby creeks to be loaded with bricks which were then taken to London. On the day war was declared, she had returned home from the annual Horticultural Show held at All Saints Church at Vange, to find her mother in tears. The War Office had taken several horses and her mother’s mare that she used to drive her trap, was one of these, for the war effort.

The Second World War Defence line.
Defensive ditches.
The high land you can see is a landfill site. It has risen up high above the surrounding flat landscape as more of the area’s rubbish has been piled up here. The marshland now hidden beneath it was once
criss-crossed by an extensive network of anti-glider and anti-tank ditches, dug by tractors as a measure to prevent gliders using the otherwise flat marshes as runways where they could land and attempt to capture the Pitsea Sea Transport Stores, which the Wat Tyler site was home to at the time. The ditches were dug as the country was bracing itself for a Nazi invasion of Britain, and a massive ditch-digging programme began around south and east England in the anticipation that an invasion could begin at any
moment.

Sea Transport Stores.
During WWII this site was used by the Ministry of War to store equipment vital for fitting out troop ships,
and for reconditioning and servicing other vessels including hospital ships. The sheer size and capacity
of this building shows just why the Ministry of War chose this site as their Sea Transport Stores.

With easy access to the River Thames for shipping and a huge volume of existing storage space the site was quickly, easily and cheaply converted from a redundant explosives factory to the Sea Transport Stores.

Washing blankets.
The Wat Tyler Centre building was used to store flea-ridden blankets from troop ships, which were washed in a giant hand-powered wooden washing machine in a building opposite, not far from the site of Holly Cottage.

Women folded and stacked clean blankets ready for the next time they were needed anticipating the order to pull them out of storage and into use in France. A variety of smaller buildings stood around the Wat Tyler Centre site, used for storing spare parts.

Pillbox and anti-tank blocks.
This concrete pill box was designed to defend the South Essex marshes from invasion from the sea. It’s one of many defences still clearly visible all along the sea wall. The two large concrete block son the sea wall connecting Wat Tyler Country Park to the landfill site were constructed as a barrier to prevent enemy tanks pushing towards London. It was anticipated that tanks could have been delivered by air onto the flat marshland that is now the landfill site.

The Marina.
Carnarvon Bay Light Vessel No. 44 – Trinity House Vessel Newarp. Resting in Vange Creek and gradually becoming more like a mudbank than a vessel. This is Trinity House Light Vessel LV 44,
Newarp. She spent the majority of her service life at Newarp Station in the North Sea.
These Light Vessels were not designed for travel and often had no engines for propulsion. They were designed to be moored in the open sea, whatever the weather conditions. They would be towed to their selected moorings. LV 44 was such a vessel. It is believed that she was one of the ‘Nore’ lightships. She had an iron deckhouse and carried the first ever revolving lantern on her mast.

The Wat Tyler Country Park.
In 1969 Basildon District Council buys the site from the Ministry of Defence for £99,600 with the intent of developing it into Country Park. It was firstly known as Pitsea Hall Country Park, but local councillors decided to change the name to Wat Tyler County Park and in 1977 plans were drawn up for its use as a
recreational space maintaining the buildings of its previous history. It opened to the public in the early eighties.

Sporting and entertainment from Basildon.
The development and sporting achievements in the borough covers decades of Athletics with the achievements of Eamon Martin and Max Whitlock OBE, Gymnastics, both Olympic Gold Medal
champions; Rob Denmark Commonwealth Games Gold medallist; Netball with England’s long standing captain Jillean Hipsey; Professional Boxing with Terry Marsh Light Welterweight World Champion; John McDermott British Heavyweight: numerous professional footballers from local, the Premier League
through to International team players including Tony Cottee briefly: Professional Snooker with World Champion Stuart Bingham.
With regard to other branches of the entertainment industry, we have the likes of Joe Goodman, comedy king of the “one liners” also recognised as “King Water Rat” from the charity work he undertook, Joan Sims from her many roles in the “Carry-On” film series, and the music recognised by Alison Moyet and the band Depeche Mode.

Blue Plaques.
There can be no doubt that current and future recognition of the achievements of individuals from the borough, now get the recognition deserved and courtesy of the Lord Lieutenant of Essex Jennifer Tolhurst, a programme is underway which includes women receiving those accolades deserved in the form of “Blue Plaques”.
We have, to date, installed a plaque to the memory of Marion Wilberforce from Nevendon Manor of World War II piloting fame and Joan Rosaire, from Billericay, with her horse “Goldy” of Circus and
Television fame both here and across Europe.
Also, in recognition of Hannah Lake who could rightly be called a founding mother of America. The Plaque placed in Wickford Library where the family originally came from.
The next Plaque recognition will be for the stage and film production work of Greg Smith (1939-2009)
who has directed many films including “The Shillingbury Tales” , Dickens and the Robin Asquith “Confessions” series. Greg grew up in Laindon.

Mention must also be made of Graham Watts who is chairing the collective Essex Blue Plaque Scheme with Jennifer Tolhurst, and we are particularly pleased to be held as the “standard” for the planning,
including design, financial, media and installation.