How old is basildon town

Many weekend residences began to spring up as the railway 'opened up' the area for Londoners. This gave rise to the erection of 'shacks' which were served by unmade roads and had no services. The land was cheap and so this type of development grew out of all proportion.

One company selling land at Pitsea and Vange between and gave away free champagne lunches and free railway tickets. By Basildon had grown into a collection of small, rural communities, most notably at Laindon, Vange and Pitsea, with a population of roughly 25, living in 8, homes but 6, of these homes were not connected to the main sewers!

During the First World War a spectacular air battle took place over Basildon. It has a s Brutalist design, elevated on 8 massive V-shaped concrete pylons. The building was chosen to have a residential function, as opposed to commercial office space, to retain life in the town centre after the shops had closed.

Shops were positioned to the rear of the building, with Brooke House acting as a covered forecourt. It was conceived as a structure to define Basildon's urban status and to act as marker to identify the town centre's location within a largely low-rise settlement set in a flat landscape. East of Brooke House is East Square, a sunken open-air public plaza accessed from Brooke House by a monumental staircase and a curved ramp. The east side of the square is fronted by Freedom House, containing shops on two levels, and the north side by the Post Office building, a 5-story structure.

On a wall of Freedom House is the oldest piece of public sculpture in the new town: installed in , it is a wire and aluminium relief by the sculptor A. Poole titled "Man Aspires". The whole ensemble was designed to create a formal setting for Brooke House, and has a similar Brutalist design, though softened by other architectural features.

The town centre extends from East Square towards the south-west. Down the middle of this zone runs a rectangular raised pool. Within the pool is a bronze sculpture and fountain, titled "Mother and Child", by the sculptor Maurice Lambert and dating from Even though Basildon is a new town there are still traces of its historical past viewable.

Other than St Martin's Church, most of the historical parish churches still exist. St Nicholas 13th century sits proudly over Laindon, from where Basildon can be seen clearly, however St Peter's 13th century at Nevendon is hidden behind Sainsburys and is little known by its residents. St Michael's at Pitsea is said to be 13th century, but was rebuilt in and now only its Bell Tower remains on Pitsea Mount. One notable building is Little Coopers Farmhouse which was originally located in Takeley.

It was designated a Grade II building in On the west side of town, the Dunton Plotlands area was occupied by small rural dwellings in the mid twentieth century.

Today it forms Langdon Nature Reserve. Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year round. Glamour Beauty Festival. Children in Need. NHS eye care. No7 Beauty Calendars. Stay Perfect. No7 christmas gifts. No7 all year round gifts. Sorry, we're unable to find stores near that location.

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Thousands of years ago the early inhabitants of the area were roving bands of hunters. Evidence of their existence, in the form of tools and weapons, has been unearthed in the past century. Bronze Age inhabitants left ample evidence of their settlement in the area and some years ago a Bronze Age axe was found at Vange. Large settlements have also been identified at Ramsden and Downham which were continually occupied from BC. During four centuries of Roman occupation, the surrounding countryside and its inhabitants became Romanised.

Roads were built, new towns founded and local industries became organised. In the 4th century the Essex coast was invaded, this time by Saxon raiders. The country was soon overrun when Saxon raids intensified and all vestiges of Roman civilisation in Eastern Britain were destroyed - the beginning of the 'Dark Ages'.