Essex County
(Historic)

Map Reference: (51.806757, 0.436739)

Essex is a county in the south-east of England. The south-western portion of the county lies within the metropolitan conurbation, and though the character remains of its individual towns such as Stratford, East Ham, Ilford, Dagenham, Barking, Leyton and Romford, nevertheless there are few spaces in between. Epping Forest, an ancient woodland covering 6,000 acres, and the market town of Waltham Abbey lie north-west of the metropolitan area. Along the Thames estuary is a string of industrial towns, including West Thurrock, Grays and Tilbury. Southend-on-Sea is a child of the great age of seaside holidays. North-east of the metropolitan area, Brentwood is a suburban town but still with a very rural feel; Billericay is a commuter town but ancient in origin; Basildon and Harlow were developed as new towns after the War. With the exception of the major towns of Colchester, Chelmsford and Braintree, the rest of 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. Chelmsford, the county town, sits at the centre of the shire. Colchester was for a time the capital of Roman Britain. The Essex coast is ragged, indented by river estuaries and full of tidal marshes. In contrast are the seaside resorts strung along the northern part of the county's coast: Clacton-on-Sea, Frinton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze and Dovercourt. Harwich is a major port. The north-west of Essex is rural, its only town being Saffron Walden, a jewel of Essex.