Westcliff-on-Sea
Westcliff-on-Sea | |
---|---|
Southend-on-Sea | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | WESTCLIFF-ON-SEA |
Postcode district | SS0 |
Dialling code | 01702 |
Police | Essex |
Fire | Essex |
Ambulance | East of England |
Southend West | |
Westcliff-on-Sea (often abbreviated to Westcliff, and in the past spelt as Westcliffe-on-Sea[2][3]) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, located within the ceremonial county of Essex, England.[4] It is on the north shore of the lower Thames Estuary, about 34 miles (55 km) east of London. The Westcliff-on-Sea area is described by Southend-on-Sea City Council as having a border in the east with Milton Road, Hamlet Court Road and Gainsborough Drive; Prittlewell Chase to the North and Valkyrie Road/ London Road/ Southbourne Grove in the west.[5] Traditionally Westcliff included Chalkwell.[a]
Geography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Thames_Estuary_at_Westcliff.jpg/220px-Thames_Estuary_at_Westcliff.jpg)
The cliffs formed by erosion of the local
History
The southern area of what is now known as Westcliff, south of the London Road, was known as Milton or Milton Hamlet until the period 1860–1880[8] when the Milton Estate and surrounding land was sold to speculators who preferred the name Westcliff-on-Sea.[9] The name Milton was derived from being in the middle between Leigh and Southchurch,[8] with the settlement said to be from where Leigh Road meets Chalkwell Park to the mayor's residence at Porters.[8] The protestant martyr John Frith was captured on the shore at Milton trying to escape in 1532.[10] By the time the station opened in 1895, it was named Westcliff not Milton.[11] The area between Milton Road and Hamlet Court Road was named The Hamlet by the original developers Brassey, Peto, Betts & Co. when they developed it as a "high class suburban retreat".[9] Milton Hall (demolished 1900) was on the site of the what is now Nazareth House[12] on the London Road. Hamlet Court was a large house in the area between Hamlet Court Road, Canewdon Road, and Ditton Court Road and was demolished in 1929.[11]
Governance
Westcliff-on-Sea is covered by several wards under Southend-on-Sea City Council, including some that fall outside of the designated area of Westcliff. The wards are:
- Westborough
- Milton
- Victoria
- Prittlewell
Westborough Ward
Westborough | |
---|---|
Southend West | |
Councillors |
|
Westborough is an electoral ward of
Transport
The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway route passing through the suburb was completed to Southend in 1856 but the Westcliff railway station in Station Road was not opened until 1895.[16] It is now managed by c2c.
Education
Westcliff is served by two selective secondary schools: Westcliff High School for Girls and Westcliff High School for Boys, two Catholic secondary schools: St Thomas More High School for boys and St Bernard's High School, Westcliff-on-Sea for girls, and the non selective Chase High School.
Architecture
Several areas of Westcliff have been classified as
Westcliff contains a number of other Grade II
Economy
The main shopping area in Westcliff-on-Sea is Hamlet Court Road, where the department store
The economic recessions of the 1980s and 1990s saw the area decline. The road underwent a £1 million regeneration in the early 2000s and a further regeneration in 2010. Further plans have been put forward by Southend-on-Sea City Council to pedestrianise half of the street,[25] while the local historical organisation, the Milton Society is campaigning to regenerate the road on the lines of Margate and the Cathedral Quarter in Derby.[26]
The Milton Ward in Westcliff is one of the most deprived areas in England. The ward is mostly in the top 20% most deprived areas in the East of England, but some of the ward is in the top 10% most deprived areas in the country.[27]
Leisure
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Westcliff-on-Sea._The_Parade._%28NBY_443151%29.jpg/220px-Westcliff-on-Sea._The_Parade._%28NBY_443151%29.jpg)
The two main theatres in Westcliff are the Cliffs Pavilion, which overlooks the seafront, and the Palace Theatre situated on the London Road.[28]
Westcliff-on-Sea is also home to the Thames Estuary Yacht Club and the Genting Casino Westcliff. Westcliff RFC currently play in National League 2 East, the fourth tier of the English rugby union system.
In Literature
Westcliff is the location for the French novel Un souvenir by Michel Déon.[29]
Notable people
- Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904), poet and journalist, lived at Hamlet Court from 1878.[30]
- David Atkinson, politician[31]
- Trevor Bailey (1923–2011), test cricketer and cricket writer and broadcaster, was born there.[32]
- John Barber (1919–2004), former Finance Director of Ford of Europe and managing director of British Leyland.[33]
- Dorothea Bate, Welsh palaeontologist and pioneer of archaeozoology, died in Westcliff-on-Sea in 1951[34]
- E. Power Biggs (1906–1977), concert organist was born there.[32]
- Robert Williams Buchanan (1841–1901), poet, novelist and playwright, lived at Hamlet Court from 1884.[35]
- Dick Clement (born 1937) comedy writer and director, was born there.[36]
- Geoffrey Crawley photographic expert and journalist. He was the editor in chief of British Journal of Photography for two decades and was noted for exposing the photographs of the Cottingley Fairies taken in the early 20th century as a hoax.[37]
- Josh Cullen (born 1996), professional footballer who currently plays for Burnley and the Republic of Ireland national team.[38]
- South Kensington Museum in London lived at Hamlet Court.[30]
- Jean Floud (1915–2013), sociologist and academic, was born there.[39]
- Andre Previn was born there and attended Westcliff High School for Boys.[40]
- John Horsely (1920–2014), actor, was born there.[41]
- Wilko Johnson (1947–2022) guitarist, singer and songwriter attended Westcliff High School for Boys and lived in Westcliff until his death.[42][43]
- Frank Matcham (1854–1920), theatre architect, retired to 28 Westcliff Parade, Westcliff-on-Sea and died there in 1920.[44]
![A large white house, partly with pitched roofs, and one section being surmounted by a tower-like structure with windows set in.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/House_of_Frank_Matcham.jpg/220px-House_of_Frank_Matcham.jpg)
- Hugh Sells (1922–1978), first-class cricketer and Royal Air Force officer.[45]
- Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams FBA (1929–2003), English moral philosopher.[46]
References
- ^ Church of England terms.[6][7]
- ^ "Southend Ward population 2011". Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ "A visit to Southend". British Film Institute. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "London Tilbury and Southend Railway". The Railway News. 5 June 1897. p. 888.
- ISBN 9780319229675.
- ^ "Southend Local Plan". Southend-on-Sea City Council. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ Church of England parish finder "Westcliff: St Saviour's Church"
- ^ Church of England parish finder "Westcliff: St Michael and All Angels"
- ^ OCLC 46570209.
- ^ OCLC 46570209.
- ISBN 9781250040640.
- ^ OCLC 46570209.
- OCLC 46570209.
- ^ "Westborough Ward". Southend-on-Sea City Council. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "Areas touching Westborough". Mapit. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Westborough". City Population. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ James Bettley and Nikolaus Pevsner (2007). Essex. The Buildings of England. Yale University Press. p. 712.
- ^ Holmes, Katherine. "Milton Conservation Area". www.southend.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1954). Essex. Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 326.
- OCLC 46570209.
- ^ Nelson, Rob. "Listed Buildings". www.southend.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ "National Heritage List for England". Historic England.
- ^ "End of an era as Havens store prepares to close after almost 100 years on the high street - Evening Echo p.12 May 2017". Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "Hamlet Court Road street party filmed for BBC show - Evening Echo p.6 June 2013". 6 June 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ISBN 9780754670636. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ "Half of Hamlet Court Road could be pedestrianised". Evening Echo. 17 March 2023.
- ^ "Regeneration". Milton Society. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004" (PDF). 2004. Southend-on-Sea Borough Council.
- ^ "Southend Theatres". www.southendtheatres.org.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ "Un souvenir (TV)". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- ^ OCLC 46570209.
- ISBN 9780415185417.
- ^ a b "Southend Timeline". Southend Timeline. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ "Obituary - John Barber". aronline.co.uk. 13 November 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ Bate, Dorothea Minola Alice (1878–1951), palaeontologist by Karolyn Shindler in Dictionary of National Biography online (accessed 23 November 2007)
- OCLC 46570209.
- ISBN 0-7472-3294-6.
- ^ Staff. "Geoffrey Crawley, who has died aged 83, was a scientific journalist specialising in photography and in 1982 exposed the world's longest-running photographic hoax – the myth of the so-called Cottingley Fairies.", The Daily Telegraph, November 7, 2010. accessed November 10, 2010.
- ^ "All you need to know about the Ireland U19 starlet who's just made his full debut for West Ham". The42. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ Robert Skidelsky, "Jean Floud obituary", The Guardian, 3 April 2013.
- ^ "Edward Greenfield Writer Obituary". The Telegraph. 3 July 2015.
- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ^ "Wilko Johnson - ARU". aru.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Guitar legend Wilko back home after operation". Echo. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Mr Frank Matcham Dead". Western Daily Press. 19 May 1920. p. 10.
- ^ "Player profile: Hugh Sells". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, "Sir Bernard Williams, 73, Oxford Philosopher, Dies", The New York Times, 14 June 2003.