Hockley

HM Prison Bullwood Hall is a former Category C women's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in Hockley, Essex, England. The prison was operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.

Hockley Woods is a large woodland in south-east Essex. It is a Local Nature Reserve, and parts are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is owned and managed by Rochford District Council.Hockley Woods are the largest residual area of the wildwood, which covered much of Essex after the Ice Age, 10,000 years ago. Hockley Woods comprise several contiguous named woods including Great Bull Wood, Great Hawkwell Wood, Beeches Wood, Winks Wood, Little Bull Wood, Whitbred's Wood and Parson's Snipe. The woods extend over parts of the parishes of Hockley, Hawkwell and Rayleigh. The size of the woods is variously given as 130 hectares, 109 hectares and 91.3 hectares, although the latter is the SSSI only. The woods are on pre-glacial gravels and clay. The wooded areas are an intricate mosaic of various trees, every species developing under appropriate conditions. Oak and sweet chestnut develop on the higher ground, birch on the most acidic soils, hornbeam on the wet soils, willow and hazel along the streams. Other trees include pedunculate oak, sessile oak and birch. Ground flora include three species of orchid, and there is a stream and area of bog. Other species include the wild service tree, wood anemone, wood spurge and cow wheat that develop on the undisturbed soils of old woods. The protected heath fritillary butterfly is common on the site.Hockley Woods are coppiced and used for timber. It is also the location for Hockley Woods parkrun, a free, weekly, timed 5km running event held every Saturday at 9 am.Access to the wooded areas is unrestricted. There is a bus stop on Main Road (SS5 4RN) and a car park. The site has public toilets. The car park is open from 7am until 6.30pm. A brochure is available from the Council Offices. The woods are said to be haunted by two ghosts. Silas was said to be friendly, while the other entity was accompanied by a feeling of cold which upset the family dog. This ghost is said to have been so friendly that the family dog would run up to the sounds wagging its tail. Another tale states that the ghost of Anne Boleyn has been seen without her head walking the corridors of the house.

Marylands is a 3.7 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Hockley in Essex. It is owned by Rochford District Council and managed by Hockley Parish Council.The site has a varied fauna and flora, with 96 species of trees, shrubs, grasses and herbs, and 13 of butterflies. Nine of the tree species are associated with ancient woodland. There are woodland and farmland birds, and a stream with sticklebacks.The site is near Plumberow Road and there is full public access.

The Spa Pump Room is a Grade II listed, early Victorian building in Hockley, Essex. It was built to the designs of James Lockyer in 1842 after a medicinal spring was discovered on the site four years earlier. Short lived, the building closed as a pump room in the early 1850s and was used for other purposes thereafter, including a Baptist chapel, billiard hall, and a clothing factory; the pump room is now in private ownership.

Hullbridge Sports Football Club is a football club based in Hullbridge, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Essex Senior League and play at Lower Road. The club runs over thirty teams from under-6 through to men's senior football.

Hockley railway station is on the Shenfield to Southend Line in the East of England, serving the village of Hockley, Essex. It is 36 miles 1 chain (57.96 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Rayleigh to the west and Rochford to the east. The Engineer's Line Reference for the line is SSV; the station's three-letter station code is HOC. The two platforms have an operational length for 12-coach trains.

Brandy Hole is the name of a large area of saltmarsh and saltings on the River Crouch in Rochford District in the County of Essex, England. It is located on the south bank of the River Crouch between Brandy Hole and Stow Creek. It has an area of about 130 hectares, about 320 acres (1.3 km2) and it is mostly in Hullbridge Parish (previously in Hockley Parish). A small part of it is in Ashingdon Parish. In past centuries, it had been used for producing marine salt and for the cultivation of shellfish, mainly Native Oysters ostrea edulis which were abundant in the area. It is part of the Crouch and Roach Estuary SSSI and it is an extensive spawning area and habitat for a large variety of fish species including Bass, Cod, Whiting and many flatfish. It is a habitat and feeding ground for a large variety of marine birds and it is also frequently visited by seals. For centuries until the 1800s and early 1900s, it was also an area known for the smuggling of contraband goods, mainly wine, brandy and even tea, hence the name "Brandy Hole". Beside the Brandy Hole saltings there are two yachting centres with boatyards, slipways, moorings and a yacht club. Nearby, there are caravan parks and a residential area or hamlet known as "Brandy Hole" even though it is within the parish boundaries of the large village of Hullbridge.

Hullbridge is a village and civil parish in the Rochford district of Essex in England. Bordered to the north by the River Crouch, as well a distance from Hockley and Rayleigh. Hullbridge had a population of 6,527 at the Census 2011.Prehistoric relics, such as Mesolithic flint axes, have been found in the parish. In the History of Rochford Hundred by Phillip Benton 1857 page 287 Hullbridge is listed as being Whoulnebregg 1375 Ct, Wolvebrigg 1377 Cl, Whulbridge 1492, t Eliza EAS (NS) iii, (OS)i, -bredg 1559 Ct, Hul(l)brigge 1480 Will, -bridge 1540 Ct, 1545 LP, Hulbredge 1544 FF, Hollbridge 1492 EAS (NS) iii, -brigge 1494 ib. "The bridge over the Huolne or Wholve, an old name of the Crouch supra 6. Folklore has it that a Roman Bridge existed here but there is no documented evidence to support a Roman bridge. Essex Record Office however has records relating to a bridge, and to its upkeep and indeed an accident on or from the bridge. Maps of Essex from 16th Century onwards until the mid 18th Century do show the bridge. Benton's book discusses a document that discloses the existence in the reign of Elizabeth I of a bridge here. The OED defines "wholve" as a "short arched or covered drain under a path." The word appears to be local to this part of Essex. This definition may cast doubt on it being the old name for the Crouch but may suggest this is the form of the bridge Along the river bank there are remains of evaporation pans where salt was made in Bronze Age times. As captured by well renowned Countryside historian Oliver Rackham in his publication "History of Countryside" The field structures in and around Hullbridge and South Woodham Ferrers were formed during the Iron Age so an ancient settlement in or around Hullbridge is highly likely especially given the Saxon Burial ground finds in Rawreth when the Park school was being built. Before the coming of the railways to Rayleigh, Hullbridge's wharf's were important for the distribution of various commodities especially, coal and shale. It was from here that Rayleigh received such goods. One of the wharfs was later to be used for a Brickworks. The current village of Hullbridge was around until 1929 two communities in the parish of Hockley. One named Hullbridge, the other High Elms. In 1929 the owners of High Elms farm sold most of the land for development, so like its neighbour across the river South Woodham Ferrers it became a "Plotland" ripe for holiday homes. So began the growth of the village The village includes Riverside Primary School (opened September 2010, following the amalgamation of the infant and junior schools), a post office, a library and two pubs, The Anchor and The Smugglers Den (members only). Both overlook the river and have external drinking facilities. It also has three shopping facilities, One Stop, and two iterations of The Co-operative Food (one being operated by Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society), a Chinese and fish and chip takeaway service and an Indian restaurant. A frequent bus service to Southend via Rayleigh, gives a rail link with London and Southend.

Rayleigh was a parliamentary constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It existed from 1997 to 2010.

FitzWimarc School is a secondary school in Rayleigh, United Kingdom, named after the Norman land-holder Robert FitzWimarc.

Greensward Academy is a comprehensive school and academy for 11- to 18-year-olds, located in Hockley, Essex.Greensward has approximately 200 staff and 1450 students, including 260 in the sixth form. Its main feeder schools are Plumberow Primary School, Hockley Primary School, Westerings Primary School and Ashingdon Primary Academy, and also takes students from various other schools in the area.The 2011 inspection report states that "The academy has specialisms in science and applied learning and also has Leading Edge and Training School Status".

Rayleigh Windmill is a grade II listed Tower mill at Rayleigh, Essex, England which has been restored as a landmark and is used as a museum.