North Fambridge

The 7th Cruiser Squadron (also known as Cruiser Force C) was a blockading force of the Royal Navy during the First World War used to close the English Channel to German traffic. It was employed patrolling an area of the North Sea known as the Broad Fourteens in support of vessels guarding the northern entrance to the Channel. The Squadron had been part of the Third Fleet of the Home Fleets. The squadron came to public attention when on 22 September 1914, three of the cruisers were sunk by one German submarine while on patrol. Approximately 1,460 sailors were killed and there was a public outcry at the losses. The incident eroded confidence in the government and damaged the reputation of the Royal Navy, at a time when many countries were still considering which side they might support in the war.

Blue House Farm is a 242.8-hectare (600-acre) nature reserve and farm in North Fambridge, on the north bank of the River Crouch between Burnham-on-Crouch and South Woodham Ferrers in Essex. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. Most of the site is in of the Crouch and Roach Estuaries Site of Special Scientific Interest.This site has been grassland for the last 100 years, and it is grazed by cows and sheep. The site has ponds, creeks and ditches, and a 20 hectare field is flooded during the winter, providing feeding grounds for large numbers of wildfowl and wading birds, including around 2000 Brent geese. Other winter birds include lapwings, golden plovers and dunlins, while there are spring migrants such as green sandpipers and spotted redshanks, and breeding birds such as skylarks and meadow pipits. Mammals include water voles and hares, and many butterflies.There is access only to a footpath through the farm, which has three bird hides along it. The footpath runs from Blue House Farm Chase to a footpath along the river bank.

North Fambridge railway station is on the Crouch Valley Line in the East of England, serving the village of North Fambridge, Essex. It is 37 miles 27 chains (60.09 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between South Woodham Ferrers to the west and Althorne to the east. The Engineer's Line Reference for the line is WIS; the station's three-letter station code is NFA. The southern (westbound) platform has an operational length for eight-coach trains while the northern (eastbound) platform can accommodate nine coaches.The line and station were opened for goods on 1 June 1889 and to passenger services on 1 October 1889 by the Great Eastern Railway. Facilities then included two platforms, both provided with buildings and linked by a footbridge; a goods yard including cattle pens; and a 30-lever signal box, reduced to 10 after 1966. The signal box was taken out of use on 1 December 1985 and demolished in February 1986. The original footbridge was replaced with a higher one prior to the electrification of the line in 1986. Electrification using 25 kV overhead line electrification (OLE) was completed on 12 May 1986. North Fambridge station is currently managed by Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains serving it. The typical off-peak service is of one westbound train every 40 minutes to Wickford and one eastbound train every 40 minutes to Southminster, with additional services at peak times. Some peak services continue to or from Shenfield and/or London Liverpool Street via the Great Eastern Main Line. As North Fambridge is at the midpoint of this single-track line, its double-track configuration provides a passing loop to allow two trains to run on the line at any one time. The station was originally called Fambridge (with the code FAM) but this was changed to North Fambridge on 20 May 2007.

South Fambridge is a village in Essex, England. It is located about 300 yards (0.17 miles) from the River Crouch. The village lies within the Rochford district and the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh. Surrounded by farmland, it is reached by the Fambridge Road, approximately 1.5 miles from the main Ashingdon Road.

The Crouch and Roach Estuaries are a 1729 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at the mouth of the Crouch and Roach rivers in Essex. The Crouch part of the SSSI stretches from near Battlesbridge to Foulness Island, and the Roach from Rochford to the junction with the Crouch. Part of the site is in the Mid-Essex Coast Special Protection Area under the EC Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and a Ramsar wetland site of international importance. It is also part of the Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation. An area of 65 hectares is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust as the Lion Creek and Lower Raypits nature reserve and 8 hectares at Woodham Fen, both of which are managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. A small area is also a geological SSSI, The Cliff, Burnham-on-Crouch.The site has salt marsh, intertidal mud, grazing marsh and a fresh water reservoir. The salt marsh has scarce species including lax-flowered sea-lavender and one-flowered glasswort. Rough grass has dense populations of the nationally scarce Roesel's bush-cricket. The site is internationally important for wintering dark-bellied brent geese, and nationally important for black-tailed godwits, shelducks and shoveller ducks. There are Red Data Book species of invertebrates such as the ground lackey moth.

Cold Norton railway station served the village of Cold Norton, Essex. It was opened on 1 October 1889 by the Great Eastern Railway on a single-track branch line (Engineer's Line Reference WFM) from Woodham Ferrers to Maldon West. The station was 3 miles 31 chains (5.45 km) from Wickford Junction and had a single platform on the west side of the running line and a passing (goods) loop, a station building, a parcels shed, goods sidings, and a 30-level signal box which was reduced to a ground frame in 1939. The station name was originally Cold Norton for Purleigh and Stow Maries this was later changed to Cold Norton for Latchingdon.There was a fatal railway accident near Cold Norton in 1899.The station was closed to passengers in September 1939 but the line remained in use for goods traffic until 1959.

Stow Maries Halt is a 2.2-hectare (5.4-acre) nature reserve south of Stow Maries in Essex. It is owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.The former Stow St Mary Halt railway station has marshes, a pond and scrub, together with adjoining pasture which is also part of the reserve. Butterflies include purple and white-letter hairstreaks, and there are flowers such as common fleabane and wild carrot.There is access from Church Lane.

Stow St. Mary Halt railway station was a halt that served the village of Stow Maries, Essex. It was opened on 24 September 1928 by the London and North Eastern Railway on the single-track branch line (Engineer's Line Reference WFM) that the Great Eastern Railway had opened on 1 October 1889 linking Woodham Ferrers to Maldon West. The station served the village of Stow Maries, but the station was named differently supposedly on the insistence of the vicar.It was closed in September 1939 but the line remained in use for goods traffic until 1959 or 1953. It is now Stow Maries Halt nature reserve, which is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.

Cold Norton is a village on the Dengie Peninsula in Essex, England. It is located in rural countryside 10 miles to the east of Chelmsford, and lies just over a mile to the north of the River Crouch, which can be seen from the village's main hill. Nearby villages include Purleigh and North Fambridge. Administratively, Cold Norton forms part of the Purleigh ward in the district of Maldon.There are 412 dwellings, some industrial and commercial enterprises and the Three Rivers Golf and Country Club.There are two golf courses at Three Rivers Golf and Country Club, The 18 hole 6449 yard par 72 Kings Course and the smaller 18 hole par 64 Jubilee Course. Cold Norton Primary School is in St Stephens Road. The local parish church, St Stephen's, was the location of the first Church of England marriage ceremony to be conducted by a woman priest. The Stow Maries Aerodrome is situated within Cold Norton. It is a grade II listed World War I aerodrome built to defend London from zeppelin attack. 24 buildings remain standing, which have been sympathetically restored. The Norton Public House was reopened in August 2009 being run on a voluntary basis by local residents with the cooperation of the owners of the freehold. It was featured in the television series Save our Boozer shown on UKTV Blighty. The village hall has secured £348,500 from the Big Lottery Fund. The money comes from the lottery fund's community buildings programme.

Stow Maries is a village and civil parish in the English county of Essex. It is located on the western (inland) end of the Dengie peninsula and forms part of the Purleigh ward in the Maldon district.The place-name 'Stow Maries' is first attested in the Feet of Fines for 1230, where it appears as Stowe. In a Feudal aid of 1420 it appears as Stowe Mareys. The name means 'place belonging to the Marisc family'. (Robert de Marisc held the manor in 1250. The name comes from Marais in France, meaning 'marsh' – the words are cognate.)

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".

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.