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Dunton Plotlands

Borough of BasildonMuseums in EssexNature reserves in EssexUse British English from February 2023
Ruined Hawthorn in Dunton Plotlands geograph.org.uk 1375134
Ruined Hawthorn in Dunton Plotlands geograph.org.uk 1375134

The Dunton Plotlands was an area of small rural plots of land in Dunton Wayletts, southern Essex inhabited from the 1930s to the 1980s.The 'plotlands' consisted of small plots of land sold in the first half of the 20th century to people who built weekend cottages, holiday bungalows or smallholdings there. Many of the people building weekend cottages here would have come out from London. With the outbreak of the Second World War, many weekenders moved out to their plots on a permanent basis, to escape the worst effects of the Blitz. This period saw the Dunton population at its highest. After the Second World War, the new town of Basildon was created, encompassing the plotlands here and in the surrounding areas of Laindon and Pitsea. At the time, 25000 people lived in the whole area, often with unsurfaced roads and limited water supplies.Dunton Plotlands is situated to the west of Laindon and the Langdon Hills, now on the edge of the Basildon district. Today, Dunton Plotlands is part of the Essex Wildlife Trust's Langdon Nature Reserve. The Langdon Visitor Centre and the Haven Plotlands Museum, housed in a converted bungalow, exhibit the natural and social history of the area. The Plotlands is still a wooded area where a small number of cottages, and some of the original grid of grass tracks remain. Visitors can look around a preserved bungalow. Many wildlife events are held throughout the year.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Dunton Plotlands (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Dunton Plotlands
Third Avenue, Essex

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Latitude Longitude
N 51.561111111111 ° E 0.39444444444444 °
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Third Avenue

Third Avenue
SS16 6EJ Essex, Langdon Hills
England, United Kingdom
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Ruined Hawthorn in Dunton Plotlands geograph.org.uk 1375134
Ruined Hawthorn in Dunton Plotlands geograph.org.uk 1375134
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Little Burstead
Little Burstead

Little Burstead is a village in Essex, England. It lies 2¼ miles SSW of Billericay, and 4½ E by S of Brentwood railway station.In 1086 the parish had 9 households and was held by the Bishop of London. Before the Norman conquest it was held by Godwin of Benfield. In the 19th century the parish had an area of 1,829 acres and a population in 1870 of 186 (37 houses).The ancient parish of Little Burstead was located in Barstable Hundred and was joined to Billericay Rural District when that was established in 1894. The civil parish was abolished in 1937 when it was merged with several other parishes into Billericay Urban District Little Burstead Parish was re-established in 1997 and the parish council has five elected / co-opted members. Electorate at 1 June 2011 of 327, The Parish Council regularly meets bi-monthly at Little Burstead Village Hall. It forms part of Basildon district. the population increasing to 395 at the 2011 census.The parish church is the church of St. Mary the Virgin, set in a picturesque but isolated rural situation on high ground overlooking the Thames valley. It was built in late Norman times as a windowed oratory and was originally much smaller. The roof of the nave would have been much lower, and the door was on the north side opposite the present south door, which is 15th century. The altar was almost certainly sited in the recess to the side of the present pulpit. Extensive alterations would have occurred when the chancel was added in the mid-14th century. The walls of the church are built of ragstone rubble and of puddingstone (a conglomerate of pebbles in a siliceous matrix found locally) with limestone and brick dressing. The round stones on either side of the porch are probably the base of a churchyard calvary. The south door is 15th century, and the porch was added much later. The font is early 16th century. The gallery was added in 1880.A probable explanation for the present isolated position of the church might be explained by looking further back in history than the modern site of the village and considering that the back of the church was in fact 'the front'. The road that now leads to the church probably did not exist at the time it was built and the main route from Billericay ran from Tye Common, through Wiggins Lane, across to Hatches Farm road and up Botney Hill towards Herongate. Three manors were sited between Botney Hill and the Dunton road and standing in this area one can see that the church is positioned so that it overlooks the area that it probably served.Laindon Common is in Little Burstead. The Common is managed by the Laindon Common Conservators on behalf of Basildon Council.