Mersea Island

Barrow Hill is a hamlet in Essex, England. It is located on Mersea Island, approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) north-northeast of West Mersea near to where the Strood causeway meets the island. The hamlet is 33 km (21 mi) east-northeast of the county town, Chelmsford. Barrow Hill is in the borough of Colchester and in the parliamentary constituency of Harwich and North Essex. The population of the hamlet is included in the civil parish of West Mersea. It takes its name from a conspicuous Romano-British barrow.

Ray Island, also known as the Ray, is a 40.5-hectare (100-acre) nature reserve west of Mersea Island in Essex. It is owned by the National Trust, who bought it in 1970. It was leased by the National Trust to the Essex Wildlife Trust managed the site. Following the cessation of the lease associated with the associated with the island the National Trust has resumed responsibility for its management.

West Mersea is a town and electoral ward in Essex, England. It is the larger (in terms of population) of two settlements on Mersea Island, south of Colchester.

West Mersea Priory was a Benedictine priory in West Mersea, Essex, England. It was founded in 1046 and granted by Edward the Confessor to the Abbey of Saint-Ouen in Rouen. As an alien priory it was taken by Henry V who granted it in 1422 to Henry Chichele, archbishop of Canterbury, for his college at Higham Ferrers. The priory was dissolved in 1542. There are no physical remains.

Colne Estuary is a 2915 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Brightlingsea in Essex. It is also a Nature Conservation Review site, a National Nature Reserve, a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, a Special Protection Area, a Special Area of Conservation, and a Geological Conservation Review site. Three areas in the site are managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust, Colne Point, Fingringhoe Wick and Howlands Marsh.The site has varied habitats, such as saltmarsh, mud flats, shingle spits and former gravel pits. It is of international importance for wintering brent geese and black-tailed godwits, and of national importance for six other bird species, including little terns. It also has important assemblages of invertebrates and plants, such as golden samphire and shrubby seablite. A peat seam in St Osyph Marsh has been dated to 4280 BP, and this marsh is important for saltmarsh morphology.There are important geological exposures for Pleistocene studies at East Mersea; investigation is at an early stage, but they show warm climate deposits from one or more post-Anglian interglacials.

Langenhoe is a village in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England, located south of Colchester. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 536, increasing to 572 at the 2011 Census.The village church was once reputed to be amongst the most haunted buildings in Essex. This ancient church, which had been damaged in the Essex earthquake of 1884, was closed to worship in 1955 and demolished in 1963 after it was deemed structurally unsafe. The name Langenhoe is from the Old English for ‘long hill-spur’.

West Mersea Yacht Club (WMYC) is a British yacht club that has its clubhouse in Coast Road, West Mersea, Mersea Island, Essex. It is on the estuary of the River Blackwater, approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Colchester. The Blackwater estuary is a major sailing centre on the English east coast. Founded in 1899, the club has sponsored national and international yacht racing meetings. The club has competitive offshore racing fleets and run racing throughout the UK sailing season, a cadet week and an annual regatta during 'Mersea Week'. Of its many famous members, the most notable was probably Maurice Griffiths, the yacht designer and author. A club launch runs from Tuesdays to Sundays during the season; callsign on VHF Channel 37: YC1 (Why - See - One). The WMYC ensign is the Red Ensign defaced with three Saxon seaxes, the symbol of Essex.

West Mersea Lifeboat Station is located on the Coast Road in West Mersea, at the western end of Mersea Island, situated between the Blackwater and Colne river estuaries, 10 miles (16 km) south of Colchester, in the county of Essex. An Inshore lifeboat was first stationed at West Mersea by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in July 1963. The station currently operates a B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat, Just George (B-879), on station since 2014.

East Mersea is a village and civil parish on Mersea Island in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. It was historically referred to as Mersea in the Domesday book.

The Colchester earthquake, also known as the Great English earthquake, occurred on the morning of 22 April 1884 at 09:18. It caused considerable damage in Colchester and the surrounding villages in Essex. In terms of overall destruction caused it is certainly the most destructive earthquake to have hit the United Kingdom in at least the last 400 years, since the Dover Straits earthquake of 1580.

Abberton is a village in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. It is located approximately 0.62 mi (1.00 km) east of Abberton Reservoir and is 4.2 mi (6.8 km) south of Colchester. The village is in the parliamentary constituency of North Essex. The town is served by Abberton and Langenhoe Parish Council.

Fingringhoe is a village and civil parish in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. The centre of the village is classified as a conservation area, featuring a traditional village pond and red telephone box. The Roman River flows nearby before entering the River Colne. It has been noted frequently on lists of unusual place names. The village's name actually derives from its geographic circumstances: it sits at the confluence of the smaller Roman River and the River Colne. A "hoe" refers to a jutting out piece of land while "finger" describes an elongated finger-like land extension. "Ing" is a common toponym in the UK referring to "peoples". As such, the name refers to the "people living on the land jutting out into the river".