South East Essex

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.

Latchingdon is a village situated in the Dengie Peninsula in Essex, England, south of the city of Chelmsford. The parish was at one time called Latchingdon-cum-Snoreham, and Snoreham Hall still exists to the south of Latchingdon. The place-name 'Latchingdon' is first attested in 1065 in a charter later published in the Diplomatarium anglicum edited by Benjamin Thorpe, where it appears as Laecedune. It appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Lacenduna, Lachenduna and Lessenduna. The name may derive from an unrecorded Old English word *læcce from the verb læccan to catch, meaning a trap, and related to the modern word 'latch'. The name would then mean 'hill with a trap', presumably to catch animals.

Bridgemarsh Island is in the tidal part of the River Crouch in the English county of Essex, three miles upstream from Burnham-on-Crouch. The main river channel runs to the south between the island and Canewdon, and it is separated from the mainland to the north by Bridgemarsh and Althorne Creeks, channels of the estuary. Following a flood in 1736 Bridgemarsh Island was enclosed by a sea wall and a causeway was built giving access at low tide. Farming was supplemented by industry with the island used as a source of clay. This led to the construction of a brickworks of which the chimney (at grid reference TQ890967) survives. A tramway linked these works to a quay that was used by Thames barges. Shortsightedly, no serious effort was made to maintain the sea wall. The flood of 1953 caused the end of regular occupation of the island, which is now a haven for wildlife and salt marsh flowers. It is owned by the Bridgemarsh Island Trust.

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.

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 is a village and civil parish on the Dengie peninsula in the English county of Essex. North Fambridge is on the north bank of the River Crouch opposite South Fambridge and is served by North Fambridge railway station on the Crouch Valley Line. Administratively, North Fambridge forms part of the ward of Purleigh in the district of Maldon.Adjoining the village is Blue House Farm, a 605-acre (2.45 km2) Site of Special Scientific Interest and nature reserve owned by the Essex Wildlife Trust.In the Domesday Book, North Fambridge was known as 'Fanbruge'. North Fambridge is home to the Fambridge Yacht Haven Middle Distance Triathlon. The first event took place on 24 July 2011 and was the first Half Ironman Triathlon in Essex and the wider region.

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.

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.

Mundon is a village and civil parish on the Dengie peninsula in Maldon District in the county of Essex, England. It lies 3 miles south-east of Maldon. The manor of Munduna passed from the king's thegn Godwin to Eudo Dapifer at the Norman Conquest. The place-name 'Mundon' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Munduna. The name means 'Munda's hill'.Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries Mundon formed part of the estates of St John's Abbey, Colchester; it passed to Thomas Cromwell before being returned to the Duchy of Lancaster, which held the right of presentation to the vicarage until the 20th century.The 14th-century timber-framed Church of St. Mary, built within the remains of the moat of Mundon Hall, and likely on Saxon and Norman foundations, has been disused since the 1970s, but is currently in the care of Friends of Friendless Churches, supported by English Heritage. Following a long period of remedial work, the church re-opened to visitors in August 2009. The entire church was underpinned, and much structural work was carried out by Bakers of Danbury. The church was re-glazed, and now, internally, appears lighter than it has in recent years. It is a grade I listed building.Mundon Hall is now represented by an 18th-century farmhouse of rendered and whitewashed brick.The village was struck by an F1/T2 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day.

St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Mundon, Essex, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.

Althorne railway station is on the Crouch Valley Line in the East of England, serving the village of Althorne, Essex. It is 40 miles 27 chains (64.92 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between North Fambridge to the west and Burnham-on-Crouch to the east. The station is managed by Greater Anglia who operate all services. The Engineer's Line Reference for line is WIS; the station's three-letter station code is ALN. The single platform, north of the running line, has an operational length for eight-coach trains. The line and station were opened on 1 June 1889 for goods and on 1 October 1889 for passenger services by the Great Eastern Railway. The facilities included a single platform with station buildings, a goods yard, and a 30-lever signal box south of the station. Two miles east of Althorne, Creeksea sidings (facing points in the "down" direction) received traffic to and from the Creeksea ferry from 1889 to 1947.Ownership passed to the London and North Eastern Railway following the Grouping of 1923, and then to the Eastern Region of British Railways upon nationalisation in 1948. When sectorisation was introduced, Althorne was served by Network SouthEast until the privatisation of British Railways. The goods yard closed on 19 December 1960, and the signal box on 21 January 1967. The level crossing to the east of the station was normally closed to road vehicles but was later converted to an automatic open crossing with lights. Electrification of the Wickford to Southminster line using 25 kV overhead line electrification (OLE) was completed on 12 May 1986.

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.