Essex…did you know?

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For those of you who love anything to do with Essex, it might surprise you to learn that Essex used to be a kingdom in it’s right. It was one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, the East Saxons to be precise. London was it’s main town and it’s settlement included the modern county of Middlesex too. The kingdom often had joint rulers and from 664 were subject to the rulers of Mercia. The Saxons were Germanic people who ruled over England until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Make sure you have a website that conquers others with Web Design Essex. For more information, visit https://webwax.co.uk/.  

It seems that the Anglo-Saxon people were made up of three Germanic peoples – the Angles, Saxons and Jutes who were invited to the country in the 5th century by Vortigern, ruler of Britons to help in the fight against the Picts and Scotti of Scotland. The separate kingdoms of England all had different dialects. By the time of the Norman Conquest, the realm had become known as England and the term ‘English’ was adopted. The Anglo-Saxon period refers to the period of history after the Romans and before William the Conqueror but there had been some disruption from the Danish who ruled here for 26 years under King Canute in 1016.

Essex...did you know

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Essex today is a county of almost 2 million people that lies directly to the north-east of London. The county town is Chelmsford, it’s only city. It occupies the eastern part of what was the Kingdom of Essex but now includes London Stansted Airport, new towns Basildon and Harlow, the port of Tilbury and the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea.

Esses has quite a history and over 14,000 listed buildings with 1000 of those having Grade I or II importance. These include a 7th century Saxon church of St Peter-on-the-Wall. The county also makes the Guinness Book of Records for having the longest pier in the world at Southend. The best preserved Norman keep in the country can also be found in the county at Hedingham Castle. It has some interesting sister regions as well and has been paired with Jiangsu in China, Picardy in France, Henrico County, Virginia and Accra in Ghana.

The Metropolitan Green Belt protects Essex from development from London sprawling over the county borders and the relatively new towns of Harlow and Basildon were originally created to house homeless Londoners after the bombing that occurred during WW2. Much of the county is agricultural land  but Harlow has become a centre for electronics and science. Chelmsford has strong electronic links as well and has been home to the Marconi Company since the industry came into being. It also has many banking and insurance firms based there. Colchester is an Army town and the economy is boosted by the soldiers who are stationed there. Southend-on-Sea is a seaside resort that is still growing despite a decline seen in many others around the UK. It is helped by it’s easy transport links to London and is home to the Adventure Island theme park.

Written by suNCh8

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