CANVEY ISLAND

'Canvey Island' (area 18.45 km²; pop. 37,000) is an island in the River Thames estuary off the coast of Essex, England. It is also the name of the town on that island, though this is sometimes shortened to 'Canvey'.

Contents

Early history

Geology

Flooding

Former lighthouse

Travel to the Island

Living on the Island

Schools

Attractions on the Island

Local towns

Football

Famous Canvey Islanders

External links

Early history

The name Canvey is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means "Cana's island", meaning that the modern name is a compound of two languages, meaning literally "Cana's island island". It was first recorded in manorial records of 1255 as ''Caneveye''. The island is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, but sheep grazing marshland lying to the south of the county is mentioned extensively.

Geology

Geologically, Canvey Island was originally part of the mainland, then the coastline broke up into smaller pieces, and the modern island is made up of five of those pieces. There are historical maps held at the Essex Record Office that show where the five separate islands originally lay and it is thought that these are the marshes referred to in earlier records. Sheep farming was a mainstay industry of the island until very recently.
Because of the geological history of the island subsidence was a common problem and sea defences have been built to protect the island from the Thames since the 14th century. In the early 17th century Dutch builders were employed to reclaim land from the Thames and to strengthen the sea defences. Because of this a strong Dutch community formed in Canvey Island, evidence of which can still be found in local street names, place names and architecture. This island is also home to the Canvey Island Monster.

Flooding

In 1791, 1881 and 1897 the whole island was almost completely submerged due to extensive flooding of the River Thames. More modern sea defences have now been installed, and are maintained regularly. However, in 1953 the great North Sea flood hit the island and caused the deaths of 58 people. Many of the people that died were in the East of the Island at the Newlands part of the Island. These people were in the Holiday Bungalows and the water had risen to ceiling level. Those who were unable to get out onto the roof would have drowned. There was one area of the Island that was kept above water, the Village part of the Island is partly above sea level (about two feet) and there was a small dry area here. The pub there was renamed the King Canute (formerly called the Red Cow)

Former lighthouse

The coast of Canvey was host to the Chapman Lighthouse famously described in Joseph Conrad's novel 'Heart of Darkness'. It is believed that the peril of the mudflats below such shallow waters off the Canvey coast prompted the Romans to devise some form of beacon as a warning in the area. In 1851 a hexagonal lighthouse was constructed by the engineer James Walker, a consultant lighthouse engineer at Trinity House at the time. This all-iron lighthouse replaced a lightship which had been moored in the area for the preceding four years. The lighthouse was demolished in 1957 due to its poor condition.

Travel to the Island

The nearest railway station is Benfleet on the c2c line between London (Fenchurch Street) and Shoeburyness. The station is mainly used by commuters in the weekday travellng London however it is used by many other people travelling to Southend, Basildon and Lakeside for shopping and also for meeting up with people. One of the busiest 2 days on the line is the Southend airshow days where it is used by thousands more passengers than usual for a bank holiday weekend.
During the Second World War the island was a part of the GHQ Line, a line of concrete pillboxes constructed as a part of the defence against the expected German invasion. Some of the old pillboxes are still in place today.
There are two bus companies that operate services onto Canvey Island. These two companies are First Essex and Regal Busways. First Essex is the main bus operator and operates 8 services onto Canvey, these services are: 3, 16, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 822. These all run through the town centre and connect all of the different parts of the Island to the town centre. From Canvey, passengers can travel to places such as Southend, Basildon, Bournes Green and Benfleet. Regal Busways is a new operator on the Island and started services in May 2006 and operate the No.1 service to Chelmsford. The service operates via Benfleet, South Benfleet, Battlesbridge, Howe Green and Sandon. Regal Busways use Optare Tempo vehicles that have luxury leather seats and state of the art public information systems.
Canvey Island is located off junction 30 of the M25 motorway. From here visitors should take the main road A13 to Sadlers Farm roundabout from here people should join the A130 Canvey Way and this will take them onto the Island.

Living on the Island

Other settlements on the island apart from the main town include Newlands and Leigh Beck. These used to be considered separate towns when there were fewer people on the island, however now this is not the case as everywhere on the island is reachable in 10 minutes or so by car and a little longer by bus. Canvey Island is quite an urban area with a high population density, but it has kept its local charm and the whole place is still quite green with three parks and a number of green spaces especially towards the Eastern and less built up end of the Island. The western end of the Island is more built up and industrial with the gas and oil terminals, yet is still home to an amazing diversity of wildlife, notably some rare bumblebee species that are declining in many other parts of the country. Canvey Wick was the first major brownfield site to be designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in February 2005 for its rare and threatened invertebrates.

Schools

'Castle View School' is a comprehensive school for ages 11-16 located in the north of Canvey Island, overlooking Hadleigh Downs. As of 2006 it has some 900 pupils, and 200 staff. It is a specialist Science college.

Attractions on the Island

The Island has a lot to offer anyone who will visit it with lots of attractions for people to see, although the Casino is no longer there. The seafront, town centre and lake are just a few of the many highlights.
During the Victorian era the seaside was a very fashionable place to visit and many thought its air to have healing properties however this was never proven to be true. Canvey Island benefited from this and thousands of people flocked to it especially from places like London. This was the case until the late 1970's when people stopped coming to the Island and the seafront went into decline. The fair that once stood was demolished and the area looked like a ghost town. In the early 90's a revival occurred and people came back to the seafront. The day trippers were back and wanted to be entertained and new arcades and shops were built to accommodate them. Today the seafront may appear a little on the small side, however this is not the case. A new cinema was constructed and now shows the most up to date films; prior to this being built islanders had to go to Southend or Basildon. The arrival of the cinema heralded a new age for the seafront which attracted a new youthful crowd to the seafront and it developed for this. A new amusement park has been built and the seafront is now a popular place for the young people on the Island meet.
The town centre has all of the amenities that you would expect from a modern town centre. There are family-run bakers and butchers with a major supermarket recently opened. Also the major fashion retailer New Look has a store in the town. The town centre - like the whole of the Island - is quite relaxed and there is a friendly atmosphere around the town with little graffiti to see, which makes the whole town look tidy. All buses that come onto the Island run through the town centre which makes it easy to get to and then back home again.
Canvey Island's largest hotel 'The Oyster Fleet' is located next to the lake. Canvey Island lake can trace its roots back to the Roman period when it was used as an oyster bed and it is from this that the hotel gets its name. The restaurant has spectacular views over the lake that is around two miles long. The lake was in bad shape until recently when a project led by the environment agency and the local council. This means that the lake has had new life breathed into it and now looks better and has a vast array of wildlife that thrives in it. You can fish the lake for a moderate fee and it is stocked with all the fish that would be expected from a lake. There are many types of wildlife also present in the lake including ducks and many beetles.

Local towns

Other local islands include Lower Horse and Two Tree Island and these are located to the East and West of the Island. Southend and Basildon are the two biggest towns close to Canvey with Basildon being the closest. Southend has a lot to offer the traveller with the biggest amusement park in Essex with the biggest roller coaster to be built this year in England, Rage. It is the biggest ride at the park which means it is a great place to visit.

Football

Canvey Island is the home of football team Canvey Island, who are a member of the Isthmian League Division One North. Canvey Island were formally members of the National Conference however were relegated two seasons back when they lost their manager and their future was looking uncertain. In the past few years Canvey FC have shown they can continue to compete however, and have kept the spirit of football going. Concord Rangers F.C. are another popular team on the island.

Famous Canvey Islanders

★ Dr. Feelgood 70's pub rock band

★ Dean Macey Decathlon athlete

★ Dean Marney Footballer with Hull City

★ Ty Gooden Footballer played for Canvey Island F.C., Gillingham F.C., Wycombe Wanderers F.C. and Swindon Town F.C.

★ Frank Saul F.A. Cup winner with Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

★ Jeff King Local entrepreneur and football manager previously with Canvey Island F.C. now with Chelmsford City F.C.

★ Sunscreem 90's techno/house band who had a couple of minor hits.

★ Joshua Hayward (a.k.a. Joshua Third and previously Joshua Von Grimm) guitarist from The Horrors

★ Adam Gosnold Footballer played for Thorney Bay Diamonds. Now resides in Malaga, Spain.

★ Reece Durrance Rugby player for England RFU and Saracens RFC.

External links

★ Canvey Island - White's Directory of Essex, 1848

★ Watercolour paintings of Canvey Island by the late Paul Smyth

★ Buglife's Canvey Island project

★ Canvey Wick SSSI Designation by English Nature

★ Canvey Views - News, Views & Directory for the Island

★ History of Canvey