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On Wednesday the 31st January 2024 Dan and I caught the train to Rochford Train Station ,Rochford, Essex. Well it was more of an excuse to visit the Blackbox Brewery later. Hence this was a very uninspiring walk to say the least!
We left the station and walked up West Street.
The town is the main settlement in the Rochford district, and takes its name from Rochefort, Old English for "Ford of the Hunting Dogs". The town runs into suburban developments in the parishes of Ashingdon and Hawkwell. Kings Hill, in Rochford, was notable for containing the Lawless Court up until the 19th century.
In 1837 James Banyard (14 November 1800 – 1863) a reformed drunk and Wesleyan preacher and William Bridges (1802–1874) took a lease on the old workhouse at Rochford, which became the first chapel of the Peculiar People, a name taken from Deuteronomy 14:2 and 1 Peter 2:9. The Peculiar People practised a lively form of worship bound by the literal interpretation of the King James Bible, banning both frivolity and medicine. During the two World Wars some were conscientious objectors, believing that war is contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Peculiar People are nowadays known as the Union of Evangelical Churches.
A superb replica in the Market Place at Rochford, Essex.
Markings: "DONATED BY ADRIAN CHAPMAN 2002".
Manufacturer: It was made by local structural engineer Adrian Chapman, when the town square was reinstated in 2002. He produced the wooden patterns based upon a photograph of the original pump, which was removed in 1902, and had the castings made by the Rayne Foundry in Braintree.
We turn right onto South Street and up to the roundabout junction with Southend Road, where there is the Rochford Village sign.
The new sign has been manufactured by Alpha Signs, of Saffron Walden, and is set in a 15ft oak post sited here in 2004.
Just by the Horse and Groom Pub on Southend Road we take a footpath beside the River Roach.
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| A random Elephant in garden beside the river. |
The River Roach is a river that flows entirely through Essex. It is one of four main streams that originate in the Rayleigh Hills to the west, and flow east. They then flow towards the centre of the Rochford Basin, a circular feature which may have been caused by an asteroid impact in the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene periods. To the east of Rochford, the river becomes tidal, and is governed by the Crouch Harbour Authority. It joins the River Crouch between Wallasea Island and Foulness Island. To the west of Rochford, there is some doubt as to which of the four streams is officially the Roach.
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| Stambridge Mills in the distance. |
At Stambridge, there was a tidal mill from at least the 1500s, although few details are known until it was rebuilt in 1809. A pound was filled by the incoming tide, and was released to drive a water wheel as the tide fell. On spring tides, this gave around 7 hours of operation, which gradually decreased as the tides reduced, and at neap tides, the operation of the mill was entirely dependent on the flow from the upper river. Rankins, the millers, objected to plans by the Great Eastern Railway to build a dam and reservoirs in Rochford, as it would damage their operation, but a single reservoir was authorised in 1904.
The river channels are designated as "heavily modified" from their natural state by the Environment Agency, who measure the water quality. This is moderate for most of the tributaries, and the chemical status has improved since 2013. Charles Darwin's HMS Beagle was moored on the river from 1850 as a Coast Guard watch ship. It was sold for breaking, but an archaeological survey concluded in 2008 that much of it still remains buried beneath the mud near Paglesham. The Paglesham Reach is also significant for its native oysters.
We divert off the river along a path that takes us through then delightful Purdleys Industrial Estate and then out onto Sutton Road. ( I did say at the beginning that this wasn't going to be a spectacular walk!).
At the end of Sutton Road we turn left pass the Anne Boleyn pub onto Southend Road.
Built in 1901, the pub is rumoured to be haunted as Anne Boleyn was from this area. Situated on the main road into Rochford town, opposite Southend Airport, the pub is easy to find. A Greene King Hungry Horse pub .
We walk on along pass Southend Airport and its control tower.
The site opened as a military airfield for the Royal Flying Corps in 1916. It was used during World War One for training airmen and to attempt to intercept German raids on London. In 1919 the airfield was decommissioned and the site reverted to farmland. It reopened in 1935 as a civil airport. In 1939 the airport was once more used as a military airfield, known as RAF Rochford, mainly for fighter units of various nationalities. It was used by 11 Group of the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain: this group was the most heavily engaged in that battle. The airfield was still grass surfaced, and was equipped with a mixture of Bellman and Blister aircraft hangars. The airfield was protected by three Pickett Hamilton forts, (a special type of retractable pillbox) one of which survived in 1989 In 1944 it was also for armament practice and as a barrage balloon centre. After World War Two, it was again a civil airport. In 1955-1956 two hard runways were added. In 1995 there was a major programme of refurbishment at the airport, some airport buildings were demolished, and others renovated. In the early years of the 21st century there are plans to expand the airport.
Plenty of boring road walking, no commercial flights took off here while we walked by just light aircraft. Not a busy airport by any means, maybe busier on certain days?
We walk along Eastwoodbury Crescent and Lane, St Lawrence Way right onto Nestuda Way and then onto Eastwoodbury Lane to the church.
St Laurence and All Saints is a Grade I listed medieval church in the parish of Eastwood, Essex, England, near to Southend-on-Sea. Its location adjacent to the perimeter of London Southend Airport has led to the church being threatened by proposals to expand the airport.
The church has been described as "one of the finest and most important small medieval churches in South Essex, and of exceptional architectural, archaeological and historical significance". Notable features include the complex plan form and development, Norman font and doors with original fittings and the medieval woodwork including a priest's room. The site is also of "considerable, possibly exceptional, archaeological significance".
The first known record of the church is in 1100 A.D. when Robert Fitz Suen (Robert d'Essex) gave the chapels of Eastwood, Sutton and Prittlewell to the Prior of Prittlewell. It is evident that there was a church at Eastwood before that date; this was probably the present Norman nave with a small apsidal chancel. The antiquity of the site is borne out by the presence of a sarsen stone built into the walls. There are claims that this is the remains from when the site was used for pagan worship.
The early development of the church is still not completely understood. The nave is 12th-century in origin, with Norman window openings in the north wall. The south aisle was added in the 13th century and the north aisle in the 14th. The chancel is 13th-century, with a 14th-century roof. The nave roof is 15th-century.
The brick south porch was added in the 16th century. There were extensive works within the church in the 1870s when it was thoroughly restored by William White, including new seating. The broach spire was restored in the late 20th century.
The church stands within a large churchyard containing monuments including chest tombs dating back to the 18th century, with 20th-century extensions to the north containing several war graves. The churchyard is a pleasant area of trees, grass and wild flowers, carefully managed for its wildlife value.
The church was popular with gypsies and other members of the travelling community who used it for christenings, marriages and funerals. The so-called "King of the Gypsies", Louis Boswell, was buried at Eastwood church in 1835. In the Burial Register he is described as a "Traveller aged 42" – "This man known as the King of the Gypsies was interred in the presence of a vast concourse of spectators".
We walk on and take Aviation Way onto an industrial estate where we walk onto Blackbox Brewery and its taproom.
An aviation-themed brewery launched at the start of the year and even opened its own a craft beer and ale taproom in September 2022.
We arrive before the 12 o'clock opening time but they come out and invite us in, seems a very friendly taproom and a good community.
We drink our way through the selection. Cloud Cover NEIPA, Ground Speed APA, Lost Luggage ESB, Mild High Club Mild, a taster of Vocation Aoraki Imperial DIPA and finishing with a yummy local brewed Thinking Juice cider.
We leave the brewery and walk on through the estate, trying to find the path we need. We walk down a path that leads nowhere except to a field of horses that ran up to greet us.
We head back pass the brewery, and a member of bar staff looked bemused that we were still walking about after we'd left a while back. We walk on back out onto Aviation Way and onto Cherry Orchard Way. Maybe it was bad navigation or I was just too pissed but anyway we end up with more road walking.
We walk off Hall Road and up to Rochford Hall by the golf course.
Rochford Hall is a manor in Rochford, Essex, England. During the reign of King Henry VIII, it belonged to Thomas Boleyn, who was then Viscount Rochford, and it was the marital home of his daughter Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, and Mary's second husband, Sir William Stafford. It is now privately owned by Rochford Hundred Golf Club where it acts as the clubhouse and is a Grade I listed building.
The manor was originally built in 1216, which is the date carved into an old joist, and some of the arched doorways are original. In its 16th century form Rochford Hall comprised a sprawling turreted manor with a moat and great hall.
Rochford Hall belonged to Sir Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne, as part of his rich inheritance from his mother Margaret Butler. Sir Thomas was created Viscount Rochford in 1525 and Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde 1529 and his title derived from his ownership of Rochford Hall. Following the second marriage of Anne's elder sister Mary to William Stafford in 1534, Rochford Hall was given to the couple as their principal residence. In 1550 the Rochford estate was sold to Richard, Lord Rich.
By the late 17th Century Rochford Hall was owned by the Child Family of Wanstead House, Essex, later Earl Tylney. It then descended with the Wanstead Estate to James Tylney-Long, his daughter Catherine Tylney-Long and via the Long-Wellesley Family to Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley. He sold it to a local gentleman farmer in 1867.
Rochford Hall was usually let, on long leases, or used by the Steward of the Rochford or greater Essex Estates of the Tylney-Long family.
There have been many additions and alterations to the manor over the centuries, not least a catastrophic fire in 1791. The 20-foot-high (6.1 m) stained glass replica window in the main hall consists of three coats-of-arms of previous owners including the crest of Anne Boleyn.
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| Rochford Hall. |
In 1777, the owner of Rochford Hall decided to dissuade travellers from this natural approach to Rochford running past his front door, so he built Hall Road slightly away from his property and included a bridge across the Roach tributary. This road would later become a Turnpike or toll road.
We walk pass St Andrews Church here by the golf course an Rochford Hall.
St Andrew’s church building has its origins in the 13th and 14th centuries, although the list of incumbents lets us know that people were worshipping God on this site much earlier than this. Take a while to look inside at the stained-glass windows and the inscriptions on the tombs.
The 15th/16th century tower is a fine example of Tudor brickwork, featuring interspersed Reigate stone to give a diaper pattern. The tower is built from 15th century brick that came from Rochford brickworks and was built by Thomas Boteler, Earl of Ormond, the maternal great grandfather of Anne Boleyn. Although Sir Richard Rich would later claim the tower’s construction, and indeed may have contributed to its completion in some way, the Ormond coat of arms above the west entrance seems to settle this dispute. To the north is the vestry, a late 16th century brick addition.
Edward Calamy would join the church in the 1630’s and soon caught malaria as a result of living in this area. He would preach all his sermons while sitting at his desk as he became dizzy if he stood up.
In 1862 the interior of the church was restored, by replacing the old pews, raising the ceiling and removing the gallery. The Reverend Benjamin Cotton became rector in 1861, staying for over fifty years and oversaw many of these changes.
Benton, the local farmer and historian, recorded in 1882 that smugglers secretly used the church tower to store gin, tea and other goods brought from France and a cavity below the pulpit was called the magazine!
The Rochford parish memorial to local victims of the Great War of 1914-18 was moved to its present location in the tower in 2005. In the porch, wooden boards list the name of every Rochford resident who served in the war. The Great War caused difficulty for faith groups, especially when conscription became law. The Peculiar People wrestled with this topic – was it right for men to bear arms against each other? Some took on work of national importance, which meant that they could help the war effort without actually fighting, others became conscientious objectors and of this group many would serve hard labour in Dartmoor Jail. The conditions there were hard, food was consistently bad, and anyone caught looking out of his cell window during the day was punished with three days of a bread and water diet.
Today, the church is possibly unique in now being completely surrounded by a golf course.
We walk back onto Hall Lane and back to the Train Station for the journey home.
Just under eight and a half mile walk and plenty of beer!
