Pitsea

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Pitsea
Essex

The remains of the church of St Michael
Location
Grid reference: TQ735885
Location: 51°34’8"N, 0°30’14"E
Data
Population: 25,000
Post town: Basildon
Postcode: SS13
Dialling code: 01268
Local Government
Parliamentary
constituency: 		South Basildon & East Thurrock

Pitsea is a small town and ancient parish in the Barnstable hundred of Essex that forms a suburb of Basildon. It comprises five sub-districts: Eversley, Northlands Park Neighbourhood (Previously known as Felmores), Chalvedon, Pitsea Mount and Burnt Mills.

During the creation of the new town of Basildon in the late 1940s and early 1950s, "Pitsea" and "Vange" were considered as names for the new town. Because Basildon village was central to the district, the town was named "Basildon". Before the new town regeneration, Pitsea and Vange were run down in need of investment. Basildon, on the other hand, was a small village with a church (which still stands today as Holy Cross church) and a few cottages.

History

There is little known history about Pitsea but its earliest recorded name is Piceseia which was in 1086 and probably recorded as this in the Domesday Book. This however has changed over the years to many different names including: Pichesey(e), Pikeseye, Pithesey, Petchesey(e), Pisseye, Pitchesey, Pytsay, Pittessey, Pytchey, Pitsey [1] and finally to what it is now Pitsea. It is thought however that all the names are derived from the meaning of Pics' Island, which refers to the area now known as Pitsea Mount.

Chalvedon, which is part of Pitsea has also been known under different guises. In its earliest form it was known as Chauendona meaning Calves Hill this was first recorded in 1119. Other names include: Chaluedona, Chaluedene, Calueden and Callwedone before it ended up being Chalvedon. Great Chalvedon Hall still stands, now operating as a pub, and was completed some time in the 16th Century. During the building of the new town Chalvedon became a housing estate in the west of Pitsea and the local secondary school had taken that name (now Basildon Academy - Chalvedon merged with Barstable School).

Pitsea was connected by the new London, Tilbury and Southend line in 1855. Next to the station is Cromwell Manor, previously Pitsea Hall, which dates from the 15th century. The arrival of the railway saw land around Pitsea bought and sold off piecemeal by companies like Protheroe and Morris, London who used tactics of free rail tickets and champagne auctions to convince East Londoners of the plotland dream.[2] It was not until 1925 that planned development took place, when local entrepreneur Harold George Howard built The Railway Hotel (now demolished). He continued the development with The Broadway Cinema (closed 1970 re-opened as a bingo hall closed 2009 - currently empty) in 1930, along with Tudor Chambers and Anne Boleyn Mansions (home to TSB Bank). He also built Howard Crescent and Park which still exist to this day. Also in 1925, the famous Pitsea market first opened.[3]

Further major development of Pitsea did not take place until the 1960s when the new town redevelopment of Basildon took shape. Pitsea market was moved from its original location in Station Lane in 1969 to Howards Field, to make way for the construction of South Mayne. Pitsea was cut in half in the 1970s by the construction of the new A13 flyover (opened 1973), with Pitsea Mount separated from the rest of the town. In 1976 Pitsea's new town centre was opened along Northlands Pavement (previously Northlands Drive), with Sainsburys being the anchor store along with a new office block called Pembroke House, and was quickly followed by the new Pitsea Swimming Pool (demolished 2013). In 1978 Tesco opened what was at the time the largest supermarket in Europe [4] and would eventually become the first Tesco Extra store in 1997.[5] Also in 1978 Pitsea Market moved for a second time, re-located behind the Railway Hotel and in front of the Sainsbury Supermarket (the second market place became a car park).

The next major development occurred in 1981 when the Pitsea centre opened - a leisure centre and library opposite Pitsea swimming pool, while a new Leisure centre at Eversely was opened in 1987. 1995 saw the opening of the Old Market Retail park on the second market place, though part of this was destroyed by fire in 2006 and had to be rebuilt again in 2007. Sainsburys moved out of Pitsea Town Centre to a new location at Nethermayne, built on the former sports ground of Carreras Cigarette factory.

Landmarks

The most prominent landmark is the tower of the 13th-century church of St Michael, situated on Pitsea Mount. The dominant position of the building over the local area has seen the church used as a station for a mobile telephone aerial. The nave of the church was demolished in 1998, as it was being vandalised and had fallen into disrepair since its deconsecration in 1983. The only remaining part is the tower.

Great Chalvedon Hall is a 16th-century home which Basildon council purchased in 1977. It is located in Tyefields and now operates as a pub. Pitsea Hall, now known as Cromwell Manor, is a 15th-century house next to Pitsea railway station.

Sport

Pitsea is the home to Bowers & Pitsea F.C. They play at Crown Avenue. It was in the FA Vase that Bowers & Pitsea F.C. achieved their highest ever attendance of 1,800 against a Billericay Town side which featured ex-West Ham United and Charlton Athletic forward Steve Jones. In 2016 the club reached its furthest placing in the Vase with an appearance in the Semi Final. The club first competed in the FA Cup in season 1994/95 when they lost 4–1 at home to Barking in the Preliminary round, they have never progressed beyond the first qualifying round, and have suffered some quite heavy defeats along the way. The club has also had some well-known faces play for them, including former Southend United manager Steve Tilson, ex-Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace forward Paul Williams, and were even managed by ex-Millwall goalkeeper Brian Horne. Bowers & Pitsea also have many youth teams playing in and around the local area.

There are few sporting clubs in Pitsea other than Eversley Park Cricket Club, Basildon & Pitsea Cricket Club, Chalvedon Football Club, Chalvedon Boys Football Club, Chalvedon Boys Amateur Boxing Club, Pitsea Running Club and numerous Sunday League junior and men's football teams. Most of these teams can be found playing locally on a Sunday at various points across Pitsea, including Eversley Recreation Ground and Pitsea School.

Northlands Park is a large open space in Pitsea and is home to two large fishing lakes regularly used by anglers.[6] The lake holds Bream, Carp, Eel, Perch, Pike, Roach, Rudd and Tench.

Transport

Pitsea is served by Pitsea railway station on the line from London to Southend.

Local bus services operate from Pitsea Broadway to the nearby towns of Basildon, Canvey and Southend.

The town is served by the Pitsea bypass of the A13, which connects London to Southend, and has a direct link to the M25. To the east is the A130 to Canvey Island or Chelmsford, and also links to the A12 to London or East Anglia. To the north is the A127 which serves the same purpose as the A13, and to the west is the A132 which is the border which separates Pitsea from Barstable and Vange; this road links into Basildon town centre, the A127 and Wickford.

Employment

Most people living in Pitsea either commute to Basildon, Southend or London for employment.

Pitsea has a fair amount of office spaces as well, which can be found in Pembroke House in the main Pitsea Centre, Broadway Chambers in the main Pitsea Broadway, and Tudor Chambers located in Station Lane. The offices include solicitors, insurance companies, an accounting software company and an employment agency.

To the north of Pitsea is the Burnt Mills Industrial Estate which has many industrial units, and a small amount of manufacturing, including Gardner Aerospace. Also in this area is the main delivery depot for the courier T.N.T. There is also the main local depot for the cable TV company Telewest Blueyonder, which came to the area in the early 1990s under the name of United Artists before changing its name to Telewest and then more recently to Virgin Media. This previously had been the main customer service centre for United Artists.

Notable people

  • Scott Robinson, singer with 5ive
  • QBoy, musiciam
  • Carla Brown, Page 3 model
  • Paul Smith, ex-footballer with Brentford F.C., Gillingham F.C. and Southend United F.C.
  • Michael Kightly footballer with Burnley F.C.
  • James Tomkins, footballer with Crystal Palace F.C.

References

  1. ↑ T.C.Chisendale - Transaltion of Domeday Book
  2. ↑ http://raincoatoptimism.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/a-brief-history-of-pitsea-and-the-ideology-of-urban-regeneration/
  3. ↑ http://www.basildon.com/history/pitsea/pitsea.html
  4. ↑ http://raincoatoptimism.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/a-brief-history-of-pitsea-and-the-ideology-of-urban-regeneration/
  5. ↑ "A History of TESCO - Meat Trae news Daily - p.12 May 2012". Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150413073330/http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/070512/uk___a_look_at_the_history_of_tesco_.aspx. Retrieved 23 April 2015. 
  6. ↑ http://www.basildonanglingcentre.co.uk/northlands.php

Outside links

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