Bradwell-on-Sea is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. The village is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located about north-northeast of

Southminster Southminster is a town and electoral ward on the Dengie Peninsula in the Maldon district of Essex in the East of England. It lies about north of Burnham-on-Crouch and south-east of Maldon; it is approximately east-north-east of London. To the ...

and is east from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...

in the parliamentary constituency of

whose boundaries were last varied at the 2010 general election. It has a population of 863, a decline from 877 in the previous census.Office for National Statistics : ''Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Maldon''
Retrieved 2009-12-17

History

Bradwell-on-Sea was a

Saxon Shore The Saxon Shore ( la, litus Saxonicum) was a military command of the late Roman Empire, consisting of a series of fortifications on both sides of the Channel. It was established in the late 3rd century and was led by the "Count of the Saxon Shor ...

fort in Roman times known as ''

Othona Othona or Othonae was the name of an ancient Roman fort of the Saxon Shore at the sea's edge near the modern village of Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex, England. The Old English name ''Ythanceaster'' for the locality derives from the Roman name. Hist ...

''. The Anglo-Saxons originally called it ''Ithancester''. Saint

Cedd Cedd ( la, Cedda, Ceddus; 620 – 26 October 664) was an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop from the Kingdom of Northumbria. He was an evangelist of the Middle Angles and East Saxons in England and a significant participant in the Synod of Whitby, a ...

founded a monastery within the old walls in 653, which survives as the restored

Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall The Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, Bradwell-on-Sea, is a Christian church dating from the years 660-662 and among the oldest largely intact churches in England. It is in regular use by the nearby Othona Community, in addition to Church of Engl ...

, one of the oldest churches in Britain. From there, he continued the evangelisation of Essex. In the 20th century, the village became better known as the site for the

Bradwell nuclear power station Bradwell nuclear power station is a decommissioned Magnox-design nuclear power station located on the Dengie peninsula at the mouth of the River Blackwater, Essex. In 2019, it was the first nuclear power station in the UK to be placed into long- ...

. It also has a school, St Cedd’s Church of England primary school and a sailing club. The village has been called Bradwell juxta Mare, Bradwell-next-the-Sea and Bradwell near the Sea. Notable residents include the Tudor martyr Thomas Abel, the newspaper editor Sir Henry Bate Dudley, the MP

Tom Driberg Thomas Edward Neil Driberg, Baron Bradwell (22 May 1905 – 12 August 1976) was a British journalist, politician, High Anglican churchman and possible Soviet spy, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1942 to 1955, and again from 195 ...

(later Baron Bradwell), who lived at

Bradwell Lodge Bradwell Lodge is a country house in the village of Bradwell-on-Sea, on the Dengie Peninsula in Essex, England. Originally a Tudor rectory, in the 18th century the house was purchased by the Reverend Sir Henry Bate Dudley. Bate Dudley engaged J ...

and is buried in the churchyard, and the artist F. H. Haagensen. The local newspaper is the ''Maldon and Burnham Standard''. There is a Facebook page called The Bradwell Bugle.

World War Two

During the Second World War the airfield sited to the north-east of

Bradwell Waterside Bradwell Waterside is a small hamlet in Essex, England. It is located about north-northeast of Southminster and is east from the county town of Chelmsford. The hamlet is in the district of Maldon and the parliamentary constituency of Maldon & ...

was a front-line station, and named

RAF Bradwell Bay Royal Air Force Bradwell Bay or more simply RAF Bradwell Bay is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Maldon, Essex, England and south west of West Mersea, Essex. History The central area of the current airfield was first laid down ...

. Prior to this conflict a small grass airfield was sited there for refuelling and re-arming the aircraft used by pilots practising shooting and bombing at the ranges on nearby

Dengie Dengie is a village and civil parish in the Maldon district of Essex, England, with a population of 119 at the 2011 census. It gives its name to the Dengie peninsula and hundred and to the Dengie Special Protection Area. The place-name 'Dengi ...

Marshes. In 1941 the airfield was enlarged, swallowing up the pre-war grass landing ground, and three concrete runways were laid down. As it was quite near the coast, and many aircraft in distress landed there, it had the FIDO (Fog Intensive Dispersal Operation) system installed to help pilots find a safe landing in foggy weather. Many night-fighter squadrons were based here, equipped first with the

Douglas Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was or ...

, then the

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

, the ubiquitous multi-role-combat aircraft of its time. The airfield was also used as a jumping-off point for fighters escorting long-distance bombing raids on Germany, and such types as the Spitfire and

North American Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James H ...

could be seen. A recent memorial, in the shape of a crashed de Havilland Mosquito, has been placed near to the edge of the airfield to remember all those who lost their lives in defence of Britain in the Second World War whilst based at RAF Bradwell Bay.

References

External links

The Rotary Club of Burnham on Crouch & Dengie Hundred

Essex Walks - Bradwell-on-Sea

Information and photographs of Bradwell on Sea Village

Bradwell Bay Preservation Group

RAF Bradwell Bay Facebook group

Bradwell-on-Sea - Conservation Area Review and Character Appraisal
Essex County Council and Maldon District Council, 2006 {{authority control Villages in Essex Maldon District Populated coastal places in Essex Beaches of Essex

History

World War Two

See also

References

External links