Canewdon is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

Rochford Rochford is a town in Essex, England, north of Southend-on-Sea, from London and from Chelmsford, the county town. At the 2011 census, the Civil parishes in England, civil parish, which includes the town and London Southend Airport, had a popu ...

district of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. The village is located approximately northeast of the town of

, while the parish extends for several miles on the southern side of the

River Crouch The River Crouch is a small river that flows entirely through the English county of Essex. The distance of the Navigation between Holliwell Point which is north of Foulness Island and Battlesbridge is 17.5 Miles, i.e. 15.21 Nautical Miles. Ro ...

. Canewdon is situated on one of the highest hills of the Essex coastline, from which St Nicholas's Church affords wide views of the Crouch estuary. East of the village lies the island of Wallasea, popular for sailing, and a wetland sanctuary for wildlife. The name Canewdon is derived from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

words meaning 'the hill of Cana's people' and not, as is sometimes claimed, from

Canute the Great Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...

, who fought at the

Battle of Ashingdon The Battle of Assandun (or Essendune) was fought between Danish and English armies on 18 October 1016. There is disagreement whether Assandun may be Ashdon near Saffron Walden in north Essex, England, or, as long supposed and better evidence ...

nearby in 1016 against the English King Edmund II.

History

Early history

A number of sites in and around Canewdon reflect occupation of the land from at least the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

period (4,000–2,000 BC). For instance, gravel extraction from early 20th century found prehistoric remains, such as a hoard of Neolithic axes and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. On display at the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

is a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

Canewdon paddle. Canewdon's location was favourable for its vantage point and proximity to the sea for trading and salt production. From Prehistoric and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times farmsteads and cemeteries were located on higher ground. Roman urns were found in the village in 1712. Along the coast were Roman Red Hill

saltern A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but also oth ...

s structures constructed of clay floors heated by flues, dating based upon Romano-British pottery. Salt was used in the ancient diet, for grazing animals, as a refining agent in metallurgy, for soldering and in dyes.

Medieval history

The name Canewdon is thought to predate the Danish

by about 400 years, but the area is claimed to be the site of an ancient camp used by King

Canute Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...

during the

Battle of Assandun The Battle of Assandun (or Essendune) was fought between Danish and English armies on 18 October 1016. There is disagreement whether Assandun may be Ashdon near Saffron Walden in north Essex, England, or, as long supposed and better evidenced, ...

nearby at

Ashingdon Ashingdon is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located about north of Rochford and is southeast from the county town of Chelmsford. The village lies within Rochford District and the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh. A ...

in the course of his successful invasion of Essex in 1016. Remains of Canute's camp are thought to be marked in the entrenchments between the village and the river. The name Canewdon is derived from the Saxon 'hill of Cana's people,' first documented in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as ''Carenduna'', at a time when there were 28 households. Swein of Essex, son of

Robert FitzWimarc Robert fitz Wimarc (died before 1075, Theydon Mount, Chipping Ongar, Ongar, Essex) was a kinsman of both Edward the Confessor and William of Normandy, and was present at Edward's death bed. Nothing of his background is known except his kinship t ...

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

between 1066 and 1086, was the principal landholder of the

area. Canewdon Hall, a fortified mansion and the focus for the medieval settlement, was demolished in 1966. Canewdon Hall Close was built on the site.

Modern history

The local economy, based on coastal industries, agriculture and the brick industry, declined during the latter 19th century. The 19th-century population fluctuated accordingly: in 1801 the population was 569, rose to 723 in 1841, and declined to 495 in 1901. Agnes Frances Whitwell (nee Morley), originally from Canewdon, was killed in 1915 by a bomb dropped by a

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

, which landed on her home at 120 North Road, Southend-on-Sea. Fearing war with Germany, in 1937 Royal Air Force (RAF) Canewdon was one of four radar sites established to test the use of

Chain Home Chain Home, or CH for short, was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during the Second World War to detect and track aircraft. Initially known as RDF, and given the off ...

Transmission and Receiver radar sites around the coast to detect enemy aircraft and estimate their range. The final twenty sites were critical in the defence against German aircraft during the Second World War. Information from the Chain Home sites and observation posts were transmitted via underground telephone lines to a central plotting room for probable raid analysis and warning notification. The Canewdon Chain Home

radar tower A radar tower is a tower whose function is to support a radar facility, usually a local airport surveillance radar, and hence often at or in the vicinity of an airport or a military air base. In addition, radar towers are used for the installatio ...

was relocated to nearby

Great Baddow Great Baddow is an urban village and civil parish in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the city of Chelmsford, and, with a population of over 13,000,

Church

The 14th-century Parish Church of St Nicholas at the end of the village High Street stands on a ridge overlooking the River Crouch. Its impressive 15th-century tower, a landmark for many miles, is said to have been erected by Henry V following his victory at the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; french: Azincourt ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected English victory against the numerica ...

in France. During the reign of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

the tower was used as a navigation point along the River Crouch. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the tower was used for observation and as a signalling post. The old village lock-up and stocks are located to the east of the church. The church is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Legends of witchcraft and ghosts

George Pickingill George Pickingill (c. 1816 – 10 April 1909) was an English farm labourer who lived and worked in the village of Canewdon in the eastern English county of Essex. Widely considered to be a cunning man, or vocational folk magician, he report ...

(1816–1909) who lived in the village during the late 19th century, was said to practice as a

cunning man Cunning may refer to: * Cunning (owarai), a Japanese comedy group * Cunning folk, a type of folk magic user * Cunning (surname), a list of people with Cunning as a surname See also

* Cunningham * * * Sneak (disambiguation) * Sly (disambigu ...

. The earliest written accusation of witchcraft appears to be that of Rose Pye, a spinster who in 1580 was said to be living as a witch and responsible for bewitching to death in August 1575 Johanna Snow or Johanne Snowe, a 12-month-old child from Scaldhurst Farm in Canewdon. The case went to court where Rose pleaded not guilty. Although acquitted, Rose remained and died in jail a few months after her acquittal. Five years later Cicely Makin was accused of witchcraft, and was unable to find five people who would swear that she was not a witch. After being given five years to mend her ways without success, Cicely was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

from the church. Author

Ian Yearsley Ian Yearsley is a local historian and author of books on the history of Essex. History Ian Yearsley was born in Ingatestone, Essex in 1965, moving to Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1972. He started out as a journalist with the Leigh Times in 1988 bef ...

has written a novel based on the witchcraft legends in the village, called ''The Curse of Cannow's End'' (published in 2012). 'Cannow's End' is a loose anagram of 'Canewdon'. There is also a sequel, ''Return to Cannow's End'' (2017). The British paranormal investigation show "Most Haunted Live" visited the village as part of their 2004 Easter weekend special of three nights of live investigation which aired on Living TV. They visited the village on their first night of Good Friday 9 April 2004.https://www.higgypop.com/most-haunted/live/

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Essex Civil parishes in Essex Ports and harbours of Essex Rochford District Witchcraft in England