Dunton Wayletts is a hamlet in the

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

, on the western outskirts of

Laindon Laindon is a commuter town in Essex, between Basildon and West Horndon. It was an ancient parish in Essex, England, that was abolished for civil purposes in 1937. It was based on the (probably smaller) manor of the same name and now lies mostly ...

, in the

Borough of Basildon The Borough of Basildon is a local government district in south Essex in the East of England, centred on the town of Basildon. It was formed as the Basildon District on 1 April 1974 from the former area of Basildon Urban District and the part ...

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 Grea ...

, England. It is located between the Southend Arterial Road (

A127 road The A127, also known as the Southend Arterial Road, is a major road in Essex, England. It was constructed as a new arterial road project in the 1920s, linking Romford with Southend-on-Sea, replacing the older A13. Formerly classified as a tr ...

) and the

London, Tilbury and Southend line The London, Tilbury and Southend line, also known as Essex Thameside, is a commuter railway line on the British railway system. It connects Fenchurch Street station, in central London, with destinations in east London and Essex, including , , ...

. It is usually known as Dunton.

Name

The name Dunton has Saxon origins ("dun" meaning hill and "tun" meaning town). Wayletts is also derived from the Saxon ("Weylete") and

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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

("Weg-gelaetu") both meaning a place where ways or roads meet.

History

The earliest reference to Dunton is found 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 manus ...

of 1086 when 'Dantona' was held by Bishop Ode (half brother of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

). During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the parish of Dunton was divided into two manors: Dunton Hall and Fryern Manor. In the 12th century Dunton came under the ownership of the Abbey of Bec-Hellouin. In the 1440s the manor of Dunton was granted to

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

. The manor of Dunton remained in the possession of King's College until well into the 18th century.''Portrait of Dunton the Lost Village'' In 1801 the population of Dunton was 121. In 1837 the Parish of Dunton comprised 2,000 acres of land out of which 1,719 was cultivated land, 222 acres meadow pasture, 37 acres woodland, 22 acres was common land and 17 acres belonging to the Rector. In the 1841 census the population of Dunton was 194. In 1871 Dunton had 33 houses with a population of 174. In 1967 the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

opened the

Dunton Technical Centre The Dunton Campus (informally Ford Dunton or Dunton) is a major automotive research and development facility located in Dunton Wayletts, Laindon, Essex, United Kingdom owned and operated by Ford Motor Company. As Ford's European headquarters, ...

on former agricultural land at the north end of Dunton. Dunton's amenities declined during the 1970s. The village school closed in 1977 and the one village shop closed a year later.

Buildings

Friern Manor, to the north of Lower Dunton Road, was built in the 18th century. It was owned by the governors of

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (die ...

in the 19th century. During the 1930s it was owned by the parents of

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include '' The Destruction of Dresden'' (1 ...

. It is now used as a wedding venue. Dunton Wayletts Farm 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 ...

, a timber-framed and plastered farmhouse built in the 16th century, probably on the site of a much earlier building. It is now owned by the

Highways Agency National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

/ Department for Transport. Upper Dunton Hall (now Dunton Hall) and Lower Dunton Hall were owned by

. Dunton Hall was built in the 18th century and is a Grade II listed former farmhouse. The building was converted to a private dwelling following the closure of the farm. The Old Rectory is a substantial Victorian house built in the mid-19th century which originally served as the rectory of St Mary's Church, until a new rectory was built in the 1930s. In 1934 the Old Rectory was bought by journalist Charles Leatherland, who lived there for fifteen years; when he received a life peerage in 1964, he took the title Baron Leatherland of Dunton. Charles Leatherland also bought the former Dunton School building. In 1987 the Old Rectory became a restaurant and is now used as a country house hotel and wedding venue. Rose Cottage and Ivy Cottage are small 18th-century Grade II listed timber-framed and plastered cottages in Dunton Road, weatherboarded on the front. Southfields Farm was an early 18th-century farmhouse. It was destroyed by fire in the early 1960s, and the land was bought by the

as part of the site of their

St Mary's Church

The parish church of St. Mary the Virgin has medieval origins. It was rebuilt in 1873 at a cost of £950, except for a part of the north wall of the chancel which is of 16th-century brick and a 15th-century truss. St Mary's stands on the site of a medieval church or priory. In 1923 the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...

cited evidence of its medieval origins including a 13th-century font, a 13th-century stone coffin in the churchyard, a cup dating from 1563, a date stone of 1686, a 17th-century table in the vestry, and a church bell dating from 1712. By the 1950s St Mary's was in a poor structural condition caused by subsidence. The condition of the church had been causing concern for many years and in 1968 the Lay Commission on Churches advised it be pulled down. In 1978 the former Dunton parish was now united with Laindon and the church closed to services and became a chapel of ease (a church building other than the main church) before the Church Commissioners applied to have it declared redundant which was granted in 1980. After closure, the building and churchyard was left to the mercy of the elements and vandals. The Church Commissioners recommended it become a private residence, and the building was sold in 1985. Following the sale the church was restored for use as a private residence which it remains to this day. There are still a few gravestones remaining from the former churchyard adjacent to the house. St. Nicholas Church in Laindon now serves the parish of Laindon with Dunton.

Schools

Dunton's first known school was a

dame school Dame schools were small, privately run schools for young children that emerged in the British Isles and its colonies during the early modern period. These schools were taught by a “school dame,” a local woman who would educate children f ...

which opened in 1836. In 1843 a National School was built in Lower Dunton Road on a site granted by King's College, Cambridge. The school had two rooms to accommodate some fifty children. In 1929 Dunton School was sold by

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council meets at County Hall ...

and became a private dwelling. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

occupied the building. After the war a new council school was built partly to accommodate the growing number of children from the new Dunton Plotlands estate. The school closed in 1977 due to declining attendance.

Dunton Poor Law labour colony

In 1904 the Poplar

Board of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...

acquired Sumpners Farm, Dunton as a 130-acre labour colony for 110 men who were transferred from Poplar

Workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

in East London. This was the first Poor Law labour colony in England. It closed in 1935.

Dunton Plotlands

The Dunton Plotlands were smallholdings which became popular with East Enders moving out of London. Much of the Plotlands area was compulsorily purchased for the Southfields Industrial Estate.

References

External links

Basildon Borough History – Langdon Hills & Dunton

Basildon Heritage
* http://www.bnhs.net/living-landscape/ * http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=123327 * http://www.stnicholaslaindon.co.uk/Mag/Images/Mags%202009/April2009IWeb.pdf ages 24–27* http://www.roselake.co.uk * http://www.laindonhistory.org.uk/category_id__20.aspx * http://www.laindonhistory.org.uk/page_id__221_path__0p127p20p.aspx * https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054948/http://www.onthelakes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Thurrock%20Paranormal/old%20rec%20history.htm
British Listed Buildings – Dunton Hall

Poplar Workhouse
{{coord, 51.586, 0.389, type:city_region:GB-ESS, display=title Hamlets in Essex Basildon (town)