Eastwood is a suburb of the city of

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

in the City of Southend on Sea in the county 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. Eastwood is sometimes called Eastwood Park, particularly for local elections. It is bordered by Rayleigh to the west, Rochford to the north-east, and Belfairs, part of

Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a town and civil parish in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011, it had a population of 22,509. Geography Leigh-on-Sea is on the northern ...

, to the south. To the north lies Edwards Hall Park, a large area of open countryside, part of which is farmland. This green space extends all the way to Hockley Woods, and

Hockley Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 189 ...

. There are also several play parks throughout Eastwood. Eastwood has good

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

links to both Southend and the surrounding areas, with popular services including Arriva Southend's route 9 service, and

First Essex First Essex is a bus company operating services in the county of Essex. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History First Essex arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses. First Essex was originally part of the Eas ...

's route 20 service. The nearby

Southend Airport Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

operates a range of European passenger flights. The nearest railway station is Southend Airport station on the Great Eastern Main Line with services to

London Liverpool Street Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

operated by

Abellio Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Abellio East Anglia Limited) is a train operating company in Great Britain owned as a joint venture by Abellio, the international arm of the state-owned Dutch national rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, and the J ...

. There are currently no buses connecting the north side of Eastwood (north of the A127) with the south side and its administrative town of Leigh-on-Sea. It is a mainly residential area. The parish is served by the Grade I listed medieval St. Laurence and All Saints Church, Eastwood which sits at the end of the main runway for Southend Airport. There is some light industry, mainly centered about the

A127 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 ...

dual carriageway and Progress Road industrial estate. There is one secondary school,

The Eastwood Academy The Eastwood Academy (formerly The Eastwood School) is a secondary school in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Notable pupils Celtic F.C., Celtic footballer Cameron Carter-Vickers is a former pupil of the school. References External linksThe Eastwood A ...

, a mixed school with about 850 pupils (in 2004). The Eastwood Academy is home to the Eastwood Theatre. According to figures from Southend Borough Council, Eastwood has half the national average of people having degree level qualifications, but the number of home-owners is above average.

History

Eastwood took its name from its situation on the eastern side of the woods and parkland of Rayleigh and

Thundersley Thundersley is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Benfleet, in the Castle Point borough, in southeast Essex, England. It sits on a clay ridge shared with Basildon and Hadleigh, east of Charing Cross, London. In 1951 ...

which were part of the Great Forest of Essex. The village is mentioned 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 "Estwa", and was held by Swain of Essex, whose father Robert had held it during the reign of Edward the Confessor. Suen's son, Robert of Essex, founded

Prittlewell Priory Prittlewell Priory is a medieval priory in the Prittlewell area of Southend, Essex, England. It was founded in the 12th century, by monks from the Cluniac Priory of St Pancras in Lewes, East Sussex, and passed into private hands at the time ...

in the year 1100, but his grandson

Henry of Essex Henry of Essex or Henry de Essex (died c. 1170) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman who was feudal baron of Rayleigh in Essex (by inheritance) and of Haughley in Suffolk (by right of his second wife). He served as one of the royal constables during the ...

forfeited all his estates to the Crown in 1163, because of alleged cowardice in battle. After this date the manor was generally held by the Crown. In the 13th century, the English Kings would often visit the district for hunting, making

Hadleigh Castle Hadleigh Castle is a ruined fortification in the English county of Essex, overlooking the Thames Estuary from south of the town of Hadleigh. Built after 1215 during the reign of Henry III by Hubert de Burgh, the castle was surrounded by park ...

their residence. Henry VIII was the last king known to have hunted here and Eastwood Lodge was the centre of the last reserved portion of hunting land. In 1536, during

the Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the Manor was given by

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

to Lord Rich whose descendants became

Earls of Warwick Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation ...

, then by marriage it passed to the

Earl of Nottingham :''See also Earl of Winchilsea'' Earl of Nottingham is a title that has been created seven times in the Peerage of England. It was first created for John de Mowbray in 1377, at the coronation of Richard II. As this creation could only pass to h ...

. The Bristow family purchased the estate and held it until 1866 when it was sold in lots: "Eastwoodbury", the large house which stood immediately to the east of the Church, was on the site of the original Manor house. It was demolished in 1954. One can read about the history of Eastwood in Leonard Sellers book ''Eastwood Essex a History''. It contains 672 pages, 522 photographs and 56 maps/plans.

References

External links

Southend Borough Council website
{{Authority control Populated places in Essex Southend-on-Sea (town)