Laindon is a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

in Essex, between

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 ...

and

West Horndon West Horndon is a village and civil parish in the south of the Borough of Brentwood, Essex on the boundary with Thurrock. It is located 20 miles (32 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in London. The civil parish also includes East Horndon ...

. It was an

ancient 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. ...

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, that was abolished for civil purposes in 1937. It was based on the (probably smaller) manor of the same name and now lies mostly within the urban area of

. As of 2020, Laindon's population was 37,175.

History

The ancient Laindon parish included the chapelry of

that became a civil parish in its own right in 1866. The parish included two detached pieces of coastal grazing land, one of which was on

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office ...

. It included a long finger of land north into the neighbouring parish of

Great Burstead Great Burstead is an urban settlement in Essex, England - it is contiguous with the town of Billericay. History By tradition, the origins of the church, St Mary Magdalene, at Great Burstead are linked to Saint Cedd (d.664). Cedd, a missionary m ...

to include Laindon Common and the once larger and adjacent Frith Wood which the lord of the manor, the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, emparked around 1260. This finger of land may have been the territory of Well Street Manor, which was 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 ...

. Until its abolition in 1937, there was a Laindon

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. It incorporated 412 residents around , in 1831. Three detachments of the parish were removed in 1880 and 1889, lowering the area to . Laindon was part of the Billericay Rural District from 1894 to 1934 and had a parish council. In 1931 it had a population of 4,552. The parish became part of Billericay Urban District in 1934, which was renamed

Basildon Urban District Basildon Urban District (from 1934 to 1955 Billericay Urban District) was a local government district in south Essex, England from 1934 to 1974. The district was created in 1934 from the following parishes (all from Billericay Rural District): ...

in 1955. The district known as Laindon West was never part of the parish of Laindon but part of the parish of Dunton which was itself abolished in 1934. The Five Links Estate was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s on land between the High Road and central Basildon. The housing is built in a distinctive pattern around pedestrian courtyards. Basildon Council are currently regenerating this area with the aim of reducing crime, and renaming some streets. Since 2020, Laindon Centre has undergone modernisation with 224 homes and 16 shops planned, including several high-rise apartment blocks.

Geography

It is north of Laindon railway station on 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 , , ...

. South of the railway station and line is

Langdon Hills Langdon Hills is a township and former civil parish located in Basildon in Essex, England. It is located south of Laindon railway station on the London, Tilbury and Southend line. It is the location of the Langdon Hills Country Park, which i ...

. Laindon and Langdon Hills are part of the

post town. To the south-west of Laindon, the

Dunton Plotlands The Dunton Plotlands was an area of small rural plots of land in Dunton Wayletts, southern Essex inhabited from the 1930s to the 1980s. The 'plotlands' consisted of small plots of land sold in the first half of the 20th century to people who buil ...

was an area of small plots of land used as weekend cottages or smallholdings during the mid-20th century.

Notable people

Josh Dubovie Josh James Dubovie (; born 27 November 1990) is a British singer. Dubovie is most notable for having represented the UK at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Oslo, Norway, in May 2010, after winning the UK national selection competitio ...

(born 1990), singer *

John Georgiadis John Alexander Georgiadis (17 July 1939 – 5 January 2021) was a British violinist and conductor. He was twice Concert Leader with the London Symphony Orchestra during the 1960s and 70s, a member of both the ensembles London Virtuosi and the Ga ...

(1939–2021), violinist and conductor * Edgar Longstaffe (1852–1933), landscape painter *

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran i ...

(1930–2001), comedy actress

References

External links

Laindon and District Community Archive
{{Authority control Populated places in Essex Former civil parishes in Essex Basildon (town)