Westcliff-on-Sea (often abbreviated to Westcliff) is an inner city area of the city of

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north ...

, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, 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 Riv ...

, England. It is on the north shore of the lower

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

, about 34 miles (55 km) east of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Geography

The cliffs formed by erosion of the local quaternary geology give views over the Thames Estuary towards the

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

coastline to the south. The coastline has been transformed into sandy beaches through the use of groynes and imported sand. The estuary at this point has extensive mud flats. At low tide, the water typically retreats some 600 m from the beach, leaving the mud flats exposed.

History

The southern area of what is now known as Westcliff, south of the London Road, was known as Milton or Milton Hamlet until the period 1860-1880 when the Milton Estate and surrounding land was sold to speculators who preferred the name Westcliff-on-Sea. By the time the station opened in 1895 it was named Westcliff not Milton. The area between Milton Road and Hamlet Court Road was named The Hamlet by the original developers Brassey, Peto, Betts & Co. when they developed it as a "high class suburban retreat". Milton Hall (demolished 1900) was on the site of the what is now Nazareth House on the London Road. Hamlet Court was a large house in the area between Hamlet Court Road, Canewdon Road, and Ditton Court Road and was demolished in 1929.

Transport

The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway route passing through the suburb was completed to Southend in 1856 but the

Westcliff railway station Westcliff railway station is on the London, Tilbury and Southend line, serving the locality of Westcliff-on-Sea in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. It is down the main line from London Fenchurch Street via and it is situated between to the west and ...

in Station Road was not opened until 1895. It is now managed by

c2c Trenitalia c2c Limited,Companies House extract company no 789726 ...

Architecture

Several areas of Westcliff have been classified as conservation areas: Clifftown bordering Southend town centre and including

Prittlewell Square Prittlewell Square is a park situated in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England overlooking the Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary ca ...

gardens, Shorefield and the Leas towards the sea front, and Milton focused on the Park Estate between Park Street and Milton Road. The Milton Conservation Area includes the Grade II listed building which was formerly the Wesleyan Chapel (Park Road Methodist Church) it was completed in 1872 to the design of Elijah Hoole (1837-1912) and was Southend's first permanent Methodist Church. Westcliff contains a number of other Grade II listed buildings, Our Lady Help of Christians and St Helen's Church in Milton Road, the Church of Saint Alban the Martyr in St John's Road, the former Havens department store in Hamlet Court Road, Marteg House in Annerley Road, Westcliff Library in London Road and the Palace Theatre. The official list entries for these are available from Historic England on the National Heritage List for England.

Economy

The main shopping area in Westcliff-on-Sea is Hamlet Court Road, where the department store Havens, established in 1901, remained the anchor store until its closure in 2017. Hamlet Court Road took its name from a manor house called the Hamlet Court, which stood on land now occupied by Pavarotti's restaurant and adjoining shops, facing towards the sea with sweeping gardens down to the rail line. The road later developed into a strong independent retail area and quickly became famous outside the area as the Bond Street of Essex. There were many haberdashers and specialist shops, and it was not too unusual to see chauffeurs waiting for their employers to emerge from the shops. The economic recessions of the 1980s and 1990s saw the area decline. The road underwent a £1 million regeneration in the early 2000s and a further regeneration in 2010.

Leisure

The two main theatres in Westcliff are the Cliffs Pavilion, which overlooks the seafront, and the Palace Theatre. Westcliff-on-Sea is also home to the Thames Estuary Yacht Club and the

Westcliff Casino Genting Casino Westcliff is a gambling establishment located on the Western Esplanade, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, on the seafront overlooking the Thames estuary. History The original "Westcliff" and "Waterfront" Casinos were established ...

Notable people

Sir Edwin Arnold Sir Edwin Arnold KCIE CSI (10 June 183224 March 1904) was an English poet and journalist, who is most known for his work '' The Light of Asia''. *

Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey (3 December 1923 – 10 February 2011) was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster. An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting. As the BBC reflected in his obituary: "Hi ...

(1923–2011), test cricketer and cricket writer and broadcaster, was born there. * John Barber (1919–2004), former Finance Director of Ford of Europe and managing director of

British Leyland British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partly ...

. * Dorothea Bate, Welsh palaeontologist and pioneer of archaeozoology, died in Westcliff-on-Sea in 1951 *

E. Power Biggs Edward George Power Biggs (March 29, 1906 – March 10, 1977) was a British-born American concert organist and recording artist. Biography Biggs was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England; a year later, the family moved to the Isle of ...

(1906–1977), concert organist was born there. *

Robert Williams Buchanan Robert Williams Buchanan (18 August 1841 – 10 June 1901) was a Scottish poet, novelist and dramatist. Early life and education He was the son of Robert Buchanan (1813–1866), Owenite lecturer and journalist, and was born at Caverswall, S ...

(1841–1901), poet, novelist and playwright, lived at Hamlet Court from 1884. * Dick Clement (1937–) comedy writer and director, was born there. * Geoffrey Crawley photographic expert and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

. He was the editor in chief of '' British Journal of Photography'' for two decades and was noted for exposing the photographs of the Cottingley Fairies taken in the early 20th century as a hoax. *

Josh Cullen Joshua Jon Cullen (born 7 April 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Burnley and the Republic of Ireland national team. Early life Cullen was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. His grandparents on his father's side ...

(1996–), professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who currently plays for

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...

and the Republic of Ireland national team. * Sir Philip Cunliffe-Owen (1828–1894), curator and Director of the South Kensington Museum in London lived at Hamlet Court. *

Jean Floud Jean Esther Floud (''née'' McDonald; 3 November 1915 – 28 March 2013) was a prominent educational sociologist and later an academic. She was Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, from 1972 to 1983. Early life She was born Jean Esther McDon ...

(1915–2013), sociologist and academic, was born there. *

Edward Greenfield Edward Harry Greenfield OBE (3 July 1928 – 1 July 2015) was an English music critic and broadcaster. Early life Edward Greenfield was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. His father, Percy Greenfield, was a manager in a labour exchange, while his m ...

(3 July 1928 – 1 July 2015) chief music writer in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' from 1977 to 1993 and biographer of Andre Previn was born there and attended Westcliff High School for Boys. * John Horsely (1920–2014), actor, was born there. * Wilko Johnson (1947-2022) guitarist, singer and songwriter attended Westcliff High School for Boys and lived there until his death. * Frank Matcham (1854–1920), theatre architect, retired to 28 Westcliff Parade, Westcliff-on-Sea and died there in 1920. House of Frank Matcham

* Hugh Sells (1922–1978), first-class cricketer and Royal Air Force officer. * Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams FBA (1929 – 2003), English moral philosopher.Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
"Sir Bernard Williams, 73, Oxford Philosopher, Dies"
''The New York Times'', 14 June 2003.

References

{{Authority control Populated coastal places in Essex Seaside resorts in England Southend-on-Sea (town)