Ruined Hawthorn in Dunton Plotlands - geograph

The Dunton Plotlands was an area of small rural plots of land in

Dunton Wayletts Dunton Wayletts is a hamlet in the unparished area of Basildon, on the western outskirts of Laindon, in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It is located between the Southend Arterial Road (A127 road) and the London, Tilbury and Southend lin ...

, southern

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 ...

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 built weekend cottages, holiday bungalows or smallholdings there. Many of the people building weekend cottages here would have come out from

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 ...

. With the outbreak of 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 ...

, many weekenders moved out to their plots on a permanent basis, to escape the worst effects of the Blitz. This period saw the Dunton population at its highest. After the

, the new town of

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 ...

was created, encompassing the plotlands here and in the surrounding areas 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 ...

and

Pitsea Pitsea is a small town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Basildon, in south Essex, England. It comprises five sub-districts: Eversley, Northlands Park Neighbourhood (previously known as Felmores), Chalvedon, Pitsea Mount and B ...

. At the time, 25000 people lived in the whole area, often with unsurfaced roads and limited water supplies. Dunton Plotlands is situated to the west of

and the

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 ...

, now on the edge of the Basildon district. Today, Dunton Plotlands is part of the

Essex Wildlife Trust The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the future and the people ...

's Langdon Nature Reserve. The Langdon Visitor Centre and the Haven Plotlands Museum, housed in a converted bungalow, exhibit the natural and social history of the area. The Haven - geograph

The Plotlands is still a wooded area where a small number of cottages, and some of the original grid of grass tracks remain. Visitors can look around a preserved bungalow. Many wildlife events are held throughout the year.

References

External links

Langdon Visitor Centre
- Essex Wildlife Trust

- www.basildon.com
Dunton Plotlands
(www.roselake.co.uk)
Dunton
- Laindon and District Community Archive {{Basildon Borough of Basildon Nature reserves in Essex Museums in Essex