The Island lies below sea level and its relationship with the surrounding sea, whilst rich in bounties, has also brought its share of tragedy. The devastating floods of saw 58 people on the Island lose their lives. The whole Island was evacuated. A memorial to the people who lost their lives that day can be found on Canvey Library. This site uses cookies, click here for information on the cookies used.
Click the "agree" button to accept cookies from this site. Call us: Email Us Search. Persuasions, both from his own congregation and from the London consistory, were alike of no avail to make him withdraw his resignation, and so in the course of time, and in the early days of , the community accepted the services of Mr.
Nicholaus Steenis. For two or three years he remained their minister, during that time sending, in , Joores de Schilder and Cornelius Classens, his elders, to the London meeting. The registers of this community are, unfortunately, lost, but there was at least one Dutch wedding celebrated on the island, and that during the time of Dom Smidt.
The last minister of whom anything is known was Dom. Gerard de Gols, who, with Peter van Belle, attended the colloque held in London in , at the summons of the Canvey consistory. The Makers Of Canvey Island. What a great historical record!!
During my 12 years on the Island I remember having a very simple answer to the question How did Canvey Island come about? But, That simple description by no means covers the hardships and elements endured by the early settlers who had the irrigation, dyke and wall building knowledge required to develop the whole island into an area that would eventually grow into todays thriving community.
Thank you for this in-depth account of the actual facts and with more to follow. Gerald Hudson. Your email address will not be published. Your comment:. I consent to my name and e-mail address being stored along with this comment, and to the website editors communicating with me by e-mail about the comment if necessary. My name may be published alongside the comment on the website, but my e-mail address will not be published. My information will not be shared with any third party see our Privacy Statement - opens in a new window.
Cox Dutch Boats off Seawall. Canvey from Benfleet Station. Chaffletts Farm. Author Transcribed by Janet Penn. Add a comment about this page Your email address will not be published.
Popular articles. Esther Fleming May 18, Table of Contents. Previous Article What was the weather like in the summer of ? Next Article Is cymphonique Miller Filipino? Back To Top. The population of Canvey has increased significantly in the last years, mainly due to the island's popularity as a residential holiday resort during the first half of the 20th century, but also due to the London overspill plans and the introduction of council estates for families from the Dagenham and Walthamstow boroughs in At the UK census, the population of Canvey was 37, of which There were 15, dwellings on Canvey of which Canvey had a higher proportion at There was a higher proportion of female residents than male by 0.
The island has a high proportion of white people compared to national figures; the ethnicity recorded was The proportion of unemployed persons on Canvey was lower at 2. The Lobster Smack public house at the southwest corner of the island is a grade II listed building dated to the 17th century.
The pub was known to Charles Dickens who mentioned it in Great Expectations. Alongside the pub is a row of wooden Coastguard cottages that date from the late 19th century which are also of grade II listed status. The building fell into a state of disrepair in the s and s but was renovated in and now functions as both a beach bistro and restaurant. Katherine's Church, which was built in Originally timber-framed, the church was rendered over in the s to give it its present appearance; it closed as a place of worship in It now contains an art and craft centre with a small folk museum.
The island is also home to two Dutch Cottages, one in Haven Road and the other on Canvey Road, which were built during the 17th century by Dutch immigrants working on the sea walls. The cottage at Canvey Road is home to the Dutch Cottage museum. Some of Canvey's lost landmarks include the Goldmine club on Western Esplanade, the original Oysterfleet public house and lighthouse and Cherry Stores. The two lanes of the A are currently the island's primary access route with 25, vehicles using the road and bridge per day.
Canvey Road Bridge was built in , and replaced the island's first bridge to the mainland, which dated from Colvin — operated with a sliding 18 m 59 ft central section that retracted for boats passing along Benfleet Creek. Prior to the Colvin Bridge's construction, crossing the creek was achieved by either rowing-boat ferry or by a gravel causeway or stepping-stones at low tides. Since the late s, residents and local politicians have campaigned for the construction of a third access route or "third road" to ease the island's congestion at rush hour and as a viable means of evacuation from flooding or industrial accidents at the petrochemical facilities.
In , the congestion and failure to secure the construction of such a route or significant improvements has had the island at "breaking point" and on the verge of "civil unrest".
Plans for the third access route have included a tunnel to Kent , and road bridges to places such as Leigh-on-Sea and Coryton. Opposition to the route cite the enormous cost, the environmental damage, and the increase of vehicles to districts with already overburdened traffic systems.
The road runs from Northwick Road to Haven Road, providing a bypass for small numbers of traffic and adding a new entrance to Charfleet Industrial Estate while also remaining navigable in the case of flooding. However, the road did not gain public support, and the extension has become known as 'The Road to Nowhere'.
This road is used by boy racers to do drifting in cars. As such, there are talks about putting speed restrictions in place such as road humps. Bus services have been running on Canvey since The depot closed in , but the building re-opened a year later as the Castle Point Transport Museum. The museum currently houses a collection of buses, commercial, military and emergency vehicles, and general items related to public road transport.
Organised by volunteers, the museum's annual show and open days coincide with a classic vehicle cruise that convenes at the car parks of the seafront. The current bus services on the island are operated by First Essex from the Hadleigh bus depot, and Regal Busways based in Chelmsford. First Essex is the main operator providing the island's internal services via the town centre, and provides services to places such as Southend, Basildon and Bournes Green.
Regal Busways began services on the island in May , and operates the primary 1 and 1A service to Chelmsford and services via South Benfleet, Battlesbridge, Howe Green and Sandon and occasionally beyond Chelmsford to Writtle. Both bus companies provide services to Benfleet railway station, which is located close to Canvey Bridge, just north of the island.
The railway station has a taxi rank. This island is just 5 miles from east to west and 3 miles north to south and has only been populated since the 17th century when the Dutch including reputedly Cornelius Vermuyden made the marshlands habitable.
There are local legends of a Dutchman carrying a sack wandering the northern parts of the island. Although only inhabited since the s, the land was used as grazing pastures by the Romans. Canvey has its own 'lady of the lake' in the form of a woman who was drowned there many years ago. Local stories are sketchy, some even say it was a man who drowned, but the majority speak of a female ghost who has wandered the area since her horse-drawn carriage plummeted into the lake.
A recent clean-up of the lake found remains of two horses and fragments of a wooden carriage. The story of 'The Black Man' and 'The White Lady' is believed to be a mythical tale conjured up by smugglers to stop people wandering onto the 'saltings' and finding their smuggled goods. It was said that 'The Black Man' offered a price for your soul, while the 'White Woman' would tempt you to dance with her.
Men often spoke of trying to chase away the figures, only to watch them vanish before their eyes. Many night fishermen have reported seeing a tall, burly Viking standing on the mudflats at The Point, on the far eastern side of the island. It is believed that he was left behind by his fleet and waited for his ship to return; only to drown in the rising tide.
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