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Basildon
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Basildon is located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.
It lies east of London and south of the county town of Chelmsford. Nearby towns include Billericay to the north, Wickford northeast, and South Benfleet to the east.
It was designated as a new town after World War II in 1948 to accommodate the London population overspill, created from the conglomeration of four small villages, namely Pitsea, Laindon, Basildon and Vange. Basildon is no longer considered a new town and will celebrate its 60th birthday in 2009.
The local government district of Basildon, formed in 1974, encapsulates a larger area than the town itself; the two neighbouring towns of Billericay and Wickford, as well as rural villages and smaller settlements set among the surrounding countryside, fall within its borders.
first historical reference to Basildon is in records from 1086.
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Encyclopedia
Basildon is located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.
It lies east of London and south of the county town of Chelmsford. Nearby towns include Billericay to the north, Wickford northeast, and South Benfleet to the east.
It was designated as a new town after World War II in 1948 to accommodate the London population overspill, created from the conglomeration of four small villages, namely Pitsea, Laindon, Basildon and Vange. Basildon is no longer considered a new town and will celebrate its 60th birthday in 2009.
The local government district of Basildon, formed in 1974, encapsulates a larger area than the town itself; the two neighbouring towns of Billericay and Wickford, as well as rural villages and smaller settlements set among the surrounding countryside, fall within its borders.
History
The first historical reference to Basildon is in records from 1086. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'Belesduna'. The name 'Basildon' means 'Beorhtel's hill' and is derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name 'Beorhtel' and the Anglo-Saxon word 'dun', meaning hill. In historical documents, this name had various forms over the centuries, including Berdlesdon, Batlesdon and Belesduna.
New Town
By the beginning of the 1900s, Basildon had evolved with much of the land having been sold in small plots during a period of land speculation and development taking placed haphazardly with building by plotowners ranging from shelters created from recycled materials to brick-built homes and with amenities such as water, gas, electricity and hard-surfaced roads lacking.
In the 1940s, Billericay and Essex County Councils, who were concerned about the lack of amenities on the area and how it had evolved, petitioned the Government to create a New Town, and on January 4 1949, Lewis Silkin, Minister of Town and Country Planning, officially designated Basildon as a 'New Town'. Basildon Development Corporation was formed in February 1949 to transform the designated area into a modern new town. The New Town incorporated Laindon and Pitsea and was laid out around small neighbourhoods with the first house being completed in June 1951. The first tenants moved into homes on 18 June 1951, in numbers 59, 61, and 63 Redgrave Road in Vange.
Politics
The constituency of Basildon is considered a barometer of public opinion in general elections. The results of the constituency elections have been the same as the overall result of general elections since 1974.
Transport
Railway service had started in the nineteenth century to Pitsea (1856) and Laindon (1888) but it was only later that proposals to provide service to the New Town of Basildon, shelved for many years because of concerns that it would simply become a commuter suburb of London, were eventually forced through. A significant number of residents commute to London. The London, Tilbury & Southend line transects the south of the town. The line is operated by c2c and there are three railway stations in the area: Pitsea railway station and Laindon railway station serve the environs, while Basildon railway station has served the centre of the town since 1974. The line connects Basildon to central London via London Fenchurch Street. From Basildon, Fenchurch Street can be reached in 35 minutes, and Southend in around 20 minutes.
On the north side of the town, the A127 Southend Arterial Road and on the south side is the A13. The A127 is nearest to Basildon Town Centre at approximately 1.5 miles and the A13 approximately 2 miles. They both allow easy access to the M25 and the rest of the motorway network, placing Stansted within 36 miles (58 km), Gatwick within 51 (82 km) and London City Airport just 25 miles (40 km). The A127 and the A13 are both important commuter trunk roads to London as well as linking the town to Southend. Locally, the A13 gives easier access to Pitsea and Vange and the A127 gives more convenient access to the town centre and Laindon.
Within the town, a number of main road names have included 'mayne' in their name. They link the town to and from the A13 and the A127.East Mayne(A132) runs between the junction of the A127 and the roundabout east of Barstable School. Two of the 'mayne' roads join this roundabout Broadmayne (A1321) goes to the town centre, in fact the northerly of the roundabouts at Roundacre and South Mayne(A132) goes to Pitsea. Nethermayne(A176) starts at the southerly of the roundabouts at Roundacre and joins the A13 at the Five Bells Roundabout. Also Upper Mayne(A176) goes from the northerly of the roundabouts at Roundacre and joins the A127 and West Mayne (B148) runs from a roundabout in Laindon and joins the A127 at Dunton.
Buses provide a local form of public transport and also connect Basildon to nearby towns, such as the District towns of Billericay and Wickford. They both have their own rail service on the Shenfield to Southend Line of the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street Station, are difficult to reach directly from Basildon by rail. First Essex Buses Ltd is the dominant bus operator in the town.
Shopping
The town centre boasts many high street stores. As well as shops and coffee houses in East Walk there is the Eastgate Shopping Centre which is also situated in the Town Centre, home to over 100 retailers. Further outlets can be found at Westgate Shopping park and there is also a pavement market selling fresh fruit and vegetables, clothing and household goods.
Education
Secondary schools
There are several secondary schools in the Basildon District:
In 1968 Timberlog Secondary School, (now demolished for housing) was combined with the then Barstable Grammar School to become a comprehensive school.
Twinning
Basildon's twin towns include:
Gweru (Zimbabwe)
Heiligenhaus (Germany)
Meaux (France)
Regeneration plans
Throughout Basildon there are major developments planned estimated to total nearly £2 billion . These include:
- The regeneration of Basildon, Pitsea and Laindon town centres;
- A new "Sporting Village" and improvements to playing pitches and sports facilities throughout the District;
- The creation of a health and education research centre near Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital;
- Investment in the Basildon Enterprise Corridor, a large business area;
- The creation of a new wetland nature reserve in the Thames Marshes by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Land Restoration Trust, Basildon District Council and Veolia
- A review of the District's housing, with investment in housing estates such as Craylands, Five Links and Felmores
The Basildon Renaissance Partnership currently oversees the project.
Society, leisure and popular culture
Festival Leisure Park is a trading leisure park located in the north of Basildon. It is owned by Norwich Union. The Festival Leisure Park includes several restaurants, a bowling and arcade centre, two hotels, a twelve screen cinema and two health clubs as well as the third largest nightclub complex in the UK.
In 1989 the culture and history of the town was documented by the newly re-opened Towngate Theatre, when it commissioned a community play from Arnold Wesker for the town's 40th anniversary. The potted history that Wesker called "Beorhtel's Hill" was acted out by a 100 or so members of the community and portrayed a welcoming haven for visitors. Although it was generally positive in its view of the town, controversy arose where the play touched on the apparent racism of politicians throughout the 1970s.
Notable people
See also
External links
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