Maldon, Essex
Encyclopedia
Maldon is a town on the Blackwater estuary
in Essex, England
. It is the seat of the Maldon district
and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation
.
Maldon is twinned with the Dutch
town of Cuijk
. The charter between the two towns was signed in 1970 to cement the relationship.
, where it appears as Maeldun. Maldon's name comes from Mael meaning 'monument or cross' and dun meaning 'hill', so translates as 'monument on the hill'. East Saxons settled the area in the fifth century and the area to the south is still known as the Dengie peninsula
after the Dæningas. It became a significant Saxon port with a hythe or quayside and artisan
quarters. Evidence of imported pottery from this period has been found in archaeological digs. From 958 there was a royal mint
issuing coins for the late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman
kings.
It was one of the only two towns in Essex (Colchester
was the other), and King Edward the Elder
is thought to have lived here while combating the Danish
settlers who had overrun North Essex and parts of East Anglia
. A Viking
raid was beaten off in 924, but in another raid in 991 the defenders were defeated in the Battle of Maldon
and the Vikings received tribute but apparently did not attempt to sack the town. It became the subject of the celebrated Old English poem The Battle of Maldon
. The battle is commemorated by a statue on the quayside of the slain Saxon warrior Byrhtnoth
.
According to the Domesday Book
there were 180 townsmen in 1086. The town still had the mint and supplied a warhorse and warship for the king's service in return for its privileges of self-government. The town was awarded a charter by Henry II
in 1171, stating the rights of the town as well as defining its borders and detailing its duty to provide a ship for the monarch "when necessary". The town's All Saints' Church, unique in England in having a triangular tower, dates from around this period. While the precise building date is unknown, the church existed by 1180, the date of the foundation of nearby Beeleigh Abbey
. A Charter of Richard I of December 1189 confirms “certain grants to Beeleigh Abbey, including the Church of Blessed Peter in Maldon and the Church of All Saints’ in the same town".
There were strong urban traditions, with two members elected to the Commons and three guilds which hosted lavish religious plays until they were suppressed by Puritans in 1576. Then, until 1630, professional actors were invited to perform plays, which were also stopped by Puritans. From 1570 to about 1800 a rival tradition of inviting prominent clergy to visit the town also existed. In 1629 a series of grain riots
took place, led by the wife of a local butcher.
In the seventeenth century Thomas Plume
started the Plume Library to house over 8,000 books and pamphlets printed between 1487 and his death in 1704; the collection has been added to at various times since 1704. The Plume Library is to be found at St Peter's Church. Only the original tower survives, the rest of the building having been rebuilt by Thomas Plume to house his library (on the first floor) and what was Maldon Grammar School (on the ground floor).
Maldon was chosen as one of the landing sites of a planned French invasion of Britain
in 1744. However, the French invasion fleet was wrecked in storms, and their forces never landed.
opened in 1846. Later a second line linked Maldon with Woodham Ferrers
on the Crouch Valley Line
between Southminster
and Wickford
line. Whilst Wickford is itself on the line between Shenfield
and Southend (thus providing Maldon with another route into London Liverpool Street), a short-lived spur line at Wickford also gave direct access towards Southend.
Edward Arthur Fitch, writing in about 1895, states that from London's Liverpool Street station to Maldon East station via Witham
there were eight trains on weekdays and three on Sundays and that via Wickford
there were five trains on weekdays and none on Sundays. The fastest train took 85 minutes via Witham and 82 minutes via Shenfield.
The line between Maldon and South Woodham Ferrers closed to passengers in 1939, the Maldon and Witham line closed in 1966. The nearest railway stations to Maldon are now Hatfield Peverel
, Witham
and North Fambridge. Hatfield Peverel is the closest railway station to the north of the town, whilst North Fambridge is closest to southern parts of the town.
Maldon is known throughout the country and in many parts of the world as the foremost modern-day centre for Thames sailing barges. The badge of Maldon District itself is a Thames sailing barge. These are among the last cargo vessels in the world still operating under sail, albeit now used in the spheres of education and leisure. Some ten to fifteen of the surviving fleet count Maldon as their home port, and many others are regular visitors alongside at the Hythe quay. An annual sailing barge race ends with a parade of sail and prize-giving at the quay. The yard where barges were once built is still working at the end of Maldon quay.
The town holds an annual "Taxi Day" which sees mentally and physically disabled children from London driven to Maldon in London Black Cabs for a fun day of activities and a meal. The event dates back to 1952 when a London cab driver visited the Elizabeth Fry Special School in Plaistow. He wanted to do something special for the young patients he saw there. He wrote to every one of Essex's seaside towns to arrange an outing and the only town that was willing to help was Maldon, thus Taxi Day has remained a tradition ever since.
Every year around New Year's Day, the town holds the charitable Maldon mud race
where competitors race across the Blackwater estuary at low tide, along the bank and back through the water.
Each year, on the first two Thursdays in December, the town holds a special evening known as Victorian Evening which celebrates the Victorian times. Local people dress up in typical Victorian attire and run stalls selling traditional food and handmade items. On these evenings the local shops and restaurants stay open late to allow the public to shop for longer.
Maldon has been the setting for numerous television productions, including "The Lawless Heart (2001) starring Bill Nighy
, and BBC1's "Murder Game
" (2003) where numerous Blackwater Estuary locations were used including Green's Flour Mill at the bottom of Market hill and Steeple Marshes.
Maldon features in H. G. Wells
' 'War of the Worlds'; it is the town from which the narrator's brother and two female companions manage to escape across the channel.
Maldon was also the setting for one episode of the TV series 'Lovejoy
' featuring Ian McShane
.
In the Marvel Comics
Universe, the twin superheroes Psylocke
and Captain Britain
were born and raised in Maldon.
" programme. Drapers Farm is also the home of Maldon Rugby Union Football Club which was founded in 1947 by Tommy Harries, who was the landlord of the King's Head Public House in Maldon High Street. The inaugural meeting was on 28 August 1947 at the Blue Boar Hotel. Maldon RFC run several senior male sides and one female side as well as all youth age groups from under 7s to under 18s.
played for Maldon Cricket Club throughout his early years. Raised in nearby Wickham Bishops
, Cook and his brothers played for the club as well. Cook remains closely associated with the club, being an Honorary Life Member of the club, while acting as a huge role model for the club's young players. Cook made his Essex debut in 2003, before making his international debut aged 21 in 2006. Due to county and country commitments, Cook's most recent appearance for the club came in 2004 when he was rested from the Essex side for the domestic Twenty20 Competition.
Private David Embleton won a Victoria Cross
, in his army name of Frederick Corbett
, in the Arabi Pasha Rebellion in Egypt on the 5 August 1882. He was buried in an unmarked grave in London Road Cemetery, Maldon, but in 2004 the regimental association provided a memorial and in 2005 the Essex Society for Family History provided another. He served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps
. Although awarded the VC for standing by a wounded officer, he subsequently forfeited his VC after committing theft against amother officer in 1884. Unfortunately he died in Maldon Union Workhouse.
Edward Bright
(1721–1750) was the "fat man of Maldon", a grocer who, at 47.5 stone
(276 kg) was reputed to be the fattest man in England. His coat could encompass seven men. Etchings of a painting of him were much sought just after his death. His chair resides in the Moot Hall.
John Cook
(1918–1984) was a prolific 20th-century Anglo-American composer, organist and church musician.
John Kemp
(1926–1987). John Kemp's work on the preservation of Thames sailing barges in the 1960s was critical to re-establishing Maldon as the foremost sailing barge port in the country. John Kemp was responsible for the creation of the East Coast Sail Trust, a schoolship scheme for young people utilising the sailing barges Thalatta
and Sir Alan Herbert, operated from Maldon. He was author of three books and chronicler of the Maldon and Essex coastal scenes and the unique character of the marshland folk, especially in the Maldon and Burnham Standard, Essex Chronicle and Essex County Standard
newspapers.
River Blackwater, Essex
The River Blackwater is a river in England. It rises in the northwest of Essex as the River Pant and flows to Bocking, near Braintree, from where its name changes to the Blackwater. Its course takes it near Stisted, and then via Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall and Coggeshall and near Witham where it is...
in Essex, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is the seat of the Maldon district
Maldon (district)
Maldon is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the town of Maldon, and the next largest centre of population is Burnham-on-Crouch. The district covers the Dengie peninsula as well as an area to the north of the Blackwater Estuary, a total area of...
and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation
Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation
The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation is the canalisation of the Rivers Chelmer and Blackwater in Essex, in the east of England. The navigation runs for from Springfield Basin in Chelmsford to the sea lock at Heybridge Basin near Maldon. It was opened in 1797, and remained under the control of...
.
Maldon is twinned with the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
town of Cuijk
Cuijk
Cuijk is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands of pre-historic origin. Its existence is recorded on the Roman roadmap Tabula Peutingeriana under the name of Ceuclum. Cuijk is twinned with Maldon in Essex, UK. It is a big commuter town with very good public transport services to...
. The charter between the two towns was signed in 1970 to cement the relationship.
History
The place-name Maldon is first attested in 913 in the Anglo-Saxon ChronicleAnglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
, where it appears as Maeldun. Maldon's name comes from Mael meaning 'monument or cross' and dun meaning 'hill', so translates as 'monument on the hill'. East Saxons settled the area in the fifth century and the area to the south is still known as the Dengie peninsula
Dengie peninsula
Dengie is a peninsula in Essex, England, that once formed a hundred of the same name .The peninsula is formed by the River Crouch to the south, the Blackwater to the north, both of which are tidal, and the North Sea to the east...
after the Dæningas. It became a significant Saxon port with a hythe or quayside and artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
quarters. Evidence of imported pottery from this period has been found in archaeological digs. From 958 there was a royal mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...
issuing coins for the late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman
Norman dynasty
Norman dynasty is the usual designation for the family that were the Dukes of Normandy and the English monarchs which immediately followed the Norman conquest and lasted until the Plantagenet dynasty came to power in 1154. It included Rollo and his descendants, and from William the Conqueror and...
kings.
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
was the other), and King Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
is thought to have lived here while combating the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
settlers who had overrun North Essex and parts of East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. A Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raid was beaten off in 924, but in another raid in 991 the defenders were defeated in the Battle of Maldon
Battle of Maldon
The Battle of Maldon took place on 10 August 991 near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Aethelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the English against a Viking invasion. The battle ended in an Anglo-Saxon defeat...
and the Vikings received tribute but apparently did not attempt to sack the town. It became the subject of the celebrated Old English poem The Battle of Maldon
The Battle of Maldon
The Battle of Maldon is the name given to an Old English poem of uncertain date celebrating the real Battle of Maldon of 991, at which the Anglo-Saxons failed to prevent a Viking invasion...
. The battle is commemorated by a statue on the quayside of the slain Saxon warrior Byrhtnoth
Byrhtnoth
Byrhtnoth was a 10th century Ealdorman of Essex. His name is composed of Old English beorht and noth ....
.
According to the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
there were 180 townsmen in 1086. The town still had the mint and supplied a warhorse and warship for the king's service in return for its privileges of self-government. The town was awarded a charter by Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
in 1171, stating the rights of the town as well as defining its borders and detailing its duty to provide a ship for the monarch "when necessary". The town's All Saints' Church, unique in England in having a triangular tower, dates from around this period. While the precise building date is unknown, the church existed by 1180, the date of the foundation of nearby Beeleigh Abbey
Beeleigh Abbey
Beeleigh Abbey near Maldon in Essex, England, was a monastery constructed in 1180 for the White Canons, otherwise known as the Norbertines or Premonstratensians...
. A Charter of Richard I of December 1189 confirms “certain grants to Beeleigh Abbey, including the Church of Blessed Peter in Maldon and the Church of All Saints’ in the same town".
There were strong urban traditions, with two members elected to the Commons and three guilds which hosted lavish religious plays until they were suppressed by Puritans in 1576. Then, until 1630, professional actors were invited to perform plays, which were also stopped by Puritans. From 1570 to about 1800 a rival tradition of inviting prominent clergy to visit the town also existed. In 1629 a series of grain riots
Maldon Grain Riots
The Maldon Grain riots of 1629 took place after a particularly poor grain harvest . In March of that year a group of rioters led by one “Captain” Ann Carter, the wife of a butcher boarded a Flemish grain ship. There was a widespread belief at the time that women were beyond the law and that any...
took place, led by the wife of a local butcher.
In the seventeenth century Thomas Plume
Thomas Plume
The Reverend Doctor Thomas Plume, B.A., D.D. was an English churchman and philanthropist, founder of a school which still stands today, the Plume School, in Maldon, Essex.-Family life:...
started the Plume Library to house over 8,000 books and pamphlets printed between 1487 and his death in 1704; the collection has been added to at various times since 1704. The Plume Library is to be found at St Peter's Church. Only the original tower survives, the rest of the building having been rebuilt by Thomas Plume to house his library (on the first floor) and what was Maldon Grammar School (on the ground floor).
Maldon was chosen as one of the landing sites of a planned French invasion of Britain
Planned French Invasion of Britain (1744)
A planned invasion of Great Britain was to be undertaken by France in 1744 shortly after the declaration of war between them as part of the War of the Austrian Succession. A large invasion force was prepared and put to sea from Dunkirk in February 1744, only to be partly wrecked and driven back...
in 1744. However, the French invasion fleet was wrecked in storms, and their forces never landed.
Nearby places
- Beeleigh AbbeyBeeleigh AbbeyBeeleigh Abbey near Maldon in Essex, England, was a monastery constructed in 1180 for the White Canons, otherwise known as the Norbertines or Premonstratensians...
- Burnham-on-CrouchBurnham-on-CrouchBurnham-on-Crouch is a town in the Maldon district of Essex in the East of England. It lies on the north bank of the River Crouch.-History:Historically, it has benefited from its location on the coast - first as a ferry port, later as a fishing port known for its oyster beds, and most recently as a...
- ChelmsfordChelmsfordChelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
- DanburyDanbury, EssexDanbury is a village in Essex, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross, London and has a population of 6,500. It is situated on a hill above sea level.-Origins:The village was built on the site of a megalithic hill fort noted for its oval shape....
- HazeleighHazeleighHazeleigh is a village and civil parish on the Dengie peninsula in the English county of Essex. It lies 2.6 miles south-west of Maldon.- Hazeleigh's Parish Council :...
- Heybridge
- Mayland
- MundonMundonMundon is a village and civil parish on the Dengie peninsula in the English county of Essex. It lies 3 miles south-east of Maldon. The manor of Munduna passed from the king's thegn Godwin to Eudo Dapifer at the Conquest...
- North FambridgeNorth FambridgeNorth Fambridge is a village and civil parish on the Dengie peninsula in the English county of Essex.North Fambridge is on the north bank of the River Crouch opposite South Fambridge and is served by North Fambridge railway station on the Crouch Valley Line...
- South Woodham FerrersSouth Woodham FerrersSouth Woodham Ferrers is a town and civil parish in the borough of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is approximately from London and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 16,629. The town is located east of Fenn Creek, and near where it meets the River Crouch...
- SteepleSteeple, EssexSteeple is a small village in south Essex. It is situated just east of Maylandsea and Mayland, on the southern side of the River Blackwater estuary.A hamlet, within the village of Steeple, on the banks of the River Blackwater is called Stansgate....
- TollesburyTollesburyTollesbury is a village in England, located on the Essex coast at the mouth of the River Blackwater. It is situated nine miles east of the historic port of Maldon and twelve miles south of Colchester....
- Tolleshunt MajorTolleshunt MajorTolleshunt Major is a small village approximately five miles north east of Maldon, in the Maldon District of Essex, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Tolleshunt D'Arcy and is situated on the northern bank of the River Blackwater.-Geography:...
- Tolleshunt KnightsTolleshunt KnightsTolleshunt Knights is a village and civil parish in the English county of Essex.The Parish has a Parish council, and lies within the area of Maldon District Council. It borders Tiptree, Layer Marney and Salcott cum Virley within the Colchester Borough Council's District and Tolleshunt D'Arcy also...
- TillinghamTillinghamTillingham is a small village and civil parish with 1,015 inhabitants in 2001, located from Burnham-on-Crouch and from Bradwell-on-Sea, in Maldon District and the ceremonial county of Essex in England...
- Cold NortonCold NortonCold Norton is a village on the Dengie Peninsula in Essex, England. It is located in rural countryside 10 miles to the east of Chelmsford, and lies just over a mile to the north of the River Crouch, which can be seen from the village's main hill. Nearby villages include Purleigh and North Fambridge...
- WithamWithamWitham is a town in the county of Essex, in the south east of England with a population of 22,500. It is part of the District of Braintree and is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands between the larger towns of Chelmsford and Colchester...
Transport
Maldon's first railway link was a branch line to WithamWitham-Maldon branch line
The Witham-Maldon branch line is a long closed railway line between Witham and Maldon in Essex, England which operated from 1848 until closure in 1966.-Infrastructure:...
opened in 1846. Later a second line linked Maldon with Woodham Ferrers
South Woodham Ferrers
South Woodham Ferrers is a town and civil parish in the borough of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is approximately from London and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 16,629. The town is located east of Fenn Creek, and near where it meets the River Crouch...
on the Crouch Valley Line
Crouch Valley Line
The Crouch Valley Line is a branch line from Wickford to Southminster in Essex. It is usually called the Southminster Branch by users of the line, although that is no longer its official name...
between Southminster
Southminster
Southminster is a town on the Dengie peninsula in the Maldon district of Essex in the East of England. It lies about three miles north of Burnham-on-Crouch and ten miles south-east of Maldon. To the north is the River Blackwater, which is tidal and since Roman times has been the gateway to trading...
and Wickford
Wickford
Wickford is a town in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of more than 32,500. Located approximately 30 miles east of London, it falls within the District of Basildon along with Basildon, Billericay, Laindon and Pitsea....
line. Whilst Wickford is itself on the line between Shenfield
Shenfield
Shenfield is a former village and now an outer suburb of Brentwood in the borough of the same name in Essex, England.-History:The name originates from the Anglo-Saxon Chenefield, meaning 'good lands'....
and Southend (thus providing Maldon with another route into London Liverpool Street), a short-lived spur line at Wickford also gave direct access towards Southend.
Edward Arthur Fitch, writing in about 1895, states that from London's Liverpool Street station to Maldon East station via Witham
Witham
Witham is a town in the county of Essex, in the south east of England with a population of 22,500. It is part of the District of Braintree and is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands between the larger towns of Chelmsford and Colchester...
there were eight trains on weekdays and three on Sundays and that via Wickford
Wickford
Wickford is a town in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of more than 32,500. Located approximately 30 miles east of London, it falls within the District of Basildon along with Basildon, Billericay, Laindon and Pitsea....
there were five trains on weekdays and none on Sundays. The fastest train took 85 minutes via Witham and 82 minutes via Shenfield.
The line between Maldon and South Woodham Ferrers closed to passengers in 1939, the Maldon and Witham line closed in 1966. The nearest railway stations to Maldon are now Hatfield Peverel
Hatfield Peverel railway station
Hatfield Peverel serves the villages of Hatfield Peverel and Nounsley in Essex, England. This station and all trains serving it are operated by National Express East Anglia.-Train Services:The following services currently call at Hatfield Peverel:...
, Witham
Witham railway station
Witham railway station is a railway station serving the town of Witham in Essex. The station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line and is also the junction of the Witham-Braintree line...
and North Fambridge. Hatfield Peverel is the closest railway station to the north of the town, whilst North Fambridge is closest to southern parts of the town.
Culture
The town holds an annual "Taxi Day" which sees mentally and physically disabled children from London driven to Maldon in London Black Cabs for a fun day of activities and a meal. The event dates back to 1952 when a London cab driver visited the Elizabeth Fry Special School in Plaistow. He wanted to do something special for the young patients he saw there. He wrote to every one of Essex's seaside towns to arrange an outing and the only town that was willing to help was Maldon, thus Taxi Day has remained a tradition ever since.
Every year around New Year's Day, the town holds the charitable Maldon mud race
Maldon mud race
The Maldon Mud Race is a fun race held in December or January at Promenade Park in Maldon, Essex, England, in which competitors compete to be the first to complete a 400 metre dash over the bed of the River Blackwater...
where competitors race across the Blackwater estuary at low tide, along the bank and back through the water.
Each year, on the first two Thursdays in December, the town holds a special evening known as Victorian Evening which celebrates the Victorian times. Local people dress up in typical Victorian attire and run stalls selling traditional food and handmade items. On these evenings the local shops and restaurants stay open late to allow the public to shop for longer.
Cultural references
Maldon and the surrounding area are the setting for a series of books by the prolific author, S L Bensusan. Bensusan's stories recall a lost way of life among the towns and villages in the area, and along the local coastline and marshland. In Bensusan's books, Maldon is called Market Waldron.Maldon has been the setting for numerous television productions, including "The Lawless Heart (2001) starring Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
, and BBC1's "Murder Game
The Murder Game (TV series)
The Murder Game was a British reality television series that aired on BBC One from March through May 2003. The show was based on the American FOX television show Murder in Small Town X. Though classified as a reality television series, it was more accurately a hybrid of reality TV, game show, and...
" (2003) where numerous Blackwater Estuary locations were used including Green's Flour Mill at the bottom of Market hill and Steeple Marshes.
Maldon features in H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
' 'War of the Worlds'; it is the town from which the narrator's brother and two female companions manage to escape across the channel.
Maldon was also the setting for one episode of the TV series 'Lovejoy
Lovejoy
Lovejoy is a TV series about the adventures of Lovejoy, a British antiques dealer and faker based in East Anglia, a less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue. The episodes were based on a series of picaresque novels by John Grant...
' featuring Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
.
In the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
Universe, the twin superheroes Psylocke
Psylocke
Psylocke is a fictional character depicted in comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably those comics featuring the superhero team the X-Men. The character has also appeared in licensed adaptations. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, she first appeared in the UK...
and Captain Britain
Captain Britain
Captain Britain , briefly known as Britannic, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly, #1...
were born and raised in Maldon.
Sport
There are many developed youth football teams in Maldon, among them being Maldon Saints. The Town has a vibrant Cricket Club, with several adult and colts' sides, who play at two grounds: The Promenade Park, Maldon and the main ground at Drapers Farm, Heybridge. Recent improvements to the ground include a dual-lane enclosed all-weather net facility. Overseas players from Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka have coached cricket in local primary schools as part of the "ECB Chance To ShineChance to Shine
Chance to Shine is a 10-year programme run by the charitable Cricket Foundation to encourage competitive cricket in state schools in the UK.Devised and implemented by former cricketer Nick Gandon, it launched with pilot programmes launched in March 2005 - immediately before the 2005 Ashes series -...
" programme. Drapers Farm is also the home of Maldon Rugby Union Football Club which was founded in 1947 by Tommy Harries, who was the landlord of the King's Head Public House in Maldon High Street. The inaugural meeting was on 28 August 1947 at the Blue Boar Hotel. Maldon RFC run several senior male sides and one female side as well as all youth age groups from under 7s to under 18s.
Business
Maldon Sea Salt has been produced in the town since 1882 by the Maldon Crystal Salt Company.Notable people
Essex and England cricketer Alastair CookAlastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
played for Maldon Cricket Club throughout his early years. Raised in nearby Wickham Bishops
Wickham Bishops
Wickham Bishops is a village in Essex, England.The place-name 'Wickham Bishops' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Wicham', meaning 'dwelling place with a farm'...
, Cook and his brothers played for the club as well. Cook remains closely associated with the club, being an Honorary Life Member of the club, while acting as a huge role model for the club's young players. Cook made his Essex debut in 2003, before making his international debut aged 21 in 2006. Due to county and country commitments, Cook's most recent appearance for the club came in 2004 when he was rested from the Essex side for the domestic Twenty20 Competition.
Private David Embleton won a Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, in his army name of Frederick Corbett
Frederick Corbett
Frederick Corbett VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, in the Arabi Pasha Rebellion in Egypt on the 5 August 1882. He was buried in an unmarked grave in London Road Cemetery, Maldon, but in 2004 the regimental association provided a memorial and in 2005 the Essex Society for Family History provided another. He served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
. Although awarded the VC for standing by a wounded officer, he subsequently forfeited his VC after committing theft against amother officer in 1884. Unfortunately he died in Maldon Union Workhouse.
Edward Bright
Edward Bright
Edward Bright was a grocer in Maldon, Essex, England — known as the "fat man of Maldon" — who was reputed at the time of his death in 1750 to be the "fattest man in England"...
(1721–1750) was the "fat man of Maldon", a grocer who, at 47.5 stone
Stone (weight)
The stone is a units of measurement that was used in many North European countries until the advent of metrication. It value, which ranged from 3 kg to 12 kg, varied from city to city and also often from commodity to commodity...
(276 kg) was reputed to be the fattest man in England. His coat could encompass seven men. Etchings of a painting of him were much sought just after his death. His chair resides in the Moot Hall.
John Cook
John Cook (musician)
John Ernest Cook was an Anglo-American organist, composer and church musician.-Early life, education and early career:...
(1918–1984) was a prolific 20th-century Anglo-American composer, organist and church musician.
John Kemp
John Arthur Kemp
John Kemp, 1926–1987, created and ran the East Coast Sail Trust, a charitable institution devoted to both character building for young people through education at sea, and preservation of Thames sailing barges...
(1926–1987). John Kemp's work on the preservation of Thames sailing barges in the 1960s was critical to re-establishing Maldon as the foremost sailing barge port in the country. John Kemp was responsible for the creation of the East Coast Sail Trust, a schoolship scheme for young people utilising the sailing barges Thalatta
Sailing barge Thalatta
The Thalatta was a Thames sailing barge, built in Harwich, Essex, in 1906. She was 90 feet long and 26 feet across the widest part of the deck. Like all Thames barges, she was flat-bottomed and had leeboards instead of a keel. She spent some of her life ketch-rigged and some of it spritsail-rigged...
and Sir Alan Herbert, operated from Maldon. He was author of three books and chronicler of the Maldon and Essex coastal scenes and the unique character of the marshland folk, especially in the Maldon and Burnham Standard, Essex Chronicle and Essex County Standard
Essex County Standard
The Essex County Standard is a weekly newspaper, published in Colchester, Essex. As of January 2011, it has an average circulation of 16,614 per issue. It is currently owned by the Newsquest Media Group, part of the American Gannett Company.- History :...
newspapers.
External links
- Maldon District Council
- maldon.angle
- Its About Maldon
- http://www.itsaboutmaldon.co.uk/allsaints/
- Weather Forecast For Maldon
- Interactive 360 Virtual Tour of Maldon
- Plume School, the main Secondary School in the area
- Newly formed Maldon Youth Choir for singers aged 16-30
- For 'What's on in Maldon' and loads more visitor information
- Maldon Rugby Union Football Club
- Maldon Festival of Arts
- Thomas Plume's Library
- Maldon's Annual Oyster Festival
- Christian Outreach Centre Heybridge & Maldon