Mersea Island
Encyclopedia
Mersea Island is the most easterly inhabited island
in the United Kingdom
, located marginally off the coast of Essex
, England
, 9 miles (14 km) to the southeast of Colchester
. It is situated in the estuary area of the Blackwater
and Colne
rivers and has an area of around 7 square miles (18 km²). The name 'Mersea' is derived from the Old English
meresig meaning 'island of the pool',
, known as The Strood
. This carries the Mersea–Colchester road (B1025) which is often covered at high tides and especially including spring tides. It is close to neighbouring Ray Island
. The water separating the island is the Pyefleet Channel to the east and the Strood Channel to the west. There are two main settlements on the island, the small town of West Mersea
and the village of East Mersea
, plus a small hamlet at Barrow Hill
to the north of West Mersea.
(including oyster
gathering), and servicing the leisure boating industry.
The island has its own newspapers, the Newsround and the Mersea Island Courier. It also has full broadband
coverage and the majority of properties, excluding those too close to the beach, can receive Freeview signals.
near the Strood contained the remains of a cremated adult in a glass urn, within a lead casket, now in the Castle Museum, Colchester
. A large mosaic
floor was found near West Mersea church.
The Anglo-Saxon
s built the church at West Mersea (St Peter & St Paul) which may have been founded as early as the 7th century. It was damaged by Norse
raiders in 894 and rebuilt afterwards. A moat at East Mersea church (St Edmund, King & Martyr) is thought to be the remains of a Danish encampment. The Strood
causeway was also built by the Saxons; oak piles discovered in 1978 have been dated by dendrochronology
to between 684 and 702. By 950, there was a Benedictine
Priory at West Mersea and land at West Mersea was granted to the Abbey of St Ouen
in France by Edward the Confessor
in 1046.
The priory was finally dissolved in 1542. In the English Civil War
, the Parliamentary Army
built a blockhouse
at East Mersea in 1648, with the aim of blockading the River Colne
and the besieged town of Colchester
. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch and French settlers arrived on the island. Some locals supplemented their income from the oyster trade
by smuggling
. A police officer for the island was appointed in 1844, and in 1871 a school was opened. The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould (author of "Onward Christian Soldiers" and of "Mehalah", a novel set in Mersea) was Rector
of East Mersea from 1870-1881. Mains water and sewerage were available by 1925. In World War II, 2000 troops were stationed on the island to guard against invasion; the island was the Headquarters of the Royal Army Corps Motor Boat Company. Two batteries of 4.7 inch guns
were installed; one at East Mersea has been demolished and one at West Mersea, now a cafe. Post war, the island suffered from severe winter weather in 1947 which destroyed much of the oyster fishery, and from the flooding of 1953
. Since then the population has increased considerably.
in Colchester
.
During the week, starting on Monday, there are races for many boat classes - from Optimists up to large yachts. The most celebrated race is the annual 'Round-the-Island' race in which about 200 dinghies attempt to sail all the way around the island, helped over the Strood by volunteers. These races usually take place in the Blackwater Estuary
(also known as the Mersea Quarters).
The Grande Finale on the final Saturday includes harbour fun: short spectator inshore races, soot and flour fights on the water, the Greasy Pole, fireworks and the week's Awards Ceremony. During the day there is a plethora of street entertainment, hot dog vendors, ice-cream vans etc.
In the Greasy Pole event, contenders have to traverse a telegraph pole/mast covered in thick grease and extended out over the water from the deck of the Regatta hosting Thames sailing barge
(similar to 'walking the plank'), retrieve the flag at the end and return to the boat with the flag in hand. Annually a handful of the 50 or so contenders get to the end of the pole and grab the flag (an accomplishment in itself!) but rarely more than one, if any, will bring it back to the Barge.
, such as Mystery Mile
and The Mind Readers. Mehalah is a novel set in Mersea by Sabine Baring-Gould
.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, located marginally off the coast of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, 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...
, 9 miles (14 km) to the southeast of Colchester
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...
. It is situated in the estuary area of the Blackwater
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...
and Colne
River Colne, Essex
The River Colne is a small river that runs through Colchester, England. It is not a tributary of any other river, instead having an estuary that joins the sea near Brightlingsea.-Source:...
rivers and has an area of around 7 square miles (18 km²). The name 'Mersea' is derived from the Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
meresig meaning 'island of the pool',
Geography
The island hosts a population of 6,925 and is the most easterly inhabited island in the UK. It is joined to the mainland by a causewayCauseway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
, known as The Strood
The Strood
The Strood is a causeway crossing the marshes and the Strood Channel between the coast of Essex in the south east of England and Mersea Island. About half a mile in length; it carries the B1025 Mersea to Colchester road and is the only access to the island...
. This carries the Mersea–Colchester road (B1025) which is often covered at high tides and especially including spring tides. It is close to neighbouring Ray Island
Ray Island
Ray Island is a sandy mound rising out of the saltings close to Mersea Island, Essex, England. It has a shingly foreshore/beach area on its northern side, with a sizeable freshwater pond nearby, and extensive areas of rough grassland. On higher ground, there are blackthorn thickets and some old...
. The water separating the island is the Pyefleet Channel to the east and the Strood Channel to the west. There are two main settlements on the island, the small town of West Mersea
West Mersea
West Mersea is a small town in the Colchester borough of Essex, England. It is the larger of two settlements on Mersea Island, located south east of Colchester. The smaller settlement on the island is the village of East Mersea....
and the village of East Mersea
East Mersea
East Mersea is a scattered village and civil parish on Mersea Island in the English county of Essex.-Grave of Sarah Wrench:The grave of Sarah Wrench , by the North wall of the chancel at St...
, plus a small hamlet at Barrow Hill
Barrow Hill, Essex
Barrow Hill is a hamlet in Essex, England. It is located on Mersea Island, approximately north-northeast of West Mersea near to where the Strood causeway meets the island. The hamlet is 33 km east-northeast of the county town, Chelmsford...
to the north of West Mersea.
Economy
The main industries on Mersea are farming, fishingFishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
(including oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
gathering), and servicing the leisure boating industry.
The island has its own newspapers, the Newsround and the Mersea Island Courier. It also has full broadband
Broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is a high data rate, low-latency connection to the Internet— typically contrasted with dial-up access using a 56 kbit/s modem or satellite Internet with inherently high latency....
coverage and the majority of properties, excluding those too close to the beach, can receive Freeview signals.
History
There is evidence of pre-Roman settlement on Mersea in the form of "red hills" which are evidence of Celtic salt workings. A large Romano-British round barrowRound barrow
Round barrows are one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe they are found in many parts of the world because of their simple construction and universal purpose....
near the Strood contained the remains of a cremated adult in a glass urn, within a lead casket, now in the Castle Museum, Colchester
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...
. A large mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
floor was found near West Mersea church.
The Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
s built the church at West Mersea (St Peter & St Paul) which may have been founded as early as the 7th century. It was damaged by Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
raiders in 894 and rebuilt afterwards. A moat at East Mersea church (St Edmund, King & Martyr) is thought to be the remains of a Danish encampment. The Strood
The Strood
The Strood is a causeway crossing the marshes and the Strood Channel between the coast of Essex in the south east of England and Mersea Island. About half a mile in length; it carries the B1025 Mersea to Colchester road and is the only access to the island...
causeway was also built by the Saxons; oak piles discovered in 1978 have been dated by dendrochronology
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
to between 684 and 702. By 950, there was a Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Priory at West Mersea and land at West Mersea was granted to the Abbey of St Ouen
Church of St. Ouen, Rouen
The Church of St. Ouen is a large Gothic Roman Catholic church in Rouen, northern France, famous for both its architecture and its large, unaltered Cavaillé-Coll organ, which Charles-Marie Widor described as "a Michelangelo of an organ"...
in France by Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
in 1046.
The priory was finally dissolved in 1542. In the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, the Parliamentary Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
built a blockhouse
Blockhouse
In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery...
at East Mersea in 1648, with the aim of blockading the River Colne
River Colne, Essex
The River Colne is a small river that runs through Colchester, England. It is not a tributary of any other river, instead having an estuary that joins the sea near Brightlingsea.-Source:...
and the besieged town of Colchester
Siege of Colchester
The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Royalist army on its way through East Anglia to raise support for the King, was attacked by Lord-General Thomas Fairfax...
. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch and French settlers arrived on the island. Some locals supplemented their income from the oyster trade
Oyster Feast
The Oyster Feast is the centrepiece of the annual civic calendar in the ancient borough of Colchester located in Essex in the East of England.- The Colchester Natives :The Colne oyster fishery dates to the Roman era. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book....
by smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
. A police officer for the island was appointed in 1844, and in 1871 a school was opened. The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould (author of "Onward Christian Soldiers" and of "Mehalah", a novel set in Mersea) was Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of East Mersea from 1870-1881. Mains water and sewerage were available by 1925. In World War II, 2000 troops were stationed on the island to guard against invasion; the island was the Headquarters of the Royal Army Corps Motor Boat Company. Two batteries of 4.7 inch guns
QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I - IV
The QF 4.7 inch Gun Mks I, II, III, and IV were a family of United-Kingdom 120-mm naval and coast defence guns of 1888 and 1890s which served with the navies of various countries. They were also mounted on various wheeled carriages to provide the British Army with a long range gun...
were installed; one at East Mersea has been demolished and one at West Mersea, now a cafe. Post war, the island suffered from severe winter weather in 1947 which destroyed much of the oyster fishery, and from the flooding of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm, that occurred on the night of Saturday 31 January 1953 and morning of 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm caused a...
. Since then the population has increased considerably.
Education
Mersea Island School is a Foundation Primary School for 420 pupils. The earliest part of the school dates back to 1871, with additions in 1980 and 1996, and a new hall, kitchen and office projected. Secondary education is provided by Thomas Lord Audley School and Language CollegeThomas Lord Audley School and Language College
Thomas Lord Audley School and Language College is a mixed 11-16 comprehensive school for 700 pupils, to the south of Colchester, Essex. It serves a wide and diverse catchment area, taking students from the edge of Colchester, small villages and the community of Mersea Island...
in Colchester
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...
.
Events
The Mersea Regatta is a week-long late summer festival of boat racing. The week of the festival changes each year depending on the tide tables - it is the last Saturday in August to have a high tide at around midday.During the week, starting on Monday, there are races for many boat classes - from Optimists up to large yachts. The most celebrated race is the annual 'Round-the-Island' race in which about 200 dinghies attempt to sail all the way around the island, helped over the Strood by volunteers. These races usually take place in the Blackwater Estuary
Blackwater Estuary
The Blackwater Estuary is the estuary of the Essex River Blackwater in south-east England.Oysters have been harvested from the estuary for more than a thousand years and there are remains of Anglo-Saxon era fish traps. At the head of the estuary is the town of Maldon, which is a centre of salt...
(also known as the Mersea Quarters).
The Grande Finale on the final Saturday includes harbour fun: short spectator inshore races, soot and flour fights on the water, the Greasy Pole, fireworks and the week's Awards Ceremony. During the day there is a plethora of street entertainment, hot dog vendors, ice-cream vans etc.
In the Greasy Pole event, contenders have to traverse a telegraph pole/mast covered in thick grease and extended out over the water from the deck of the Regatta hosting Thames sailing barge
Thames sailing barge
A Thames sailing barge was a type of commercial sailing boat common on the River Thames in London in the 19th century. The flat-bottomed barges were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and narrow rivers....
(similar to 'walking the plank'), retrieve the flag at the end and return to the boat with the flag in hand. Annually a handful of the 50 or so contenders get to the end of the pole and grab the flag (an accomplishment in itself!) but rarely more than one, if any, will bring it back to the Barge.
Literature
The island is used as a setting for several works of Margery AllinghamMargery Allingham
Margery Louise Allingham was an English crime writer, best remembered for her detective stories featuring gentleman sleuth Albert Campion.- Childhood and schooling :...
, such as Mystery Mile
Mystery Mile
Mystery Mile is a crime novel by Margery Allingham, first published in 1930, in the United Kingdom by Jarrolds Publishing, London, and in the United States by Doubleday, Doran, New York...
and The Mind Readers. Mehalah is a novel set in Mersea by Sabine Baring-Gould
Sabine Baring-Gould
The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould was an English hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1240 publications, though this list continues to grow. His family home, Lew Trenchard Manor near Okehampton, Devon, has been preserved as he had it...
.
External links
- The Mersea Community and Business Portal, west-mersea.co.uk
- The Mersea Island Community Website, mersea-island.com
- Webcam of Mersea Island and The Strood, streamdays.com