that never happened
o 1795 - Redoubt at Bounds Farm
o 1852 - Reclamation of the estuary a Goldhanger
o 1882 - Railway between Tollesbury and Langford
o 1900 - Mains gas from Maldon to Goldhanger
o 1919 - Captured field guns in the Churchyard
o 1919 - Goldhanger Creek private hire
o 1938 - Estuary bird sanctuary
o 1945 - Flying boats on the Blackwater
o 1952 - Cricket pitch at Follyfaunts
o 1964 - Proposed for a reservoir on the Blackwater Estuary
o 1970 - Wesleyan Chapel conversion to a butchers shop
o 1977 - Housing estate on the school field
o 2001 - Plans to keep the last Haywain wagon in the village
A Redoubt at Bounds Farm
In 1795 eight Redoubts were
proposed around the Blackwater Estuary as a defence
from an attack by the French, which the document points out is only 38 miles from London. One was
planned at Goldhanger and one on Osea Island. A
redoubt, or redout is a fort consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement,
in medieval times an earthworks but
later of brick or stone. Many were built around the south and east coasts
during the Napoleonic wars and still remain.
Reclamation of the estuary between Osea Island and Goldhanger in
1852
In 1852 the South Essex
Reclamation Bill was put before Parliament to reclaim land in four areas including
the north bank of the Blackwater from Colliers Reach for a distance of 12 miles
which would drain 4880 acres of land. This would have linked Osea Island to the main land between Mill Beach and
Goldhanger Creek. The proposal claimed to have the effect of not only of
“improved navigation of the river” south of Osea Island towards Maldon but also
of improving drainage and “the caused of malaria and other unhealthiness would
be removed”. The Admiralty opposed the plan and it was not approved by
Parliament. A map of “Goldhanger Flats
around Northey and Osea Island”
associated with the Reclamation Bill is held in the Essex Records Office
(ERO T/M 264/1).
Railway line between Tollesbury and Langford
There were two separate
proposals for a railway from Langford to Tollesbury, the first in the 1882 and
second in the 1890. The 1882 plan was for a line adjacent to the seawall running
through Goldhanger, Mill Beach, and Heybridge to join up with the Maldon to
Witham line at Langford. It was proposed that it would “open up Mill Beach as a
water side resort” The cost was estimated at £50,000. Guarantees were required
by the railway company but the Tollesbury people were said to have “liberally
subscribed to the Guarantee”. However the plan was abandoned. An extract from the local newspaper in1882…
The 1890 plan was for a line
from Tollesbury to Tolleshunt D’arcy, Tolleshunt Major, Beckingham, Lt and Gt
Totham to join up with the Maldon to Witham line at Langford. Goldhanger was
said to be one of the villages that would benefit as Messrs Belsham sent 600
tons of flour to Maldon at the time and it would become only be 1½ from the
proposed line at Beckingham. The Tollesbury Light Railway finally opened in
October 1904, but went through Tiptree to join the main line Kelvedon to
provide Wilkins & Sons with greatly improved goods transport. The
Tollesbury section closed in 1951. An extract from the local newspaper in 1890…
More information about the
local rail lines is at... Local railways in the past
Bizarrely, the plan for a
rail line through Goldhanger was used by the East Ham Model Railway Club to
construct a model railway and photos of the layout have been on the internet
for many years, including a “Goldhanger Station” and the remains of the
Snowdrop barge in the Creek. The club’s website photos are at…
www.ehmrc.org.uk/Goldhanger.html
Main gas from Maldon to Goldhanger
Our paper achives have a
copy plan from the early 1900s in bring mains gas to Goldhanger along the
Maldon Road. At the time the distribution reached the caravan sites at Mill
beach before the project was halted, maybe due to WW-1, and the Goldhanger Road
from Heybridge to the caravan sites enjoyed gas street lighting for many years.
In the early 1970s when the Queen was planning a visit Maldon all the Maldon
gas lights were quickly replaced with electric lighting and the old gas lamp
post were ignominiously stacked up in the Maldon Council yard for several
years….
Three of these lamp posts
finally made it to gardens in Goldhanger where they
remain.
Captured field guns for the Churchyard
In 1919 when the rector was
planning and fund raising to built the war
memorial at the front of St. Peter’s Church he
also had the idea of installing two captured field guns either side of the
memorial with imposing new gates and pathway.
From the Parish magazine of
December 1918…
Our
Fallen
A meeting was held at the Rectory on
Thursday afternoon, November 14th, of the Parents and Relatives of those who
have been killed in the War… The Rector
(Revd Gardner) presided, the object of the meeting was to consider the erection
in the Churchyard, in front of the Tower, of a suitable Memorial. Various designs were considered. All were
unanimous in adopting a representation of the “Great Sacrifice” to be executed
in stone and about 20 feet in height, which it is hoped will be completed next
July, and which it is their intention to erect.
The Rector, in the face of the
splendid record of Goldhanger in the War, has applied to the Authorities for
the grant of a German Field Gun to be placed in front of our Parish Memorial
which is to be erected in front of the Church Tower… It may then be possible to have new wide
gates and a wide path from the road to the Tower, to place the Memorial in the
centre of the path, and with the Gun in the foreground if granted would be a
noble completion.
At the same time the Revd.
Durrent Field wrote letters to the local newspaper and The Times publicising
the plan…
Goldhanger Creek privately hired
In 1919 the local newspaper
reported that a fisherman had attempted to hire Goldhanger Creek. The
application was refused by the Council…
Today one can only speculate why anyone would want
to “hire” the Creek: to create a fishing
fleet harbour? Oyster beds? Salt extraction facility? Yacht club and marina?
Blackwater estuary bird sanctuary
In 1938 Crawshay
Frost made a proposal for parts of the Blackwater
Estuary to made into a bird sanctuary which was publicised in the Essex
Chronicle...
WILD FOWL SANCTUARY - ESSEX HAS THE IDEAL
Essex possesses a natural
treasure which should be more widely featured. A few notable Essex people,
including the late Dr. J. H. Salter, have said and written much to
popularise the saltings that stretch
away from the River Blackwater along the Essex coast. Dr. Salters famous Diary
enchants us with delightful peeps of very early risers shooting the wild duck
and geese, which thrive in their very
own haunts around Tollesbury, Osea Island, and Goldhanger. Do the majority of
Essex people realise, though that these saltings offer the prospect of one the
finest sanctuaries for wild fowl in the county? The banks of the Blackwater can
show us the best breeding grounds of the hardiest flocks of shell duck, wild
geese, the cormorant and other wild birds.
Mr. H. Crawshay Frost, of Sea
View, Goldhanger, is one of a small group of Essex natural history enthusiasts
who look forward to the day when the Blackwater shall be a sanctuary for the
birds of the water preserved for ever as their rightful home to all see, study
and admire. Mr. Crawshay Frost loves the
Blackwater and every yard of its saltings. At Sea View he has built a look-out over the house which gives him an
uninterrupted view of the water. He spends many delightful hours, too down on
the saltings watching the bird life, fresh marvels of which reveal themselves
at every visit. So entranced is he with all he sees that he wants to pass on to
others some of the beauty spots. Public attention of this sort will hasten the
day surely not far distant, when Essex will be able to boast its own sanctuary
for wild water fowl amid surroundings second to none.
A flying boat airport on the Blackwater with a terminus on Osea
Island
After World War II the UK
Government sought to improve long distant air transport and in 1945
Saunders-Roe were asked to design a suitable plane. The SR-45
"Princess" flying boat was produced. Steps were then taken to find a
suitable site for a new flying boat airport near to London. Chichester,
Bradwell, and Osea Island on the Blackwater were
suggested locations. Osea Island had been used before for seaplane trials so was seen as a possible
site. The Osea Island proposal was that the terminal would be on the island
itself with a new causeway constructed to give road access to the A12.
By 1952 only one
Saunders-Roe Princess flying boat was flying and the proposal came to
nothing. At the time it was thought that
large land-based aircraft and airfields would be more economic and safer. It
was also said that the government was influenced by the USA which had no
interest in flying boats as the middle of North America had no suitable
stretches of water.
Cricket pitch at Follyfaunts
In 1952 when the cricket pitch in “The Park” behind the
Rectory ceased to be financially viable because the farmer disposed of his
milking herd and converted the field to arable, Julian Jenkinson offered to build a new
pitch and clubhouse in the field in the front of Follyfaunts
House. The cricket club committee however could not reach an agreement with
Mr Jenkinson on how the field would be managed, so the plan was not pursued and
the cricket club was wound up.
|
Proposed for a reservoir on the Blackwater Estuary and barrage In 1964 a proposal was put
forward by the Southend water Company, that owned the Langford water works for
the construction of a barrage across the tidal river Blackwater at the
eastern end of Osea Island to create a very
large river water storage reservoir. However, an analysis carried out at the
time determined that salt leaching from the very salty estuarine mud would
continue to contaminate the fresh water indefinitely and the scheme did not
come to fruition. Instead the Ely Ouse Transfer project, preferred by the
Environment Authority, and which would serve a wider area, was adopted. |
Wesleyan Chapel conversion to a butchers shop
The Wesleyan Chapel in Head Street closed 1967
and in 1970 the building was sold to the owners of The Limes next door. They applied for
planning permission to convert the Chapel into a butchers shop. There were many
local objections however and permission was refused. The Chapel then became
derelict and remained unused for many years until it was restored in the 1990s
to become part of a private residence.
Housing estate on the school field
In 1977 the village school closed and the Church of England sold the
building and the adjacent field to “Romford, Hornchurch, and Havering Church
School Trust” who ran a “study centre” there for ten years. In 1989 they
applied for planning permission to build houses on the field and there were
many objections and permission was refused. This is part of an article that
appeared in the local paper…
Plans to keep the last Haywain wagon in the village
When Highams Farm held on auction of unwanted machinery
in 2001, a Haywain style wagon was an item listed as up for sale. Members of
the Goldhanger History Group bravely went along to the sale with the intentions
of bidding for the wagon to keep it in the village. The group had acquired
pledges of funding from about a dozen supporters to give a budget of £1000, but
had no idea of where it could be stored or displayed if the bid was successful.
In fact the wagon sold for an incredible £12,000(woodworm included) and went to
a Suffolk farmer who revealed that his hobby was a collecting and restoring this
type of wagon and he did not have an Essex built one. A photo of the actual
wagon can be seen in the Virtual Museum, which
had a cast iron plaque on the front panel displaying:
MALDON IRON WORKS Co.
BUILDERS
________________________________
return to..
top
of this page Did you know about... home