Southend-on-Sea: A Fond Farewell After Fifty Years?

A few weeks ago I left Essex with my partner and my parents in tow. I thought I’d be back in a few weeks to clear my Mum and Dad’s home of 56 years in preparation for their move to a bungalow just around the corner from me. But plans have changed. Mum’s care needs mean that I need to stick around in Devon. My brother and partner, the two Pauls, will be off to Southend-on-Sea to coordinate the house clearance that will mark the end of an era.

I don’t think that I’ll be going back to my childhood home town anytime soon. It’s in a funny spot on the British Isles surrounded by water on three sides. That means you have to go there intentionally. You can’t just pass through. Anyway to mark over half a century of my association with this seaside city I thought I’d share some memories.

Big Skies

I didn’t actually appreciate the wide open vistas out to sea when I lived here. Devon is beautiful but in a hilly way. You don’t get the great big skies that you get in coastal Essex.

My Old School

Here’s the senior school that I went to in the late seventies and early eighties. Rachel Riley from Countdown is an old girl too. I was pretty good at maths but not in her league.

Us girls were never allowed to walk on the bridge out front. That was the domain of teachers and visitors. When I snapped this shot I was almost tempted to sneak in and venture onto forbidden territory.

My Boy on the Pier

Here’s my lad, Louis, a few years back on the longest pleasure pier in the world, a mile and a third long. We always walked out over the sea and then caught the lovely little clunky train back. I have many memories of this place including sipping pints at the pub on the end and ten pin bowling at the land end. Sadly both of these venues succumbed to fire.

The Balcony at Prittlewell Priory

In my younger years I was convinced that this balcony was haunted. It overlooks the refectory at Prittlewell Priory and always gave me the heebie-jeebies. However in 2011 the building was renovated and the ghosts must have been scared away. When I subsequently visited I tentatively ventured down the steps onto it and felt absolutely nothing!

The Kursaal

This wonderful building housed one of the world’s first purpose built amusement parks. I remember a rickety old wooden coaster when I was a wee one. To be honest though it has always been in a pretty poor state all the time I’ve known it although it was a venue for some pretty big music events in the 1970s. Queen played here. My predominant memory of it is a little strange. The police had some sort of exhibition in the ballroom when I was a teenager that included photos of some of the victims of Jack the Ripper. I had nightmares for months afterwards!

Zoltar the Fortune Teller

There’s a amusement arcade with a deluxe Zoltar machine outside. Every time Louis and I visited we bought a ticket from the strange fortune teller with the staring eyes. We won thirty pounds once.

Another Shot of Southend Pier

This was taken on a winter’s day. The light was incredible.

Looking Back to Land

Here’s Adventure Island, another shot taken from the pier. This funfair was called Peter Pan’s playground during my childhood. The rides were a lot tamer in my day. I remember a Helter Skelter and a pretty lame ghost train.

The Golden Hind

Funnily enough I’ve lived in two places that have housed a replica of the Golden Hind. The one in Brixham is still a popular attraction but the one in Southend-on-Sea is no more.

It housed this Chamber of Horrors. To lure you in there was a waxwork model in the window of the entrance booth pictured here. Kids jostled to see the googly eyed man waiting to have his abdomen split open by a blade that was swinging lower and lower. There was already a smear of blood on his shirt!

Hadleigh Castle

Hadleigh Castle isn’t quite in the Borough of Southend but, whenever I spotted it from the railway line from Fenchurch Street, I knew I was nearly back to my childhood home. It’s a ruin that was painted by Constable and is freely accessible. Here’s my son sitting in one of the windows. I’m not sure that you’re allowed to climb on it but he did. There’s a rare breeds farm nearby where my sister used to volunteer. When she died a memorial garden was created for her there.

Cockles

Leigh-on-Sea at the west of the borough is famous for its cockles. I loved buying them from Osborne’s shellfish stall. I’d take them back to Mum and Dad’s to eat sprinkled with pepper and malt vinegar accompanied by bread and butter.

Reasons to Visit in the Future

I’d really like to walk the Broomway, a walk over treacherous Maplin Sands. I’ve only found out about it recently and you really need a guide to avoid dodgy tides and sinking sand. I was too busy with helping Mum and Dad to get myself booked onto to a tour but maybe one day I’ll be back. Maybe I can combine this with a boat trip to visit the Maunsell Forts in the Thames Estuary depicted on this poster. I’d never heard of them until I saw a photo of one when I was visiting Southend Hospital. Maybe I can be tempted back after all.