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Pitsea

Pitsea is a small town in the east of the Basildon district of south Essex, England. It comprises five sub districts: Eversley, Northlands Park Neighbourhood (Previously known as Felmores), Chalvedon, Pitsea Mount and Burnt Mills. Vange is located to the west of Pitsea, Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet to the east and Nevendon to the north. Many of the residents from these surrounding areas use facilities in Pitsea, such as the local market, schools, and one of the largest Tesco Extra stores in the country.

During the creation of the new town of Basildon in the late 1940s and early 1950s, "Pitsea" and "Vange" were considered as for the name for the new town. Because Basildon village was central to the district, the town was named "Basildon". Before the new town regeneration, Pitsea and Vange were run down little hamlets in dire need of investment. Basildon, on the other hand, was a quaint little village with a church (which still stands today as Holy Cross church) and a few cottages.

History

There is little known history about Pitsea but its earliest recorded name is Piceseia which was in 1086 and probably recorded as this in the Doomsday Book. This however has changed over the years to many different names including: Pichesey(e), Pikeseye, Pithesey, Petchesey(e), Pisseye, Pitchesey, Pytsay, Pittessey, Pytchey and finally to what it is now Pitsea. It is thought however that all the names are derived from the meaning of Pics' Island, which refers to the area now known as Pitsea Mount.

Chalvedon, which is part of Pitsea has also been known under different guises. In its earliest form it was known as Chauendona meaning Calves Hill this was first recorded in 1119. Other names include: Chaluedona, Chaluedene, Calueden and Callwedone before it ended up being Chalvedon.

During the building of the new town Chalvedon became a housing estate in the west of Pitsea and the local secondary school has taken that name, whereas Pitsea got swallowed up by Basildon New Town, although many residents of Pitsea still refer to it as a town in its own right.

Landmarks

The most prominent landmark is that of the 13th century church of St. Michael, situated on Pitsea Mount. The church fell into ruin and only the main tower now survives. The dominant position of the building over the local area has seen the church used as a station for a mobile telephone aerial. The church is colloquially known as the Church on the Hill, Pitsea Mount, and even Snob Hill.

Governance

From 1894 to 1934 the Pitsea parish formed part of the Billericay Rural District. In 1934 it became part of the Billericay Urban District and in 1937 the parish was abolished and absorbed into a larger parish of Billericay.^[1] The district, consisting only of the Billericay parish, was renamed Basildon Urban District in 1955.^[2] In 1974, the district was replaced by the Basildon parliamentary constituency. The constituency will again be abolished in 2010, and Pitsea will be represented in the new South Basildon and East Thurrock Parliament constituency. As of 2009, the Member of Parliament for Basildon is Angela Smith of the Co-operative Party, and Labour Party, but oddly enough Pitsea comes under the Billericay and Wickford constituency due to boundary changes which came in under the previous government, therefore the Member of Parliament which covers the Pitsea area is the Conservative MP John Baron.

The 'Pitsea Regeneration'

There is talk of a 'regeneration' of Pitsea town centre which would involve the moving of Pitsea market nearer to the Tesco Extra superstore as well as the building of pubs and bars to introduce a nightlife to the centre of Pitsea, this could be a saviour of the Pitsea landmark of the Railway Hotel public house, which could follow the fate of another local pub (The Fortune of War) in being pulled down and homes being built on the site, this could all depend on the plans for the redevelopment of the centre. The move of the market would see the much visited feature of Pitsea life returned to its original site, after it moved from Station Lane to the infamous 'Pitsea Domes' and then onto its current placement in the Pitsea Centre, this again could see the market given a new lease of life after a recent decline has seen a lot of stall-holders up and leave.

Most of the current Pitsea Centre is now beginning to look old and in dire need of a makeover. The centre which was completed in the late 1970s is a main focal point for local people, however a recent decline has seen a number of businesses leave, and on days when the market is not in the centre it is left looking somewhat of a ghost town. The market was leased by Charfleets from its owners in the mid 1990s and they introduced the Sunday market to a grand opening with both Essex FM and comedian Bobby Davro entertaining the happy shoppers. However recent events regarding its owners has left the market facing a perilous future and this could again hinge around the redevelopment of the centre. It is thought that among the development more homes would be built within the centre, along with more larger shops.

In the Basildon Echo dated Wednesday 17 September 2008, the lead article was about proposed plans to build blocks of flats, one as high as nine storeys on land between the Pitsea flyover and Pitsea Broadway in Station Lane, the plans are described as being the "Gateway" to Pitsea. The scheme will feature five shops, 121 flats, and parking for 126 cars and 109 bikes, whether this scheme will go ahead remains to be seen as it is has yet to go before Basildon council.

Sport

Pitsea is also the home to Essex Senior League side Bowers & Pitsea F.C. They play at Crown Avenue, or to give its proper name the Len Salmon Stadium. The club has never played any higher than its current level. The club play every year in the FA Vase and have even competed in the FA Cup albeit only at the very early rounds. It was in the FA Vase that Bowers & Pitsea F.C. achieved their highest ever attendance of 1,800 against a Billericay Town side which featured ex-West Ham United and Charlton Athletic forward Steve Jones. The club first competed in the FA Cup in season 1994/95 when they lost 4-1 at home to Barking in the Preliminary round, they have never progressed beyond the first qualifying round, and have suffered some quite heavy defeats along the way. The club has also had some well known faces play for them including current Southend United manager Steve Tilson, ex-Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace forward Paul Williams and were even managed by ex-Millwall keeper Brian Horne, Bowers & Pitsea also have many youth teams playing in and around the local area.

There are few sporting clubs in Pitsea other than Eversley Park Cricket Club, Basildon & Pitsea Cricket Club, Chalvedon Boys Football Club, Chalvedon Boys Amateur Boxing Club, Pitsea Running Club and numerous Sunday League junior and men's football teams, most of these teams can be found playing locally on a Sunday at various points across Pitsea including Eversley Recreation Ground, Trenham Avenue and Pitsea School.

People can also fish locally at Northlands Park, where match fishing often takes place should it take your fancy, also in the park a cafe can be found, quite useful on those cold winter days!

Education

Chalvedon School & Sixth Form College (Chalvedon has recently created links with another local school Barstable School)

Northlands Infant & Junior School

Briscoe Infant & Junior School

Eversley County Primary School

Felmore Infant & Junior School

St Margarets Church of England School

Pitsea Infant & Junior School

Northlands Park Childrens Centre - Funded by Sure Start

Tourism

Wat Tyler Country Park

Wat Tyler Country Park (previously known as Pitsea Hall Park) was originally the site of an ammunitions factory that was primarily used during the Second World War, a couple of the old buildings still remain, but any reference of its past has long since gone. Another feature that remains is the old narrow gauge railway which ferried ammunitions to the local marina for transporting to the war front. After standing derelict for many years the area was developed in the early 1980s as a country park for the local residents, and so Wat Tyler Park (named after the local man who led the Peasants Revolt) was created over a 125-acre (0.51 km²) area. The park is also home to a motorboat museum, various craft shops, a marina, a miniature steam railway. Some old cottages that have been moved to the park from across the south of Essex. There are several wartime bunkers, which have fallen into disrepair. The park has considerable wildlife. Dotted all around the park are small huts that provide views across the Pitsea Marshes and give ornothologists the opportunity to spot some rare breeds of birds.

Northlands Park (known locally as Two Lakes)

Northlands Park's main feature are its lakes. During the summer the lakes are extremely popular with local fisherman, and is a venue for local match fishing. It also has a basketball court which doubles up as a five a side pitch for football, it also has a skate park for local skateboarders. During the summer Pitsea Carnival has its main fairground there as well. Also to the south of the park you will find an enormous hill which is a challenge for runners and cyclists alike.

Eversley Recreation Ground (known locally as The Rec)The park is a large recreation ground on which many sporting activities take place on a weekend, featuring six full-size football pitches as well as a junior pitch it gets somewhat busy on Sunday mornings as well as Saturdays with teams doing their training. It also features a cricket pitch and pavilion which again is used mainly on weekends during the summer. The park also features a small play area for children, and was used by the local primary school during the summer for their pupils to play on.

Eversley Leisure Centre Built in the late 1980s and originally named after local sporting celebrity Terry Marsh the centre is a local hub for keep fit and sport enthusiasts. Every day there are always some sort of activities going on including keep fit, karate, judo, roller hockey and five-a-side football. The centre also boasts a bar on the first floor which gives a good view over the entire park.^{[citation needed]}

Howard's Park Located on the eastern corner of Rectory Road and High Road, Howard's Park is named after local 1930s entrepreneur Reginald Howard. The park also has the local war-memorial situated to the north of the park which can be accessed via Howard's Crescent. The memorial was moved here from Station Lane opposite the Railway Pub due to the restructuring of Station Lane and the business of the High Road.

The post-box situated near the Rectory Road entrance to the park has "G R" on the box. This would date the box to pre-1952 as George VI of the United Kingdom was on the throne.

Pitsea Leisure Centre Pitsea Leisure Centre, along with the local library, was built in the early 1980s as a local hub for the community.

Gala Bingo -- Previously known as Granada Bingo, the site began life as a local cinema before the new town was built and brought with it the larger multi-screen cinemas. It was revealed in early July 2009 that Gala Bingo will close its doors, thus leaving local bingo enthusiasts without anywhere to play, local football club Bowers & Pitsea F.C. have offered some salvation to the bingo fans by announcing that they have bingo sessions.

Pitsea Swimming Pool Opened during the late 1970s amidst the generation of Pitsea Centre the pool gets quite busy, and is often used by the local junior and secondary schools, it also offers swimming lessons as well as a solarium.

Essex Horse Sanctuary This is a charity which helps ill-treated horses and donkeys back into recovery, the centre is funded by having open days and receiving lottery grants.

Pubs

The Bull

The Watermill

The Chalvedon Square Social Club

The British Legion

The Vange & Pitsea Social Club

Pitsea Leisure Centre

Eversley Leisure Centre

Bowers Sports & Social Club

The Winged Horse

Shopping

Pitsea Market

Transport

Pitsea is served by Pitsea railway station on the c2c line from London to Southend.

Local bus services are the 1, 2, 5, 8, 12, 21, and 22, that operate from Pitsea Broadway to the nearby towns of Basildon, Canvey, Southend, and to the Lakeside Shopping Centre in West Thurrock.

The town is served by the Pitsea bypass of the A13, which connects London to Southend, and has a direct link to the M25. To the east is the A130 to Canvey Island or Chelmsford, and also links to the A12 to London or East Anglia. To the north is the A127 which serves the same purpose as the A13, and to the west is the A132 which is the border which separates Pitsea from Barstable and Vange, this road links into either Basildon town centre, the A127 and Wickford.

Employment

Most people living in Pitsea either commute to Basildon, Southend or London for employment whereas the main employer in Pitsea is probably Tesco Extra.

Pitsea has a fair few amount of office spaces as well, which can be found in Pembroke House, which is in the main Pitsea Centre, Broadway Chambers which is located in the main Pitsea Broadway and Tudor Chambers located in Station Lane. The offices include solicitors, insurance companies, an accounting software company and an employment agency.

An office in Tudor Chambers was used a for a while by Richard Howitt the Labour Member of the European Parliament for the East of England, although how often this was used is unclear.

To the north of Pitsea is the Burnt Mills Industrial Estate which has many industrial units, including freight delivery, printing, a car wreck yard and a small amount of manufacturing, also in this area is the main delivery depot for the courier T.N.T. again they employ many people from the Pitsea area. Also in this area is the main waterworks for the area, unfortunately during the summer this can prove to be rather smelly, although Essex and Suffolk Water deny there is anything wrong with it. Also further along from there is the main local depot for the cable TV company Telewest Blueyonder which came to the area in the early 1990s under the name of United Artists before changing its name to Telewest and then more recently to Virgin Media.

During the recent economic downturn Pitsea as part of the Basildon district will suffer with people becoming unemployed, during the previous recession in the 80's a large part of Pitsea's population were unemployed and claiming benefits.

Local issues

In the land between the waterworks and the Hovefields Industrial Park, there has been ongoing talks of building a large incinerator much to the town residents disagreement. This has led to local disapproval and petitions have been signed and handed in to the government over this matter. Concerns surround the fumes which would be churned out by the chimneys on the incinerator and what effect it could have on local people's health.

Pitsea Tip also has to deal with refuse that is sent down from London and again there has been concern regarding the type of waste that is dumped there. However it is not just waste from London that is dumped there, but also from neighbouring councils. What is of even more concern that there is also talk of transforming part of the tip into a country park, whether or not this would be deemed safe is another matter.

There is ongoing talk of a possibility of transforming land beside Pitsea Flyover at Terminus Drive into a site for travellers to live on, this was greeted by a degree of dismay by local residents as it was revealed that it would be home to travellers from the infamous Dale Farm site, the local residents of Pitsea have since handed a 5,000 signature petition in to Downing Street opposing this idea, it is thought that house values in area would suffer in the same manner as those in nearby Crays Hill, during June 2009 details have emerged that plans are to be re-submitted to the local council for a travellers site to be housed again at Terminus Drive in Pitsea, the submission being backed by the chairman of The Gypsy Board Gratton Puxon, the travellers are facing eviction from Dale Farm and are seeking a site within the Basildon district, again it is likely to be fought with great opposition by local businesses and residents. It has also transpired that the same land next to the flyover in Terminus Drive is being sought after by Basildon United Football Club, they have been told they will have to vacate their current premises because of development plans for their current ground in Gardiners Close. Basildon United have also inquired about building a stadium in Eversley Recreation Park directly next to their local rivals Bowers & Pitsea's ground, this was dismissed after local residents opposed the idea.

Notable people

Scott Robinson from 5ive

QBoy - UK's leading gay rapper

Carla Brown Page 3 model

Paul Smith ex-footballer with Brentford F.C., Gillingham F.C. and Southend United F.C.

Michael Kightly footballer with Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Marc Crumpton TV Presenter, & male model

Phil Dudley ex-footballer with Southend United F.C.