Canewdon is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Rochford Rochford is a town and civil parish in the Rochford (district), Rochford District in Essex, England, north of Southend-on-Sea, from London and from Chelmsford. At the 2011 census, the Civil parishes in England, civil parish had a population ...

district of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. The village is located approximately northeast of the town of

, while the parish extends for several miles on the southern side of the River Crouch. Canewdon is situated on one of the highest hills of the Essex coastline, from which St Nicholas's Church affords wide views of the Crouch estuary. East of the village lies the island of Wallasea, popular for sailing, and a wetland sanctuary for wildlife. The name Canewdon is derived from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

words meaning 'the hill of Cana's people' and not, as is sometimes claimed, from King Canute, who fought and won the

Battle of Ashingdon The Battle of Assandun (or Ashingdon) was fought between Danish and English armies on 18 October 1016. There is disagreement whether Assandun may be Ashdon near Saffron Walden in north Essex, England, or, as long supposed, Ashingdon near R ...

nearby in 1016 against the English King Edmund Ironside.

History

Early history

A number of sites in and around Canewdon reflect occupation of the land from at least the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period (4,000–2,000 BC). For instance, gravel extraction from early 20th century found prehistoric remains, such as a hoard of Neolithic axes and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. On display at the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

is a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

Canewdon paddle. Canewdon's location was favourable for its vantage point and proximity to the sea for trading and salt production. From Prehistoric and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times farmsteads and cemeteries were located on higher ground. Roman urns were found in the village in 1712. Along the coast were Roman Red Hill

saltern A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of Halophile, halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but ...

s structures constructed of clay floors heated by flues, dating based upon Romano-British pottery. Salt was used in the ancient diet, for grazing animals, as a refining agent in metallurgy, for soldering and in dyes.

Medieval history

The name Canewdon is thought to predate the Danish King Canute by about 400 years, but the area is claimed to be the site of an ancient camp used by Canute during the Battle of Assandun nearby at Ashingdon, in the course of his successful invasion of Essex in 1016. Remains of Canute's camp are thought to be marked in the entrenchments between the village and the river. The name Canewdon is derived from the Old English 'hill of Cana's people,' first documented in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Carenduna'', at a time when there were 28 households. Swein of Essex, son of

Robert FitzWimarc Robert fitz Wimarc (died before 1075, Theydon Mount, Chipping Ongar, Ongar, Essex) was a kinsman of both Edward the Confessor and William of Normandy, and was present at Edward's death bed. Nothing of his background is known except his kinship t ...

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

between 1066 and 1086, was the principal landholder of the

area. Canewdon Hall, a fortified mansion and the focus for the medieval settlement, was demolished in 1966. Canewdon Hall Close was built on the site.

Modern history

The local economy, based on coastal industries, agriculture and the brick industry, declined during the latter 19th century. The 19th-century population fluctuated accordingly: in 1801 the population was 569, rose to 723 in 1841, and declined to 495 in 1901. Agnes Frances Whitwell (née Morley), originally from Canewdon, was killed in 1915 by a bomb dropped by a

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

, which landed on her home at 120 North Road, Southend-on-Sea. Fearing war with Germany, in 1937 Royal Air Force (RAF) Canewdon was one of four radar sites established to test the use of

Chain Home Chain Home, or CH for short, was the codename for the ring of coastal early warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during the Second World War to detect and track aircraft. Initially known as RDF, and given the off ...

Transmission and Receiver radar sites around the coast to detect enemy aircraft and estimate their range. The final twenty sites were critical in the defence against German aircraft during the Second World War. Information from the Chain Home sites and observation posts were transmitted via underground telephone lines to a central plotting room for probable raid analysis and warning notification. The Canewdon Chain Home radar tower was relocated to nearby Great Baddow in 1956, where it can still be seen. Bunkers that protected it remain in Canewdon. The later part of the 20th century brought residential development, including the building of a model village in the 1960s in the southwest. The 2001 census reported 588 households and a population of 1,477 people in Canewdon.

Church

The 14th-century Parish Church of St Nicholas at the end of the village High Street stands on a ridge overlooking the River Crouch. Its impressive 15th-century tower, a landmark for many miles, is said to have been erected by Henry V following his victory at the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...

in France. During the reign of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

the tower was used as a navigation point along the River Crouch. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the tower was used for observation and as a signalling post. The old village lock-up and stocks are located to the east of the church. The church is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Legends of witchcraft and ghosts

George Pickingill (1816–1909) who lived in the village during the late 19th century, was said to practise as a cunning man. However these claims have been debunked by a number of sources. The earliest written accusation of witchcraft appears to be that of Rose Pye, a spinster who in 1580 was said to be living as a witch and responsible for bewitching to death in August 1575 Johanna Snow or Johanne Snowe, a 12-month-old child from Scaldhurst Farm in Canewdon. The case went to court where Rose pleaded not guilty. Although acquitted, Rose remained and died in jail a few months after her acquittal. Five years later Cicely Makin was accused of witchcraft, and was unable to find five people who would swear that she was not a witch. After being given five years to mend her ways without success, Cicely was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

from the church. Author Ian Yearsley has written a novel based on the witchcraft legends in the village, called ''The Curse of Cannow's End'' (published in 2012). 'Cannow's End' is a loose anagram of 'Canewdon'. There is also a sequel, ''Return to Cannow's End'' (2017). The British paranormal investigation show ''Most Haunted Live'' visited the village as part of their 2004 Easter weekend special of three nights of live investigation which aired on

Living TV Sky Witness is a British pay television tv channel, channel owned and operated by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast. The channel primarily broadcasts procedural dramas from the United States aimed at the 18–45 age demographic. Sky Ital ...

. They visited the village on their first night of Good Friday 9 April 2004.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Essex Civil parishes in Essex Ports and harbours of Essex Rochford District Witchcraft in England