Ruined Hawthorn in Dunton Plotlands - geograph

The Dunton Plotlands was an area of small rural plots of land in Dunton Wayletts, southern

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 ...

inhabited from the 1930s to the 1980s. The ' plotlands' consisted of small plots of land sold in the first half of the 20th century to people who built weekend cottages, holiday bungalows or smallholdings there. Many of the people building weekend cottages here would have come out from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. With the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, many weekenders moved out to their plots on a permanent basis, to escape the worst effects of the Blitz. This period saw the Dunton population at its highest. After the

, the new town of

Basildon Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. ...

was created, encompassing the plotlands here and in the surrounding areas of Laindon and Pitsea. At the time, 25000 people lived in the whole area, often with unsurfaced roads and limited water supplies. Dunton Plotlands is situated to the west of Laindon and the

Langdon Hills Langdon Hills is an area of Basildon in the borough of Basildon in Essex, England. It is located south of Laindon railway station on the London, Tilbury and Southend line. It is the location of the Langdon Hills Country Park, which is in th ...

, now on the edge of the Basildon district. Today, Dunton Plotlands is part of the

Essex Wildlife Trust The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 The Wildlife Trusts, wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the ...

's Langdon Nature Reserve. The Langdon Visitor Centre and the Haven Plotlands Museum, housed in a converted bungalow, exhibit the natural and social history of the area. The Haven - geograph

The Plotlands is still a wooded area where a small number of cottages, and some of the original grid of grass tracks remain. Visitors can look around a preserved bungalow. Many wildlife events are held throughout the year.

References

External links

Langdon Visitor Centre
- Essex Wildlife Trust

- www.basildon.com
Dunton Plotlands
(www.roselake.co.uk)
Dunton
- Laindon and District Community Archive {{Basildon Borough of Basildon Nature reserves in Essex Museums in Essex