South Benfleet is a town in the

Castle Point Castle Point is a local government district with borough status in south Essex, England, lying around east of London. The borough comprises the towns of South Benfleet, Hadleigh and Thundersley (where the council is based) on the mainland, a ...

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, 30 miles east of London. It is adjacent to the village of

North Benfleet North Benfleet is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet, in the Basildon district of Essex, England, located between the towns of Basildon to the west and South Benfleet to the east. It adjo ...

. The Benfleet (SS7)

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

includes South Benfleet,

Thundersley Thundersley is a town in the Castle Point borough of southeast Essex, England. It sits on a clay ridge shared with Basildon and Hadleigh, east of Charing Cross, London. In 2011 it had a population of 24,800. The ecclesiastical parish of Thu ...

, New Thundersley and Hadleigh. The Battle of Benfleet took place here between the Vikings and Saxons in 894. The community is directly north of

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...

and is served by Benfleet railway station. It hosts South Benfleet Primary School, which was used temporarily to house local residents during the widespread flooding of 1953. At the junction of Saint Mary's Church and The Anchor pub is the site of the UK's first "overrunable" mini roundabout.

History

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 the reclaimed area which is now Canvey Island was joined to the mainland by a road providing access from Benfleet at low tides to

Camulodunum Camulodunum ( ; ), the Roman Empire, Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important Castra, castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "wikt:strapline, strapline" in the 1960s ...

(

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

) and

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...

(London). The A130 road from Sadlers Farm roundabout to Canvey Island follows the route of the original Roman road. Its construction in 1971 brought to light a number of artifacts dating back to the early settlements in the area. The name of the town originates from the time of the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

settlers in the 5th century, when the area was largely marshland. They named the area ''Beamfleote'', meaning "tree stream", being the area where the creeks from the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

adjoined the wooded area to the north. The current spelling was adopted at the time the railway service was brought to the area and a railway station built for the town. Throughout the intervening period various documented versions of the names has been 'Benfleota', 'Beamflet', 'Bemflet', 'Bienflet' and 'Bemfleet'. The last was used on

John Norden John Norden (1625) was an English cartographer, chorographer and antiquary. He planned (but did not complete) a series of county maps and accompanying county histories of England, the '' Speculum Britanniae''. He was also a prolific write ...

's maps in the 17th century. In Saxon times the village became known as South Benfleet when a new settlement, which became known as Little Benfleet, developed to the north of the original settlement. The new settlement did not last, and its site, which has since become known as North Benfleet, is now largely rural. The railway was brought to the town in 1855. The new Benfleet railway station connected the town with

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

to the east and London Fenchurch Street station. In July 2002, Castle Point District Council named a 6-mile cycle way, from near Benfleet railway station to near Leigh-on-Sea railway station, the "de Neumann Way" after Captain Peter de Neumann, GM.

Battle of Benfleet

The Battle of Benfleet took place between the Saxons and Danish Vikings in 894. This was towards the end of the Saxon period, and the Thames and other waterways made the area vulnerable to Viking attacks. Benfleet was used as a Viking base. However, the Vikings were defeated in the battle by the army of

King Alfred Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when ...

under the command of his son

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (870s?17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousi ...

and his son-in-law Earl Aethelred of Mercia. Subsequently, a church was built by the Saxons in thanksgiving for the victory over the Vikings. St Mary's is the most recent church building occupying this site and is a Grade I

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 ...

. In December 2008 a

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

commemorating the battle was erected in Ferry Road, South Benfleet.

Geography

Local towns

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. ...

* Pitsea *

* Hadleigh *

Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a List of towns in England, town and civil parish within the city of Southend-on-Sea, located in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 22,509. Geograph ...

* New Thundersley *

Rayleigh Rayleigh may refer to: Science *Rayleigh scattering *Rayleigh–Jeans law *Rayleigh waves *Rayleigh (unit), a unit of photon flux named after the 4th Baron Rayleigh *Rayl, rayl or Rayleigh, two units of specific acoustic impedance and characte ...

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering South Benfleet, at

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

and

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...

level: Castle Point Borough Council, based in Thundersley, and

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...

, based in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

. South Benfleet was an

ancient 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 1929 the parish was merged with the neighbouring parishes of Hadleigh and

to become

Benfleet Urban District Benfleet Urban District was an urban district in the county of Essex, England. It was created on 1 October 1929 from the parts of Rochford Rural District containing the civil parishes of Hadleigh, South Benfleet and Thundersley. Since 1 April ...

. The three parishes were thereafter classed as

urban 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 ...

es and so no longer had separate parish councils, instead being directly administered by Benfleet Urban District Council. In 1951, South Benfleet urban parish had a population of 8,191. Benfleet Urban District was abolished on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, becoming part of the new district of Castle Point. No

successor parish Successor parishes are Civil parishes in England, civil parishes with a parish councils in England, parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of Urban district (England and Wales), urban d ...

was created for the former urban district and so South Benfleet is directly administered by Castle Point Borough Council.

Transport

Benfleet railway station is served by the London, Tilbury and Southend railway line, currently run by

c2c Trenitalia c2c, trading as c2c, is a British train operating company that operates commuter services from its London terminus at to parts of East London and south Essex along the London, Tilbury and Southend line, as part of the Essex Thame ...

rail. By road the A13 and A12/ A127/ A130 connect the town to London.

Sadlers Farm

Sadlers Farm is a traffic junction to the north-west of the town (). The original Sadlers Farm junction was a roundabout commonly congested at rush hour. A £63 million improvement scheme began in 2010 and finished in 2012. The redeveloped junction included a flyover bypass for the A13 and A130, extra lanes, and redesigned roundabouts.

Notable people

* Ron Martin – Southend United Chairman *

Ashley George Old Ashley George Old (born 1913, d. 2001) was an artist best known for documenting the lives of prisoners of war forced to construct the Thailand-Burma Railway. During World War II he was stationed in Singapore, and when it fell to the Japanese in ...

the war artist is buried there *

Nicola Willis Nicola Valentine Willis (born 7 March 1981) is a New Zealand politician who is currently Deputy leader of the New Zealand National Party, deputy leader of the National Party since 2021. She is also currently the Minister of Finance (New Zealand ...

- Olympic gymnast

Landmarks

The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

in Benfleet is served by the Church of St Mary the Virgin. The public houses located in the Monument and St Mary's area of the town include ''The Anchor'', ''The Hoy and Helmet'' and the ''Half Crown''. Further north is the ''Benfleet Tavern''. There is also a range of restaurants in the South Benfleet conservation area. Benfleet Water Tower () is a brick built structure built in 1903, which is 30m high with a 22m mast sited on the roof. All radio equipment is housed within the tower. Being on a prominent hilltop, some 137m amsl, this is an exceptional radio transmission and reception site. Coverage includes the whole estuary, including the Isle of Grain, Medway Towns, Southend, Bradwell, Danbury etc. This site provides both Highband and Lowband CBS systems.

Sport

Benfleet FC are members of the Essex Olympian Football League. The First Team play in Senior Division 1 and Seconds in the Reserve Division 2. There is also a third team who compete in the Mid-Essex Division 3. The club play their home fixtures at Woodside Park Extension at the top of Manor Road. Fixtures are organised on a Saturday afternoon, with some mid-week fixtures towards the end of the season. Benfleet is the home to Sceptre League Division 1 Sunday team Benfleet FC, who finished 8th in 2010/2011 season. Benfleet FC (Sunday) managed to win the Mike Wigget Cup in 2009/2010 season, beating Shoebury Boys 4–2 in the final at Burroughs Park, Great Wakering. Benfleet Vikings RFC are the town's local rugby club, formed in 2013, with Senior, Youth, and Minis sides. The senior side currently compete in the Shepherd Neame Essex Merit League 6 East and play their home fixtures on Saturdays at Richmond Park, off of Brook Road. Benfleet is also home to South Benfleet United F.C., a football club formed in 1978 for youth football but is now a men's and veterans' (over 35s) club. Their men's team currently play in the Sceptre League and their veterans teams are in the Premier Division and Division 3 of the Southend Borough Combination Veterans League. Benfleet Cricket Club (established 1948) currently play their home matches at Woodside Park at the top of Manor Road. Members of the Hambro Financial Cricket League (formerly Shepherd Neame Essex League), they currently field five adult teams on a Saturday, two adult teams on a Sunday, and teams at u9, u11, u13 and u15 age groups in competitions organised by the South Essex Cricket Participation Group.

In popular culture

Benfleet was referred to as Beamfleot in

The Saxon Stories ''The Saxon Stories'' (also known as ''Saxon Tales''/''Saxon Chronicles'' in the US and ''The Warrior Chronicles'' and most recently as ''The Last Kingdom'' series) is a historical novel series written by Bernard Cornwell about the history of A ...

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his long-running series of novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also writ ...

Images

Image:BenfleetClock.jpg, Clock on Vic House roundabout Image:Bluebellswood.jpg , One of the last true Bluebell woods in Essex (Shipwrights Drive) File:MonumentBenfleetcrop.jpg, War Monument, South Benfleet

References

*Norman M. Chisman, D.P.A., ''Bygone Benfleet'', Phillimore, 1991

External links

World's First Mini-Roundabout (1) was installed in Benfleet
{{Viking Invasion of England Populated places in Essex Benfleet Former civil parishes in Essex Castle Point