History edit
Toponymy edit
The island has its name derived from the Saxon language and their word Caningaege; meaning The Island of Cana's People.[1] The more familiar name of Caneveye appears in manorial records of 1254.[2] The development of written English in the middle ages often produced a confused use of letters[3] such that comparative spellings would also include Canefe, Kaneweye, Kaneveye, and Koneveye.
Counus Island edit
The Elizabethan antiquarian William Camden noted in his topographical survey "Brittania" of the British isles in 1607 that Canvey Island (which he called Island Convennon) was documented in the 2nd century by the Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy.[4] In his work Geographia Ptolemy mentions a headland in the mouth of the Thames to the east of the Trinovantes region called Counus Island. However, the difficulties faced in exacting the location of land areas in Ptolemy's ancient work has led modern researchers to question the correlation between Ptolemy's island and contemporary Canvey. It is argued that the Counus Island would have existed much further out to sea (or even likely to be the Isle of Sheppey[5]), and that the similarity between the names is mere coincidence. Without any suitable island matching Ptolemy's Counus Island, it is also thought that the documented island has been lost or reduced to an insignificant sandbank by subsidence and the constant effects of the sea since Ptolemy's time.[6][1]
Incular Island edit
Mentioned on John Norden's 1594 insert above, is what is now the Eastern/Point mud flats of Canvey Island. Two Tree Island is in pretty much the same shape now as then. The third un-named Island could well be Counus or (Council Island). Certainly the Trinovantes, Cantiaci and the Catuvellauni would have counseled with the Iceni here, shortly before the rebellion against the Romans. Counus remains as the Canvey Point Sand Bank and Maplin Sands, and stretched the whole length of Southend Sea Front area. It is the main reason for Southend's Tidal flats being so shallow. Cana's People were descendant of both Cantiaci and the Catuvellauni. Counus would then be placed at the southern border of the Trinovantes on the Eastern Extent of The Tames (Thames). [citation needed]
Roman settlement edit
Canvey was used by the Romans for salt making from around 50–250 AD.[1][6] A number of Red hills have been documented in the 20th century[1][7] and the discovery of a Roman road found to terminate 100 metres across the creek in neighbouring Benfleet suggests this was a means to facilitate the salt's distribution to Chelmsford and Colchester.[1] The recovery at the island's eastern point of a variety of rich pottery and glassware only matched elsewhere by excavations of port facilities suggests the Romans may also have exploited Canvey's location in the Thames for shipping,[1][8] and the discovery of 29 Roman urns points to the existence of a cremation cemetery.[9] Objects have also been unearthed from earlier periods such as axes from the Neolithic era,[1] a bracelet dating from the Bronze Age,[10] and early Celtic gritted ware pottery.[1] but their relationship to the island remains unclear.
Agriculture edit
The arrival in the 5th century of the Saxons in Essex established sheep-farming across the south of the county. The area of Canvey was recorded in the domesday book as a sheep farming pasture situated within a belt across south inland and coastal Essex.[11]
Apart from the meat and wool produced from the sheep, the milk from the ewes was used for cheese-making.[10] The abundance in later centuries would see the cheeses become a commodity taken for sale at the London markets, and at one stage exported via Calais to the continent.[1] The existence of several place names on modern Canvey using the wick suffix (denoting the sheds in which cheese was made) shows the significance of the production.
By the 12th century, Essex and subsequently Canvey were in the possession of Henry de Essex who inherited the land from his Grandfather - a man called Suene and a descendant of King Sweyn II of Denmark.[12] During the reign of Henry II (1154–1189) the land was confiscated from de Essex and redistributed among the King's favoured nobles.[12] During Edward II's reign (1307-1327) the land was under the possession of John de Apeton[10] and the first attempts were made at managing the effects of the sea with rudimentary defences,[10][1] but periodical flooding continued to blight the small population of mostly shepherds and their fat-tailed variety of sheep for a further 300 years.
Reclamation edit
William Camden wrote of the island in 1607 that it was so low that it was often quite flooded, except the hills, upon which the sheep have a place of safe refuge.[4] The uniform flatness of Canvey suggests that these hills are likely to be the red hills of the Roman salt making industry, or the early makeshift sea defences constructed by some of the landowners around their farms.
In 1622, Sir Henry Appleton (a descendant of John de Apeton), and Canvey's other landowners[13] instigated a project to reclaim the land and wall the island from the Thames. The scheme was managed by an acquaintance of Appleton's - Joas Croppenburg, a Dutch Haberdasher of Cheapside in London. An agreement was reached in 1623 which stipulated that in return for inning and recovering the island, the landowners would grant a third of the land as payment for the work.[10] A relation of Croppenburg's; the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden present in England at the time of the project on a commission to drain the Fens and involved in repairing the seawall at Dagenham has led to speculation that Vermuyden oversaw the project, but proof appears to be vague,[1] nevertheless the work was completed by around 300 Hollanders skilled in the construction of dykes and other sea defences. The engineers successfully reclaimed 3,600 acres (15 km2)[1] by walling the island with local chalk, limestone and the heavy clay of the marshes, with the main length along the Thames faced with kentish ragstone.[6][1] A broad drainage ditch was dug inland off the area facing the river while smaller inlets were filled in. Excess water would have collected in the broad ditch and then been discharged into the river by the means of seven sluices (later known as Commissioners Dykes).[6] The completion of the work saw a considerable number of the Dutch engineers take land as payment for their work, and consequently settle on the island.[12]
Seaside resort and plotlands edit
During the Victorian era Canvey was a very fashionable place to visit and many thought its air to have healing properties. Canvey Island benefited from this and thousands of people flocked to it especially from places like London. The entrepreneur Frederick Hestor began developing the island in 1899 as the "Canvey-on-Sea" residential holiday resort. He began marketing 1,004 plots of land within the newly created "South-view Estate" to Londoners, but went bankrupt in (Year x). However the island remained popular with daytrippers and holiday makers throughout the first half of the 20th century making the island the fastest growing seaside resort by population in Britain between 1911 and 1951.[14]
Second World War edit
During the Second World War the island was a part of the GHQ Line, a line of concrete pillboxes constructed as a part of the defence against the expected German invasion. Concrete barges were also used extensively just off the south coast of the island, partly to act as a sea-barrier and also as a mounting point for anti-aircraft guns; one of which was beached on the east end of the island and remained for many years as a point of interest. Along with the Coalhouse Fort at nearby East Tilbury, Thorney bay on the southern coast of the island was the site of a degaussing station built to monitor the effectiveness of the degaussing equipment functioning on board the allied ships passing along the Thames. The structure is the last intact degaussing station on the north side of the river, and was still operating in 1974. Known as the Canvey loop, the building was occupied by the Women's Royal Naval Service and used for monitoring merchant ships.[15][16]
Canvey's location in the Thames was on the route used by German aircraft for the bombing raids on London. It is thought that more than 200 high-explosive bombs were dropped on the island in abortive missions to and from the capital.[17] A V1 Flying Bomb also hit the island in 1944 causing the deaths of four residents and injuring 27 others.[18]
The Flood of 1953 edit
On 31 January 1953, the North Sea Flood hit the island during the night and caused the deaths of 58 people. Many of the victims were in the holiday bungalows of the eastern Newlands estate and perished as the water reached ceiling level. The small village area of the island is approximately two feet above sea level and consequently escaped the effects of the flood. This included the local Red Cow pub which was later renamed the King Canute in reference to the legend of the 11th century Danish king of England commanding the tide to halt with the sea lapping at his feet.
After the flood of 1953, a new seawall was built, which was then replaced with a significantly larger construction in the 1980s.
Cultural references edit
The novelist Joseph Conrad described in his 1899 work 'Heart of Darkness' the journey east from London along the Thames Estuary and the appearance of the island's Chapman Lighthouse;
"The sun set; the dusk fell on the stream, and lights began to appear along the shore. The Chapman lighthouse, a three-legged thing erect on a mud flat, shone strongly. Lights of ships moved in the fairway - a great stir of lights going up and going down. And farther west on the upper reaches the place of the monstrous town was still marked ominously on the sky, a brooding gloom in sunshine, a lurid glare under the skies."[19]
The hexagonal lighthouse was constructed in 1851 on the Chapman Sands that bank the south of Canvey. Built by the engineer James Walker, a consultant lighthouse engineer at Trinity House at the time, the all-iron lighthouse replaced a lightship which had been moored in the area for the preceding four years. The lighthouse was manned by three keepers who worked two month shifts followed by one month break. During Canvey's popularity as a holiday island, the lighthouse was employed as a destination for holiday makers taking boat trips from the island. The lighthouse was demolished in 1957 due to its poor condition and replaced by a buoy.
Notes edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Yearsley. (2000).
- ^ Castle Point Borough Council. (2006). Local History: Canvey Island. Retrieved: 2008-02-27.
- ^ English Place-Name Society. (1926).
- ^ a b Camden. (1586).
- ^ MacBean, & Johnson. (1773).
- ^ a b c d White. (1994).
- ^ see: The excavation of a Red Hill on Canvey Island. (Rodwell, 1966).
- ^ Essex County Council Heritage Conservation. (2008). Romano-British Occupation of South Essex. Retrieved: 2008-03-27.
- ^ Halllmann, 2006. (p.3)
- ^ a b c d e Barsby. (1992).
- ^ Darby, (p. 157).
- ^ a b c Bills. (2004).
- ^ Canvey's other landowners were Abigail Baker, Thomas Binckes, the Blackmore family, and Juilius Sludder. (Barsby, 1992).
- ^ Walton, 2000. (p.37).
- ^ Matthew Stanton. (2008-05-05). Wartime museum. Castlepoint Yellow Advertiser. (p. 21).
- ^ Canvey's WW2 Degaussing Station. Canvey Island Community archive. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ Rayleigh, Rochford & Castle Point Standard. (2008-10-31). Nature reserve may have old bombs hidden. Echo Newspapers.
- ^ Hallmann, p.91
- ^ Joseph Conrad. (1899). The Heart of Darkness. (p. 5). Everyman. ISBN 0460872923.
References edit
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