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And Some Things You Didn't The following information has been compiled at random using our hysterical - sorry - historical - filing system!! |
| Mersea Island - is five miles long and two miles wide, has a land mass of 2,683 acres and is shaped like an oyster for which it is famous The Island - faces south to the River Blackwater - east to the River Colne - west to the Strood channel and north to the Pyefleet channel Mersea Island - is (allegedly) the most easterly inhabited island in Britain Central Ridge Mersea Island has a central ridge running from east to west along its length - rising to 70 feet above sea level. This is what passes for a hill in our part of the country The Moon Mersea lives by the lunar cycle of the moon. At full moon and new moon high tides may cover the main causeway road when, for a while, Mersea becomes a real island. Climate Mersea has a healthy dry climate with an average rainfall of 20 inches per year (except this year - 2007 - when it rained and rained!). The indigenous inhabitants were/are famous for their longevity Population West Mersea has a population of 6,925 people - and there are more women than men - 48% men and 52% women Two Car Island! 15.3% of the population of West Mersea have no car - 39.9% have two cars or more Oldies! West Mersea has the highest percentage of over 75 year olds in the Colchester area - having said this it is WELL UNDER A QUARTER OF THE POPULATION. At the time of writing sixty seven people in Mersea are over 90 years old. Messing About on Boats Boating and Yachting feature highly on Mersea's Agenda. There are about a thousand moorings in the surrounding fleets. Small dinghy sailing is also very popular - youngsters can learn to sail in the relatively safe waters of the estuary. Main Drains Mersea was connected to mains sewage and mains water in 1924. The main well of the island - famous for never having dried up - St Peter's - was finally sealed up. Lights Up Electricity came to Mersea Island in the mid 1930's but not to East Mersea until 1946 Mains Gas did not arrive in Mersea until 1989 Bradwell Bradwell Power Station was built in 1962 |
| Fresh Women! Excerpt from "The Building Trade" Journal 1907 under the title "A new Essex island" which says:- During the few weeks I stayed on the island I was struck by the freshness of complexions of the women whom I saw - not browned and sunburnt - but fresh and bonny - a mute testimony to the ozonic qualities of the air The Fountain Hotel on Queens Corner was a luxurious, state of the art, Edwardian hotel, with electric light and central heating (powered by a Generator.) West Mersea Council voted against it being replaced by a housing complex and tried to save it as a pub - to no avail - it was pulled down in 1999. Gun Punts - were once an integral part of Mersea life. An Essex Punt is a grey, flat bottomed, undecked, craft - driven by paddles or a culling oar - occasionally setting a small spritsail. Punt building and racing has recently been revived in Mersea The Concrete Road In 1938 West Mersea Parish Council were instructed by the Ministry of Defence to authorise the construction of a proper "concrete road" along a rough track above the beach. Broomhills Road was also hard surfaced - much to the annoyance of the residents. The country was under threat of war and the road was needed for the military traffic that would require easy access to defend this part of the shoreline. This road is now Victoria Esplanade 2nd World War There were about 2000 troops stationed in Mersea during the 2nd World War. Gone With The Wind Thousand of Londoners queued through the Blitz to see the famous film "Gone With the Wind". When it was shown in the "cinema" at the Legion Hall in Mersea many left before the end complaining that it was too long and the seats were too hard. Explosive Seating When you sit on the seats above the Two Sugars Cafe on the Esplanade you are sitting ontop of a sealed, cavernous underground chamber that was once a WW11 Ammunition Store. End of Term Mersea School - in July 1960 the last children of Secondary School age left MErsea School. The next term it became purely a Primary school. Mill Road The main and mainly inadequate road to the centre of the town has had numerous names - Shelleys Lane - Meeting Lane - Chapel Lane Sirens The last recorded air raid siren to warn of enemy action was sounded in Mersea on 19th March 1942. The sirens have sounded once a year since but as a Flood Warning practice School Gardens In 1927 School Gardens opposite the school was opened to the public. It contained 400 species of trees and shrubs plus an avairy. First Policeman Mersea's first Policeman arrived to take up his duties in 1844 - his name was William Francis and he was 22 years old. The Montessori Nursery - now housed in the building behind the Council Offices in Melrose Road was previously the Surveyors Office for the Urban District Council. At one time it had been a private school run by Miss Frances - called the "Tin School" due to its corrugated iron roof Teething Problems The discoloured teeth of some of the children living in West Mersea during the 1950's was said to be due to the excessive amounts of fluoride in the water |
| Cricketting Mussetts At one time the whole of Mersea 1st 11 cricket team were Mussetts! Antarctic Expedition In 1914 Commander Hudson - resident of Mersea - took part in the Shackleton Antarctic Expedition Jubilee To celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 - Squire Gilbert of Mersea - who lived at Orleans - donated a pipe and half ounce of tobacco to every man in West Mersea and a quarter pound of tea to every woman. No Fun At one time Edwardian Mersea was set to become a Temperance Resort - no drinking - dancing or gaming. Thankfully - if that's the right word - the first World War put the kibosh on this scheme School Mag In 1932 Mersea School produced its very own School Magazine - it was called "This Happy Isle". East Mersea school already had a School magazine called "The Eastonians". Piggy Prize Originallyl the 1930's the prize for winning the Greasy Pole contest at the Regatta was a live pig. Later the prize became a Leg of Mutton Big Drama In 1957 Mersea Dramatic Club put on a play based on the Victorian gothic novel Mehalah by Baring Gould - a story set in Mersea - the tickets went on sale at 7am and all the seats were sold by noon. From East to West In April 1939 nine children transferred from East Mersea School to West Mersea School. The School at East Mersea was then officially closed down Manor Going Going Gone The title of Lord of the Manor of Mersea is held by a Mr. G.W.Cattermole of Abbots Manor - Chapel. He bought the title at Auction Gas Masks In September 1938 all children in Mersea were issued with Respirators (gas masks) Shelved Merchant Ships During the Depression Years - 1920's and 30's - the Blackwater River became a dumping ground for redundant merchant ships when no fewer than 43 large steamers sheltered offshore at Mersea Listed Buildings West Mersea has about 50 Listed Buildings. East Mersea has about 12 Listed Buildings The Big Freeze During the winter of 1962/63 a Great Freeze occurred when all the creeks froze over. Oysters in Distress Today the oyster industry is thriving but up to the early 1900's it had been in decline mainly due to overfishing and neglect of the spawning beds. A couple of really harsh winters and the effects of using TBT an anti fouling paint used on Yachts finally finished most of them off Well Condemned In 1915 the Well at Mersea School was declared unfit to drink. Water was fetched every day from St Peter's Well in Coast Road - and taken to the school by handcart. This continued until 1925. the BuzzenThe deep water channel into Mersea Hard is the Besom Fleet - Besom is pronounced locally as "Buzzen". Essex People Did you know that 1.6 million people live in the County of Essex First Ever Regatta The first Mersea Regatta was held on Thursday 28th July 1838 - to celebrate the coronation of Queen Victoria The Army's Navy! During World War 2 West Mersea was the Headquarters of the Royal Army Corps Motor Boat Company - known as the Army's Navy. More Pub's! Mersea once had three more pubs than it has now. The Old Ship in the Lane. The Fountain Hotel at Queens Corner and the Two Tides at the beach end of Seaview Avenue. The old Fountain pub (now a row of cottages in East Road) was closed when the new Fountain was built. The popular Spinney Tea Gardens once stood on the grassy slope down to the beach below Willoughby Avenue. If you look carefully you can still see the steps that led up to the entrance Charleston Court The Two Tides Pub once stood on this site of the flats known today as Charleston Court in Seaview Avenue. The flats were named after the Landlord of the Pub (at his own request) who sold off the site for development. Br> |
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The Fishing Smack - Boadicea CK213 A Mersea smack she is two hundred years old and one of the oldest sailing vessels in Europe still in regular use Three generations of the Frost Family have owned her |
The Nutshell the smallest cottage in Mersea |
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