26 October: Essex Day

Today is Essex Day. This date was chosen because it is the feast day of St Cedd, a missionary who was sent to the East Saxons to turn them back from their pagan ways. He was appointed bishop there and became the county’s patron saint. 10 things you might not know about Essex.

1. It was the East Saxons who gave the county its name. They were known as ‘Eastseaxe’. The Essex coat of arms consists of three of their knives. The first recording of Essex was in AD 527 and it was bigger then, including what is now Middlesex, most of Surrey and parts of Hertfordshire.
2. It has the second longest coastline of any English county at 350 miles, which is the distance between London and Germany. It has more islands than any other county – 35 – and the highest point is Chrishall Common near Langley, on the Essex/Herts border, 147 metres above sea level.
3. Essex boasts a number of “oldests”. Colchester is Britain’s oldest town, and was the capital in Roman times and known then as Camulodunum. Back then it had a mint making coins which were marked CAMV (meaning Camulodunum). Essex also has the oldest wooden church (Greenstead Church built in 1081); the oldest motor lifeboat (The James Stevens); the oldest battlefield (Northey Island, site of the battle of Maldon) and the oldest timber framed barn (at Cressing Temple near Braintree, the barn was built by the Knights Templar).
4. Then there is the oldest competition still running today, the Flitch Trials in Great Dunmow, which were actually mentioned in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The aim of the contest was to find a married couple who had not argued or regretted their marriage for a year and a day. A mock court of locals is set up to test the claims and the prize is a flitch of bacon. The tradition dates back to 1104 when the lord and lady of the manor ‘dressed themselves as humble folk and begged blessing of the prior a year and a day after their marriage’. The prior was so impressed he awarded them a flitch of bacon.
5. Southend is unusual among British seaside resorts as it is growing rather than declining. Its proximity to London is one reason given as to why it’s bucking the trend. It also has the longest pleasure pier in the world, at 1.33 miles long.
6. Britain’s smallest town and largest village are both in Essex. Manningtree claims to be the smallest town with an area of just over 19 hectares (47 acres) and a population of just 200, while the village of Tiptree has a population of over 9,000. Tiptree’s other claim to fame is that it has a farm growing Little Scarlet Strawberries, a rare breed perfect for making jam.
7. Great Bentley has the largest village green in England – 43 acres. It’s so big that in Edwardian times it was used as a golf course.
8. England’s most haunted house is here too. Borley Rectory boasts tales of floating nuns and headless figures dating back over 200 years and a mysterious Fire in 1939 which meant the building itself was demolished. The grounds, however, are still a popular location for ghost hunts.
9. Essex also has a “secret nuclear bunker” at Kelvedon Hatch, 40m underground, built in the early 1950s. 600 people could shelter in it in the event of a nuclear war. It’s not so secret now – it’s open to the public and any number of Brown signs will tell you exactly where it is.
10. Essex is said to have more speed cameras per mile than anywhere else in the world – so if you go there, watch your speed.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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