Essex is a ceremonial county in the East of England, on the north side of the Thames estuary. It covers 3,664 km2 (1,415 sq mi) and had 1,863,314 residents at the 2021 census. Chelmsford is the county town; Southend-on-Sea is the largest settlement.
Essex County Council runs twelve districts. Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock are separate unitary authorities. Chelmsford, Colchester and Southend-on-Sea all hold city status.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | East of England |
| Area | 3,664 km2 (1,415 sq mi) |
| Population (2021 census) | 1,863,314 |
| County town | Chelmsford |
| Largest settlement | Southend-on-Sea |
| Councils | Essex County Council (12 districts), Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock |
| Coastline | 562 miles (905 km), the longest of any English county |
| Highest point | Chrishall Common, 147 m (482 ft) |
| Postcode areas | CM, CO, SS, RM, IG and part of EN |
Towns and Villages in Essex
Essex holds 755 named towns, villages and hamlets on record, more than any other county in the east of England. The list below gives 259 of them, grouped by authority and alphabetical within each group.
Essex County Council area (215 of 711 listed)
- Abberton
- Abbess Roding
- Abridge
- Alresford
- Althorne
- Ardleigh
- Arkesden
- Ashdon
- Asheldham
- Bamber’s Green
- Basildon
- Beacon End
- Belchamp Walter
- Bicknacre
- Billericay
- Birchanger
- Black Notley
- Blackcat
- Blackmore
- Boreham
- Boxted
- Boyton Cross
- Braintree
- Brentwood
- Brick End
- Brightlingsea
- Brock Hill
- Buckhurst Hill
- Bures Hamlet
- Burnham-on-Crouch
- Canewdon
- Castle Hedingham
- Causeway End
- Chappel
- Chelmsford
- Chignall St James
- Chigwell
- Chipping Ongar
- Chrishall
- Clacton-on-Sea
- Clavering
- Coalhill
- Coggeshall
- Colchester
- Cold Norton
- Copford
- Creeksea
- Danbury
- Daws Heath
- Debden
- Dedham
- Dovercourt
- Duck End
- Earls Colne
- East Hanningfield
- Eight Ash Green
- Elder Street
- Elmstead Market
- Elsenham
- Epping
- Feering
- Finchingfield
- Ford End
- Foster Street
- Frinton-on-Sea
- Fuller’s End
- Fyfield
- Gestingthorpe
- Goldhanger
- Gosfield
- Grange Hill
- Great Bardfield
- Great Bentley
- Great Canney
- Great Chesterford
- Great Dunmow
- Great Horkesley
- Great Leighs
- Great Oakley
- Great Saling
- Great Sampford
- Great Tey
- Great Totham
- Great Wakering
- Great Waltham
- Great Yeldham
- Gubbion’s Green
- Hadleigh
- Hadstock
- Halstead
- Harlow
- Hartford End
- Harwich
- Hastingwood
- Hatfield Broad Oak
- Hatfield Heath
- Hatfield Peverel
- Hellman’s Cross
- Hempstead
- Henham
- High Easter
- High Ongar
- High Roding
- Higham
- Hornells Corner
- Howlett End
- Ingatestone
- Ingrave
- Kelvedon
- Kelvedon Hatch
- Kirby Cross
- Lamarsh
- Langdon Hills
- Langley
- Latchingdon and Snoreham
- Layer de la Haye
- Lee-over-Sands
- Little Bromley
- Little Clacton
- Little Dunmow
- Little Hallingbury
- Little Henny
- Little Tey
- Littlebury
- Littley Green
- Maggots End
- Maldon
- Manningtree
- Manuden
- Margaretting
- Marks Tey
- Matching
- Mayland
- Minnow End
- Mistley
- Moreton
- Mountnessing
- New England
- Newport
- North Fambridge
- Norton Heath
- Old Harlow
- Oxen End
- Panfield
- Passingford Bridge
- Peldon
- Pitsea
- Pledgdon Green
- Purleigh
- Radwinter End
- Rawreth
- Rayleigh
- Rayne
- Rettendon
- Rickling Green
- Ridgewell
- Rivenhall End
- Rochford
- Row Heath
- Rowhedge
- Roxwell
- Roydon
- Saffron Walden
- Saint Osyth
- Sand Hill
- Sheering
- Shellow Bowells
- Shenfield
- Sible Hedingham
- Silver End
- South Benfleet
- Southey Green
- Southminster
- Stansted Mountfitchet
- Stanway
- Stebbing
- Steeple
- Steeple Bumpstead
- Stisted
- Stock
- Sturmer
- Takeley
- Tendring
- Thaxted
- Theydon Bois
- Theydon Garnon
- Thorpe le Soken
- Tilbury Juxta Clare
- Tillingham
- Tiptree
- Tollesbury
- Tolleshunt Knights
- Tolleshunt Major
- Tumbler’s Green
- Upper Pond Street
- Waltham Abbey
- Walton-on-the-Naze
- Watton’s Green
- Wendens Ambo
- West Bergholt
- West Hanningfield
- West Horndon
- West Mersea
- Wethersfield
- Wicken Bonhunt
- Wickford
- Wickham Bishops
- Widdington
- Widford
- Witham
- Wivenhoe
- Wix
- Woodham Mortimer
- Woodham Walter
- Writtle
Southend-on-Sea (14 of 14 listed)
- Bournes Green
- Cambridge Town
- Chalkwell
- Clifftown
- Leigh-on-Sea
- North Shoebury
- Porters Town
- Prittlewell
- Shoeburyness
- Southchurch Village
- Southend-on-Sea
- Suttons
- Thorpe Bay
- Westcliff-on-Sea
Thurrock (30 of 30 listed)
- Aveley
- Baker Street
- Belhus
- Bulphan
- Chadwell St Mary
- Chafford Hundred
- Corringham
- Coryton
- East Tilbury
- Fobbing
- Grays
- Horndon on the Hill
- Linford
- Little Thurrock
- Low Street
- Mucking
- North Stifford
- Orsett
- Orsett Heath
- Purfleet-on-Thames
- Shell Haven
- South Ockendon
- South Stifford
- Southfields
- Stanford-le-Hope
- Stifford
- Thames Haven
- Tilbury
- West Thurrock
- West Tilbury
Geography
Essex borders Suffolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-west, Hertfordshire to the west, Greater London to the south-west and Kent across the Thames.
The county is low and gently rolling, rising only to 147 m at Chrishall Common on the Cambridgeshire border. The north is arable clay country drained by the Stour, Colne, Blackwater and Chelmer.
Its coast is the defining feature: 562 miles of it, more than any other English county, because the shoreline folds into estuary after estuary. The Blackwater, Crouch, Roach, Colne and Thames all open here, with saltmarsh, islands and creeks between them. Mersea Island, Foulness, Canvey Island and the Dengie peninsula sit among them. Epping Forest covers 2,400 hectares in the south-west.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 1,506,726 people across the twelve county council districts, 180,655 in Southend-on-Sea and 175,933 in Thurrock. Colchester was the largest district at 192,658, ahead of Basildon at 187,718 and Chelmsford at 181,827.
The population is heaviest in the south, along the Thames and the London commuter corridors. Harlow and Basildon were both built as post-war new towns to take Londoners.
The north and centre are rural. Uttlesford, Maldon and Braintree hold hundreds of villages, many with the distinctive Essex place names ending in Roding, Bumpstead, Easter and Colne.
Economy and Local Life
London shapes much of the economy. Large numbers commute from Brentwood, Chelmsford, Basildon, Harlow and the Epping Forest district, and the county has one of the highest self-employment rates in England.
Freight is the other pillar. The Port of Tilbury and London Gateway on the Thames handle containers and cars. Harwich runs ferries and offshore wind support, and Stansted is the county’s airport.
Farming works the northern clays for wheat, barley and oilseed rape, with oysters from Mersea and Colchester. Clacton-on-Sea, Frinton, Walton and Southend carry the seaside trade, and Southend’s pier is the longest pleasure pier in the world at 1.33 miles.
History
Colchester is Britain’s oldest recorded town. As Camulodunum it was the capital of the Trinovantes, then the first Roman capital of Britain, and Boudica burned it in AD 60 or 61.
The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of the East Saxons gave the county its name and roughly its shape. The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 began at Fobbing and Brentwood over the poll tax.
Elizabeth I addressed her troops at Tilbury in 1588 as the Armada approached. In the twentieth century Harlow and Basildon were designated new towns and Ford built cars and engines at Dagenham. Oil and chemical works grew on the Thames at Coryton and Canvey.
Getting There
The M25 clips the south-west of the county and crosses the Thames at the Dartford Crossing. The M11 runs north past Harlow and Stansted. The A12 is the main artery to Chelmsford, Colchester and Ipswich. The A13 serves Thurrock and Southend, and the A120 links Stansted to Braintree and Harwich.
The Great Eastern Main Line runs from London Liverpool Street through Chelmsford and Colchester. The c2c line serves Basildon, Southend and Thurrock from Fenchurch Street, and the West Anglia Main Line serves Harlow.
London Stansted Airport is the third busiest in the UK. London Southend Airport handles European routes. Ferries sail from Harwich International to Hook of Holland.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Essex?
1,863,314 at the 2021 census, counting the county council area plus the unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.
What is the largest town in Essex?
Southend-on-Sea, with about 181,000 people. Colchester, Basildon and Chelmsford follow.
How many villages are there in Essex?
Gazetteers record about 755 named towns, villages and hamlets across the ceremonial county.
Which councils cover Essex?
Essex County Council with twelve district councils, plus Southend-on-Sea City Council and Thurrock Council as unitary authorities.
Is Essex part of London?
No. Parts of the historic county were transferred to Greater London in 1965, including West Ham, Ilford, Romford and Barking, but the ceremonial county is separate.
What are the postcodes for Essex?
CM covers Chelmsford, Harlow and Brentwood. CO covers Colchester and Clacton, SS covers Southend and Basildon, and RM and IG cover Romford and Ilford along the London edge.