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Prittlewell
Prittlewell is an inner city area in Southend-on-Sea, in Essex, England. Historically, Prittlewell was the main village in the area. Southend was originally a hamlet at the southern end of the parish of Prittlewell. The village of Prittlewell was originally centred at the joining of three main roads, East Street, West Street, and North Street, which was extended south in the 19th century and renamed Victoria Avenue. As Southend grew into a seaside resort it overtook Prittlewell in size and Prittlewell became part of Southend's built up area. Prittlewell has been administered as part of Southend since 1877. The principal administrative buildings in Southend are located along Victoria Avenue. Prittlewell railway station serves the area.
The name Prittlewell means "babbling stream". It comes from the Old English pritol meaning prattling or babbling and the well is from the Anglian dialect of Old English, meaning a stream or spring. The village grew up in the valley of the Prittle Brook, a tributary of the River Roach.
The Roman occupation began to influence the area with the construction of a Roman-style dwelling, probably a farmhouse or villa, close to the brook in what is now Priory Park. The introduction of new ideas, new skills and social structures under this Roman influence would have brought significant change to the area. The discovery of Roman burial sites during road and rail construction in the 1920s and 1930s indicated that the settlement was well developed and of some significance, although no prominent buildings were preserved.
Following the decline of Roman Britain, the area came under the influence of Saxon raiders, over time becoming established as part of the kingdom of the East Saxons. Part of a blocked archway built of Roman tiles survives in the north wall of the chancel of St Mary's church, and it has long been assumed that it represents part of a small Anglo-Saxon chapel built in the 7th century, possibly as early as the reign of King Sæberht of Essex. However, more recent study and comparison with surviving architectural remains elsewhere suggest instead that the arch may date as late as the 10th or early 11th century, and that this is the date of the first church to be built on the site.
The construction works of 1923 and 1930 that revealed Roman burials also unearthed evidence of numerous Anglo-Saxon burials, a significant number of which were high-status or warrior burials containing weapons, imported goods, jewellery and decorative beads, some of which were made out of glass. The high status of the area during the Anglo-Saxon period was confirmed by the discovery of a substantial and undisturbed 7th-century chamber tomb in 2003. The burial site was uncovered by archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology, who had been commissioned to prepare the site in advance of a road widening scheme. In 2009, following local opposition, the scheme was dropped and the traffic congestion eased by works to a different road location.
The unusually rich contents and their condition have excited archaeologists, being described as "unique" by the Museum of London. A fuller description of the excavation and the artefacts of the burial chamber, originally thought to be of Sæberht of Essex, can be seen at the dedicated Museum of London website. The story of the excavation was also thought so significant as to be the subject of a special documentary titled "King of Bling", as part of the Time Team series.
The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded two manors in the area: Prittewella and Mildenaina (Milton), the former owned by Swein of Essex and the latter by the Priory of Holy Trinity, Canterbury (now Canterbury Cathedral). In the 12th century, Robert de Essex, also known as Robert FitzSwein, founded Prittlewell Priory as a cell of the Cluniac Priory of St Pancras, Lewes. The foundation charter included the manor and church of Prittlewell.
Prittlewell became a parish, covering the two manors of Prittlewell and Milton. There is some evidence that the parish may have originally been larger, with the churches at Eastwood, Sutton, and South Shoebury all known to have once been chapels of ease to Prittlewell.
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Prittlewell AI simulator
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Prittlewell
Prittlewell is an inner city area in Southend-on-Sea, in Essex, England. Historically, Prittlewell was the main village in the area. Southend was originally a hamlet at the southern end of the parish of Prittlewell. The village of Prittlewell was originally centred at the joining of three main roads, East Street, West Street, and North Street, which was extended south in the 19th century and renamed Victoria Avenue. As Southend grew into a seaside resort it overtook Prittlewell in size and Prittlewell became part of Southend's built up area. Prittlewell has been administered as part of Southend since 1877. The principal administrative buildings in Southend are located along Victoria Avenue. Prittlewell railway station serves the area.
The name Prittlewell means "babbling stream". It comes from the Old English pritol meaning prattling or babbling and the well is from the Anglian dialect of Old English, meaning a stream or spring. The village grew up in the valley of the Prittle Brook, a tributary of the River Roach.
The Roman occupation began to influence the area with the construction of a Roman-style dwelling, probably a farmhouse or villa, close to the brook in what is now Priory Park. The introduction of new ideas, new skills and social structures under this Roman influence would have brought significant change to the area. The discovery of Roman burial sites during road and rail construction in the 1920s and 1930s indicated that the settlement was well developed and of some significance, although no prominent buildings were preserved.
Following the decline of Roman Britain, the area came under the influence of Saxon raiders, over time becoming established as part of the kingdom of the East Saxons. Part of a blocked archway built of Roman tiles survives in the north wall of the chancel of St Mary's church, and it has long been assumed that it represents part of a small Anglo-Saxon chapel built in the 7th century, possibly as early as the reign of King Sæberht of Essex. However, more recent study and comparison with surviving architectural remains elsewhere suggest instead that the arch may date as late as the 10th or early 11th century, and that this is the date of the first church to be built on the site.
The construction works of 1923 and 1930 that revealed Roman burials also unearthed evidence of numerous Anglo-Saxon burials, a significant number of which were high-status or warrior burials containing weapons, imported goods, jewellery and decorative beads, some of which were made out of glass. The high status of the area during the Anglo-Saxon period was confirmed by the discovery of a substantial and undisturbed 7th-century chamber tomb in 2003. The burial site was uncovered by archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology, who had been commissioned to prepare the site in advance of a road widening scheme. In 2009, following local opposition, the scheme was dropped and the traffic congestion eased by works to a different road location.
The unusually rich contents and their condition have excited archaeologists, being described as "unique" by the Museum of London. A fuller description of the excavation and the artefacts of the burial chamber, originally thought to be of Sæberht of Essex, can be seen at the dedicated Museum of London website. The story of the excavation was also thought so significant as to be the subject of a special documentary titled "King of Bling", as part of the Time Team series.
The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded two manors in the area: Prittewella and Mildenaina (Milton), the former owned by Swein of Essex and the latter by the Priory of Holy Trinity, Canterbury (now Canterbury Cathedral). In the 12th century, Robert de Essex, also known as Robert FitzSwein, founded Prittlewell Priory as a cell of the Cluniac Priory of St Pancras, Lewes. The foundation charter included the manor and church of Prittlewell.
Prittlewell became a parish, covering the two manors of Prittlewell and Milton. There is some evidence that the parish may have originally been larger, with the churches at Eastwood, Sutton, and South Shoebury all known to have once been chapels of ease to Prittlewell.