City of Southend: A Potted History

The modern city of Southend-on-Sea has come a long way since its eighteenth-century origins as an oyster fishing hamlet at the south end of Prittlewell parish. Now Southend is a regional employment, shopping and educational centre, attracting 6.5 million visitors a year and housing 180,000 permanent residents. The construction of the Royal Hotel in the 1790s began Southend's transformation into a ...