CANVEY-ISLAND
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales...., by John Marius Wilson. circa 1866
CANVEY-ISLAND, a chapelry in Billericay and Richford districts, Essex; encircled by the Thames, opposite the Hope, adjacent to Benfleet r. station, 4 and ½ miles SW of Rayleigh. It comprises parts of Vauge (sic), Pitsea, Bowers-Gifford, North Benfleet, South Benfleet, Hadleigh, Prittlewell and Southchrch parishes; and its post-town is South Benfleet under Chelmsford. Acres, about 3,500. Pop., 111. The property is much subdivided. The surface is marshland sheep-pasture; and it is protected all round by embankment, and connected with the mainland by a causeway. Fairs are held on 25 June and 25 Sept. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £58. Patron, the Bishop of Rochester. The church is good.
KRONOS, a headland mentioned by Ptolemy as in the E of England; and generally identified with Canvey Point, at the Thames' mouth, in Essex.
Transcribed by Noel Clark
Post Office Directory of Essex - 1871
Submitted and Transcribed by Essex Villages
>CANVEY ISLAND, which is united to South Benfleet at low water by a causeway across Hadleigh Ray, it is in the parishes of Bowers Gifford, Hadleigh, North Benfleet, Pitsea, Prittlewell, South Benfleet, Southchurch, and Vange; it is the Convennos of the ancient geographer Ptolemy, and is a marsh island of the Thames, defended by high banks all round, erected in 1623; it forms a very rich grazing ground, on which many cattle and sheep are attened. Here is a coastguard station, with a lieutenant and eight men. The church is small, and named St. Catherine. The living is a perpetual curacy, yearly value 82, in the gift of the Bishop of Rochester, and held by the Rev. Thomas Julius Henderson, M. A., of Wadham College, Oxford, vicar of South Benfleet. A small fair is held on June 25th. This island is 6 miles long by 2 broad, contains 3,600 acres, and had a population in 1861 of 241.
Letters received from Chelmsford. Rayleigh is the nearest money order office.
Beckwith Charles, Lobster Smack
Drawbridge Thomas, beer retailer & grocer
KELLY'S DIRECTORY OF ESSEX 1933
CANVEY ISLAND, which is united to South Benfleet by a bridge opened in 1931 at a cost of £20,000 across Radleigh Bay, and originally part of the parishes of Bowers Gifford, Hadleigh, North Benfleet, Laindon, Pitsea, Prittlewell, South Benfleet, Southchurch and Vange, was formed into a civil and ecclesiastical parish 4 March, 1881, but under the provisions of the Canvey Island (Constitution of Urban District) Order, 1926, the parish was converted into an Urban District, with a council consisting of nine members: it is supposed by some to be the “Counos” of “Convennos Insula” of the ancient geographer Ptolemy, a name assigned by others to the Isle of Sheppy, and is a marshy island of the Thames, defended by high banks all round, erected in 1623: it is in the South Eastern division of the county, Rochford petty sessional division, Sonthend county court district, Canewdon and Southend rural deanery, Southend archdeaconry and Chelmsford diocese: it forms very rich grazing ground and includes a large quantity of arable land. Water is supplied by the Southend Waterworks Company, who obtain their water from the Rivers Chelmer, Ter and Blackwater, also from wells and borings. Canvey church is 10 miles west from Southend-on-Sea and 2 south from South Benfleet station on the London, Midland and Scottish railway. The church of St. Katharine, erected in 1875 in the place of an earlier building dating from 1712, the only portions of which now remaining are some windows and the porch, is a structure of wood, consisting of chancel, nave, transepts and a small central belfry, with spire, containing one bell: there are 160 sittings. The register dates from the year 1819, previous to which date the entries were made in the South Benfleet register. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £340, with glebe (£13) and residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Chelmsford, and held since 1929 by the Rev. Edward Bonamy Dobree M.A., L.Th. of Hatfield Hall, Durham. Here is a small hall belonging to St. Anne’s church and a Baptist chapel. The Chapman lighthouse was opened in 1851; it stands half a mile from the island due south-east. The Casino, opened in 1933, consists of a dance hall, side shows, amusement park, etc. The principal landowners are the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, A. M. Clarke esq. and George Chambers esq. The island is 6 miles long by 3 broad, and contains 4,370 acres of land, 30 of inland and 2,640 of tidal water and 2,031 of foreshore; the population in 1931 was 3,532.
Post, M. O., T & T. E. D. Office, High street.
Letters should hare Essex added
Post & Tel. Call Office, Canvey-on-Sea,. Letters should have Essex added. Canvey Island nearest M. O. office
Post, T. & T. E. D. Office, Canvey village. Letters should have Essex added. Canvey Island is the nearest M. O. office
Police Station, Long road
URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL.
Offices, Long road.
Members.
Chairman, Frederick John Leach J.P.
Henry Philip Ansell | Clara Grace James J.P. |
George Henry John Chambers | John Edwin Longman |
Henry John Dellaway | George Ambrose Pickett |
Horace Percy Fielder | William Dring Read |
Officers.
Clerk & Accountant, Harold Hugh Lionel Harrison
Surveyor, Philip Guy Wilmot Stokes A.M.Inst.C.E
Assistant Surveyor, Walter Scott Laing
Rating & Valuation Officer, Reginald Whitley
Sanitary Inspector, David Edward Williams A.R.San.1
Is the following Myth, Legend or Fact?
"Canvey Point, Canvey Island: On moonlit nights, a patch of mist drifts over the lonely mudflats, shortly resolving itself, to some eyes, into a ghostly Viking. Legend says he is one of the old Norse raiders, and is still seeking a ship to take him home."
Provided my Ann Major