Dunton, Essex

Dunton Wayletts is a hamlet on the western outskirts of Laindon, in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It is located between the Southend Arterial Road (A127 road) and the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway. It is usually known as Dunton.

The name Dunton has Saxon origins ("dun" meaning hill and "tun" meaning town). Wayletts is also derived from the Saxon ("Weylete") and Old English ("Weg-gelaetu") both meaning a place where ways or roads meet.

The earliest reference to Dunton is found in the Domesday Book of 1086 when 'Dantona' was held by Bishop Ode (half brother of William the Conqueror). During the Middle Ages, the parish of Dunton was divided into two manors: Dunton Hall and Fryern Manor. In the 12th century Dunton came under the ownership of the Abbey of Bec-Hellouin. In the 1440s the manor of Dunton was granted to King's College, Cambridge. The manor of Dunton remained in the possession of King's College until well into the 18th century.

The parish church of St. Mary the Virgin has medieval origins. It was rebuilt in 1873 at a cost of £950, except for a part of the north wall of the chancel which is of 16th century brick and a 15th century truss. St Mary's stands on the site of a medieval church or priory. In 1923 the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England cited evidence of its medieval origins including a 13th century font, a 13th century stone coffin in the churchyard, a cup dating from 1563, a date stone of 1686, a 17th century table in the vestry, and a church bell dating from 1712.

By the 1950s St Mary's was in a poor structural condition caused by subsidence. The condition of the church had been causing concern for many years and in 1968 the Lay Commission on Churches advised it be pulled down. In 1978 the former Dunton parish was now united with Laindon and the church closed to services and became a chapel of ease (a church building other than the main church) before the Church Commissioners applied to have it declared redundant which was granted in 1980.

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