Prittlewell
| Prittlewell | |
|---|---|
 Saint Mary's Parish Church |
|
 Prittlewell
|
|
| Prittlewell shown within Essex | |
| OS grid reference | TQ876867 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SOUTHEND-ON-SEA |
| Postcode district | SS2 |
| Dialling code | 01702 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Prittlewell is a district within the Borough of Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Historically, Prittlewell is the original town, Southend being the south end 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. The principal administrative buildings in Southend are located along Victoria Avenue, although Prittlewell is now mainly a residential area, served by Prittlewell railway station.
People first settled by the Prittle Brook at least 10,000 years ago in the late Stone Age. Little appears to have affected life in Prittlewell as its population gradually evolved from their original character as hunter-gatherers to a more settled existence during the Bronze and Iron Ages.
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. During this time (largely the 5th and 6th centuries), the historic Saxon name of Prittleuuella came into being. There is also archaeological evidence that a small chapel was erected on the site of the present Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in the early 7th century possibly around the reign of Sæberht of Essex.
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.
...
Wikipedia