Rowhedge
| Rowhedge | |
|---|---|
 Rowhedge waterfront |
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 Rowhedge
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| Rowhedge shown within Essex | |
| OS grid reference | TM029217 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | COLCHESTER |
| Postcode district | CO5 |
| Dialling code | 01206 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Rowhedge is a village in the Colchester borough of Essex, England. It is located just over 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Colchester town centre, and is part of the civil parish of East Donyland.
Rowhedge is on the right (west) bank of the tidal River Colne and is the first settlement downstream from Colchester. The small town of Wivenhoe is on the opposite bank, but slightly farther downstream; Fingringhoe is just to the south, on the opposite bank of the Roman River.
Throughout the 20th century, Rowhedge and Wivenhoe were linked by a ferry. A barrier, similar to the one on the River Thames which shields London, was completed on the Colne in 1994. Rowhedge, Wivenhoe and Colchester all benefit from its protection from flooding.
The main thoroughfare in Rowhedge, the High Street, runs parallel to the Colne. At one time, it connected two areas of ship and boat construction and maintenance – the Upper Yard to the north, and the Lower Yard to the south. These were often known as 'Up Street' and 'Down Street' respectively. With the decline of ship building, housing estates have been built in both areas.
The history of Rowhedge is connected directly to the River Colne; ship or boat building and the crewing of many vessels go back to the nineteenth century, maritime pursuits in general even further. The Essex earthquake of 22 April 1884, damaged several buildings in the village, even shaking a man off his ladder while he was repairing the village's school clock. Colchester Rowing Club was established in the village in 1896 when the population was about 1,100.
Rowhedge could boast of its own brewery. A look at the map of the village at the turn of the nineteenth century on page 16 of Margaret Leather's book Saltwater Village (1977), reveals no fewer than six public houses; in 1970 there were four, now (2012), there are just two.
In response to a £1,000 prize being offered by the Daily Mail newspaper for the first Briton to fly a mile, an 'areohydroplane' (the term 'seaplane' was not yet in use), was designed and constructed by Jack Humphrey of Halstead in 1909. Several unsuccessful attempts at flight were made, both from the sea and land, after which the contraption was broken up; its floats ending their days in Rowhedge Ironworks in the Upper Yard.
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Wikipedia