In the year 48 BC Julius Caesar enjoyed the wonders and pleasures of Egypt with Queen Cleopatra. Some six years earlier, in another eventful year, he came to Britain and made an alliance with the King of the Trinovantes, the tribe who lived in the area we now know as Essex. It is not clear where Caesar landed, but he must have passed within just a few miles of our little village of Prittlewell.

In a way this is typical of the history of Prittlewell - no battles were ever fought here, although great battles raged all around. No king ever stayed **, no really famous person lived here and, in the Christian era, no great bishop from Rome ever visited.

Ten thousand years ago families of the Stone Age lived in mud and thatch huts beside the Prittle Brook, the fresh water stream which has had such a great influence on life in Prittlewell. At first they were hunters, as their ancestors had been, but as centuries passed, through the bronze age and into the iron age, they lived a more settled existence. They knew how to weave cloth and make pottery. They made clearings in the extensive woodland, they kept cattle, sheep and pigs in enclosures and planted cereals. They became farmers.

Little seems to have disrupted their peaceful way of life through the centuries. Even when Claudius invaded Britain with his Roman Legions in 43 AD life seems to have changed but slowly in Prittlewell. No Roman army was garrisoned here, but a Roman style villa or farmhouse was built - beside the Prittle brook near where it turns from east towards the north in the area we now know as Priory Park. It may be that the Romans discovered the fresh water spring that rises to the surface near this turn in the stream and that would have influenced the building of the villa in this place. The arrival of the Roman way of life was probably a great culture shock for the people of Prittlewell. The villa needed workers from the local population to run the farmstead, paid work at that. The villa clearly possessed high quality pottery and glass from the continent, perfumed oils and items of dress and jewellery the like of which the locals had never seen before.

It was the policy of the Romans to work with the local population wherever possible and to introduce new skills, new products and new ideas. The remains of clay roof tiles found in the area suggest that the craft of brick and tile making may have been introduced here. There are certainly deposits of clay suitable for brickmaking even today.

A change in the lives of Prittlewell people occurred in the early part of the 4th century when, under Emperor Constantine, Christianity was introduced into Britain as the state religion. There was no sudden conversion to Christianity in Prittlewell, but perhaps an early indication of the new faith was marked by a simple cross, and what better place than in a clearing at the top of Prittlewell hill, a meeting place to hear the word of the Lord. The top of the hill was also a good look-out point, for during the period of Roman occupation Saxon raiders mounted ever increasing attacks on the settlements along the Essex coastline. And after the Roman army was withdrawn from Britain the way was open for Saxons to occupy the land. Farmsteads were taken over, cultivated land was seized and new settlements were set up. By the 6th century the Saxon way of life was established in large parts of Britain, and in Prittlewell.

Although reference has been made earlier to Essex and Prittlewell, it was the Saxons who first introduced these place names. Essex, the land of the East Saxons and Prittlewell (originally Pritteuuella) the Saxon name for a stream or spring, the settlement of Pritteuuella most likely named after the fresh water spring (in Priory Park), for the Saxons regarded certain springs as 'holy'.

Whether the cross on Prittlewell hill or a small chapel survived during the early occupation by the Saxons is doubtful since the Saxons were pagan. But there is evidence that the settlement along the Prittle brook gradually spread up the hill (to where St. Mary's church now stands) and the layout of the developing village established there for all time. Most of the trade in Saxon times seems to have been mainly on a local basis. Woven cloth and the surplus products of livestock and agriculture, leatherwork, pottery and iron tools sold or exchanged for other household essentials. - the beginning of market trading in Prittlewell.

Round about the year 607 Mellitus was sent from Rome to bring Christianity back to the land of the East Saxons. He converted King Sebert of Essex and slowly Christianity returned to Prittlewell. Perhaps the church on the hill was restored at this time and even enlarged and improved with stone walls and a sturdy construction typical of Saxon building. All this came to naught when King Sebert died and his sons, who never gave up the pagan way of life, ruled this part of the land. Some forty years later, in the 650s Cedd, who later became Bishop of the East Saxons, arrived and Christianity was restored - changing fortunes for the people of Prittlewell and the church on the hill.

Anglo-Saxon Prittlewell thrived for several centuries although the East coast of Britain suffered attacks by Danes and Vikings which increased in frequency and intensity until, from about 990, large battle fleets from Denmark brought great destruction to villages and settlements in Essex. The people of Essex were driven ever further westward, their place taken by Danish raiders and farmer-settlers who followed closely behind. Almost nothing is known of the fate of Prittlewell during this time, except that great battles with the Danes raged all around - at Benfleet, at Ashingdon and Shoebury, all only a few miles away. Indeed it could be that the Danes were unaware of the existence of Prittlewell at that time. It was situated in woodland which concealed dwellings from the low lying land all around and Prittlewell hill was an excellent look-out point to see approaching raiders giving time to secrete livestock, and even the villagers, deep in the woodlands until danger had passed.

Fortunes changed again following the invasion of William Duke of Normandy in 1066. Late on during the Danish occupation a man called Sweyne acquired considerable land holdings in Essex, including Prittlewell. His name is important in the history of this place because it seems he changed his allegiance to the Norman King William and even managed to increase the number of rural estates he held. It was the beginning of a new order based on the ownership of land - the feudal system. As a major land-holder, Sweyne and his successors had a big influence on life in Prittlewell. This was the era of the manor house with farms and extensive lands, cottages for servants of the manor and a few small-holdings held by tenants. At the time of the Doomsday Survey of 1086 there were 27 servants of Prittlewell manor and presumably some of them had families. So the village was quite small and mainly set around the church on the hill, which was also mentioned in the Survey

During the reign of Henry I, the lord of the manor, Fitzsweyne, also known as Robert d' Essex, gave the church at Prittlewell, plus some 30 acres of land it possessed, and also the chapels at Sutton and Eastwood, to the Cluniac Priory of St Pancras of Lewes. The reason for this generous gift was for the maintenance of a priory soon to be established at Prittlewell. This was between the years 1110 and 1120, and at about the same time extensive improvements and alterations were carried out to the church. As the centuries passed and the priory gained in importance so the village grew to service both the manor and the priory.

From the 1300s to the end of the 1400s great changes occurred which affected not only Prittlewell but the whole of Britain. In the years around 1350 the Black Death killed one in three persons in most English communities. This ultimately led to a great shortage of labour and the lords of the manors had to increase wages two or three fold to keep sufficient labour to work the farms. In 1381 men of Prittlewell were involved in the Peasants' Revolt and by the1400s the feudal system in England had come to an end.

After the turmoil of the previous centuries the Tudor age began quietly for the village. Henry VIII nearly came here, but had more attractive engagements in Rochford village only two miles to the north. Reminders of the Tudor age in the church are the carved stone font which commemorates Henry's accession to the throne and his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and a fine carved oak door, both still in use today. But the calm and relative prosperity of the Tudor age was not to last. For many years in parts of Europe there had been calls for reform of the teachings of the Catholic church and Henry's break with Rome in 1534 furthered the aims of the Reformation in England. The priory at Prittlewell was closed down and its land and possessions taken by the Crown. This could have been very bad news for the poor and the sick of the parish because the priory had provided relief to those in need and had contributed in many other ways to the wellbeing of Prittlewell.

However, in the few years before its dissolution, the priory's influence in village affairs had declined and some of its former responsibilities had been taken over by members of the parish community. A Jesus Guild was formed in Prittlewell in1468, some thirty years after similar guilds were established elsewhere. The Guild took care of relief of the poor, repair and improvement of the fabric of the church, maintenance of the highways and many other aspects of village life, all financed by a few well-to-do local residents. A Jesus Priest was appointed and a Jesus Chapel established in the church. Apart from saying the daily offices, the Jesus Priest was also responsible for the education of the children of the parish. The Jesus Guild was the beginning of local government in Prittlewell, where at that time the residents numbered about 300.

After nearly a hundred years of existence, the Jesus Guild was suppressed as a further effect of the Reformation and many of its assets and valuables seized. Later, in 1552, Commissioners of King Edward VI visited the church at Prittlewell to make an inventory of the church's possessions. Fortunately, probably remembering the fate of the jewels held by the Jesus Guild, the churchwardens had the foresight to sell much of the church plate 'to make essential repairs to the church' before they, too, were confiscated by the Crown.

Although by now most of the affairs of the village were run by the local 'council', life was not all that easy. In 1573 the village blacksmith was charged with setting himself up as a musician without having been apprenticed to the trade. A tailor was prosecuted for setting up as a grocer and two collar makers charged for setting up as saddlers. In 1641 Edward Evered, described as a yeoman of Prittlewell, was charged with obtaining a number of chickens, eggs and a quantity of butter with the intention of re-selling them. Enterprise was not to be encouraged.

Also in the 1600s several men of Prittlewell were charged with not scouring the ditches outside their properties to prevent flooding. In1620 Barnaby Barker was accused of laying offal in the road beside the tannery he owned to the annoyance of the public. Also, presumably, to the detriment of the Prittle brook which passes under the road just here, and to the village well which also became a nuisance and was eventually covered in. A pump replaced it and as late as 1864 the main water supply of the village was from the pump at the bottom of the hill. Water was collected in a water cart and sold in the village at a half-penny a bucket. The remains of a later pump can still be seen near the park gates.

From Elizabethan times onwards, ever greater numbers of the more adventurous men and women of Prittlewell travelled the World, as merchants, as settlers or in the service of the Crown. As a result of trade on a world-wide scale and a relatively peaceful time in English history, Prittlewell enjoyed a new prosperity.

In the 18th century the land to the south of Prittlewell was agricultural. By 1790 the area beside the sea at the South End of Prittlewell began to be developed as a bathing resort for the wealthy and fashionable of London. Trade and industry developed rapidly. Newcomers to Southend regarded Prittlewell, it seems, as "an attractive village in the hinterland". It could be reached by a pleasant country drive or walk through the fields and hedgerows.

The village, somewhat isolated from the new town, retained its individuality and its customs. There is some evidence that weekly markets and an annual fair were held in Prittlewell from the middle of the thirteenth century. Certainly from the early 1600s to the middle of the 19th century the annual fair at Prittlewell was said to be one of the great events in the parish year. At the time of the fair some of the dwellings around the church became temporary boarding houses, or 'Pad and Cans' as they were known - patrons were given a pad to sleep on and a can in which to boil water, and very little else. There were also at some time nine alehouses in the village, too many, it was thought by the parish council.

In 1889 a new road was opened between the village cross-roads, where stood the church and the Blue Boar public house, and the centre of the new town of Southend-on-Sea, and about the same time a railway station was built in the village giving easy access to London. In 1892 Southend became a Borough and took on responsibility for the administrative affairs of Prittlewell.

In the first world war (1914-1918) men of Prittlewell served in the armed services. Women also joined the war effort in many roles. Of particular local interest, Rochford aerodrome became a fighter station of the Royal Flying Corps. The Palace Hotel (overlooking Southend pier) was a Naval and Military Hospital. The Red Cross flag which flew above the Glen military hospital at Southend is now in Saint Mary's church for safekeeping. Many from Prittlewell did not survive the war and a memorial to them is the lych gate and carved stone cross at the west front of Saint Mary's and a role of honour in the church porch.

In the second world war Prittlewell suffered more damage than in the first. Several bombs fell in the village, one destroyed the church hall, another devastated the assembly hall of the Boys' High School, and the clock faces of the church were damaged by shrapnel. However, the vicar of Saint Mary's conducted services at the normal times throughout the war years, but also spent many hours with the RAF fighter squadrons based at Rochford airfield. He was a tough Australian, but conducted many an evensong, having just returned from the airfield, close to tears. Those of the parish who did not return from the second world war are also commemorated by the carved stone memorial at Saint Mary's and a roll of honour in the church porch.

Prittlewell still retains its individual character and signs of its past history. The remains of the Cluniac Priory still stand beside the Prittle Brook. The Blue Boar and other public houses of the village remain. The 15th century houses and shops immediately opposite the west face of Saint Mary's, and the  shop which stood on the corner, once a ruin but now splendidly restored, are still there. And the Church of Saint Mary, which has undergone many difficult times and many changes, has stood in this place for more than a thousand years.

The Photographs 'East Street' and 'Village Pump' are from the collection of the late Mr Norman Deacon.
Reproduced here with permission.

Text & Photos Copyright © A.Barnard 2001.

** Recent archaeological finds (in 2003) suggest that a Saxon 'king' was buried in Prittlewell.