44-45 Eastern Esplanade

Summary

A pair of fishermen's cottages dating to the early to mid C19.

Reasons for Designation

Nos. 44-45 Eastern Esplanade, Southend-on-Sea, Essex a pair of fishermen's cottages, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: the arrangement of the facade of these fishermen's cottages reflects their specialist function and is an unusual feature
* Intactness: the exterior remains substantially intact and reflects the regional vernacular building tradition
* Group Value: this terrace has group value with Nos. 40-43 Eastern Esplanade.

History

Southend-on-Sea grew out of Prittlewell, the largest of the six medieval parishes of which it is comprised. By the late C19 Southend had overtaken its mother parish in importance and in 1892 it became officially recognised as a town, when it was incorporated; ‘on-Sea’ being added the following year. The other parishes were absorbed and amalgamated from the end of the C19 through to the 1930s, to form the town as it is known today.

The name ‘Sowthende’ first appears in a will of 1481, although what is now known as Southend did not begin to become urbanised until around 1700 when oyster cultivation began in the area. Within 20 years the whole of the foreshore from Southchurch westwards to Leigh was leased as oyster feeding grounds and oysterman’s huts began to be built, followed by humble terraces of cottages. Visitors started to come in small numbers to Southend to bathe in the sea, and in 1791 a syndicate was set up to develop a resort at ‘New Southend’. Following this The Terrace was built, renamed The Royal Terrace in 1804, after Princess Caroline, wife of the Prince Regent stayed there. The royal association helped to boost the popularity of the resort, and in 1829 the first pier was built. The coming of the railways in the mid C19 stimulated growth and interest in the town, firstly in 1856 with the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway, which led to the development of Clifftown, followed by the Great Eastern in 1889. Southend flourished as a seaside resort from the end of the C19 through to the first half of the C20, but its popularity declined towards the end of the C20. In recent years however, major developments such as the Southend campus of the University of Essex and improvements to the pier and Esplanade have helped rekindle interest in the town.

It is likely that the cottages were constructed in the early or mid C19 for fishermen. Comparison with the historic Ordnance Survey maps indicates that the footprint of the cottages has remained the same since the late C19 and the exteriors of Nos. 44-45 Eastern Esplanade have not been altered since they were listed.

Details

MATERIALS
The main materials are painted brick, with slate for the roof covering.

PLAN
The cottages have a rectangular plan.

EXTERIOR
The buildings, part of terrace, are two storeys in height plus a basement and have a three-window range. There is a shallow pitched roof with ridge stacks at each end. The principal elevation has double hung sash windows with glazing bars, in plain reveals. The ground-floor central bay is recessed and contains the entrances to each of the cottages, both have a small flight of steps up to the door. Between the two entrances is a single doorway at ground level, which allows access to further storage.

INTERIORS
Not inspected.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

122899

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Bettley, J, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Essex, (2007)

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