# County Borough of Southend on Sea

County Borough of Southend-on-Sea was a local government district around the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. South End, as it was originally known was initially some fishermen's huts at the south end of the village of Prittlewell. Due to the growth of the settlement and the arrival of the ecclesiastical parish of St John the Baptist, in 1842, Southend formed a local board. In 1877, the local board merged back with Prittlewell, with the new Southend district also including the settlements of Westcliff-on-Sea and Chalkwell. When Essex County Council was formed in 1889, Southend was within the administrative county of Essex. The town was officially incorporated by charter as a municipal borough in 1892, and the council, known as Southend Corporation, changed the name of the town from Southend to Southend-on-Sea in 1893. Due to the rapid expansion of the town's population, in 1914 the town was made a county borough, divorcing itself from the county council and taking control of all the town's services. In 1974 the county borough was dissolved, and replaced by a non-metropolitan district within the same boundaries. Two new authorities were created, with the powers split between Essex County Council and Southend-on-Sea District Council. The town became a unitary authority area in 1998, which returned the powers from the county council that had been lost in 1974.

## Governance
### Pre-county borough

Southend adopted the Local Government Act 1858 and a local board was established in 1866, becoming a urban sanitary district in 1875. The local board gained powers in 1875 to purchase Southend Pier and the legal right to change the name of the local board and therefore the town. The local government district originally consisted of the South End of the parish of Prittlewell. This had become a separate parish of St John the Baptist for ecclesiastical purposes in 1842. In 1877 the local government district was merged back with the parish of Prittlewell, which included the settlements of Westcliff-on-Sea and Chalkwell. It was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1892 and the name of the town was changed to Southend-on-Sea in 1893.

### Expansion and County borough status gained

The parish of Southchurch was absorbed by the borough of Southend-on-Sea on 1 November 1897. In 1913 the borough was expanded by gaining the former area of Leigh-on-Sea Urban District, consisting of the parish of Leigh (1527 acres) and part of the parish of Eastwood (383 acres) from Rochford Rural District. The civil parishes within the borough were combined to form a single parish of Southend-on Sea.
In 1913, Southend Corporation put forward a bill to the House of Lords in 1913 to gain the status of county borough, which was not objected to by Essex County Council. The bill was passed and the town became a county borough in 1914, which saw the transfer of powers from Essex County Council to Southend Corporation, ending the county council's jurisdiction in the town.
In 1933 the borough was expanded by gaining territory of Rochford Rural District consisting of parts of the parishes of Eastwood (1342 acres), Great Wakering (156 acres), North Shoebury (499 acres) and Shopland (201 acres). At the same time, the former area of Shoeburyness Urban District, consisting of the parish of South Shoebury (1031 acres) was gained.

### Council offices

The first municipal building in Southend was built in Clarence Road and was completed in 1883. Further offices opened in Alexandra Street, but plans were developed to build a new school, library and town hall on land owned by the council at Victoria Circus. A design by H. T. Hare was chosen, with an estimated price of £16,350, with a grant of £5,000 provided by Essex County Council towards the cost. However, by 1900, these plans fell apart and the library and town hall were dropped from the plans as estimated costs had risen to £27,000. In 1919, land was purchased on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Carnarvon Road to build a new further education college to host both the school of art and the evening class institute, however the site was reassigned to be the home of a new town hall in 1934. Work however did not start on the site until 1960 on the new Southend Civic Centre, which would encompass a new police station (that opened in 1962), a courthouse (that opened in 1966), council offices and chamber, a new College (that opened in 1971) and a Library (that opened in 1974). The planned fire station for the site was dropped and it built in Sutton Road.

### Police force

Southend-on-Sea Borough Constabulary was created on 1 April 1914, split off from Essex Constabulary, controlled by Southend Corporation. The first Chief Constable was Henry Maurice Kerskake who had previously held the same role at Dewsbury Bourough Police. The force initially had the Kings Crown on their helmets, until January 1915, when they were officially granted to their own. Southend Constabulary could easily be distinguished from other forces as they wore white helmets. On 1 April 1969 the separate borough police force was reincorporated into the Essex police as the Essex and Southend-on-Sea Joint Constabulary, which was renamed Essex Police in 1974.

## Transport

Using the powers secured in 1875, the local board was able to purchase Southend Pier, which had its own railway. The borough would go onto to establish its own transport department, providing trams, trolleybus and bus to the town through Southend-on-Sea Corporation Transport.

## Local Government Act and replacement bodies

The reform of local government outside Greater London which culminated in the Local Government Act 1972 eliminated county boroughs. In their place a two-tier system of counties and districts was created. Two proposals were put forward for Essex and Southend-on-Sea. The first was for Southend on Sea to become a non-metropolitan district with many powers returning to Essex County Council. The second proposal was for a new Thamesside metropolitan county that covered north Kent and south Essex, which would have changed the status of Southend on Sea to a metropolitan district that would have retained many powers locally. The second proposal failed and the first proposal was selected.
The County Borough of Southend on Sea was replaced by the Southend-on-Sea District on 1 April 1974. The council and corporation were replaced by Southend-on-Sea District Council and Essex County Council, which were established as shadow authorities in 1973. The borough's sewage system, that had been run by the county borough, was taken over by the newly formed Anglian Water Authority. The new district had the same boundaries as the county borough. Education, transport, social services, waste disposal and libraries went to Essex County Council with housing, environmental health and waste collection transferred to Southend-on-Sea District Council.

## Coat of arms

Coat of arms of County Borough of Southend on Sea :
* NotesGranted on 1 & 2 January 1915.
* CrestIssuant out of a mural crown Gules the mast of a ship proper flying therefrom a flag Argent charged with a cross throughout Gules.
* EscutcheonAzure on a pile Argent between on the dexter an anchor erect on the sinister a grid-iron and in base a trefoil slipped Or a flower vase issuing therefrom a spray of lilies Proper.
* SupportersOn the dexter side a mediaeval fisherman holding a net with his exterior hand all Proper and on the sinister side a Cluniac monk Proper holding in the dexter hand a book Gules and in the exterior hand a staff also Proper.
* MottoPer Mare Per Ecclesiam (Through The Sea Through The Church)

## Legacy

On 1 April 1998 Southend-on-Sea became a unitary authority area and thus independent of Essex County Council again, but still within the ceremonial county of Essex.