# Chalkwell

Chalkwell is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is situated on the north bank of the Thames Estuary and is in traditional terms still part of Westcliff-on-Sea. The ward of Chalkwell is bordered by Woodfield Road, Leigh-on-Sea to the west, London Road to the North and Valkyrie Road, Westcliff-on-Sea to the east.

## History

Chalkwell as a suburb started in the early 20th century as a housing development on the former farmland of the Chalkwell Hall estate. The name is believed to be derived from chalk pits dug by farmers to neutralise acid soil. On the second Ordnance Survey map of 1897 it showed the area as open fields and brickworks. The current hall stands on the site of previous halls and was built in 1830, with the site opening as a public park in 1903 after the land and hall were purchased by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council. Nikolaus Pevsner selected several properties for mention in his guide to Essex, including a pair of semi detached houses on the corner of Galton Road and Chalkwell Avenue, and several properties in Imperial Avenue and Seymour Road.
The Crow Stone (less often called London Stone) stands high on a plinth on the mud on the Thames Estuary foreshore facing the south end of Chalkwell Avenue. The line, known as the Yantlet Line, between the Crow Stone and the London Stone, Yantlet Creek, almost due south on the other shore of the Thames is the eastern limit of the jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority (PLA). This is relevant to local byelaws such as for a locally qualified maritime pilot into and out of port of larger vessels and the PLA's authority to police navigation (which also reserves the right to go in hot pursuit). It was designated as a Grade II listed building in July 2021. This is the third stone erected on the Chalkwell foreshore, the original being placed in 1285, before the replacement from 1755 was found to be cracked and was moved to Priory Park.

## Governance

Chalkwell is an electoral ward of Southend-on-Sea covering Chalkwell. It is represented by three local government councillors, each elected to serve a four-year term.

## Amenities

Chalkwell has a railway station on the c2c line, a few metres from the beach, with regular direct trains to London.
Chalkwell Park has hosted Essex County Cricket Club matches and is the home ground for two local cricket clubs. Metal, the art organisation set up by Jude Kelly OBE has been based in Chalkwell Hall since 2006. The organisation offers residency space for artists and also organises the Village Green Art & Music Festival. The festival ran from 2008 for a weekend every July, but has not run since 2019 due to covid. The park is also home to NetPark, which claims to be the world’s first digital art park. The park is home to the annual fair that accompanies the Southend Carnival.
Chalkwell Beach was awarded a Seaside Award in 2021, an English award for the best beaches. Chalkwell is home to two bowls clubs, Chalkwell Bowls Club which is based on Chalkwell Esplanade, and the Essex County Bowls Club that is based in Imperial Avenue. In 2009, an open water swimming club, the "Chalkwell Redcaps" was established.
Chalkwell is home to an Aldi supermarket.

## Conservation Area

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council designated the Crowstone area of Chalkwell in 1990. The most prominent building in the conservation area is Crowstone House, built in 1905 and now a nursing home. The area is named after the North Eastern marker, the Crow Stone which marked the extent of power in history of the City of London and the Port of London Authority.
The only listed structure in Chalkwell is Chalkwell Hall, which has been Grade II listed since 1974.

## Demography

At the 2001 UK census, the Chalkwell electoral ward had a population of 9,207, increasing to 10,045 at the 2011 Census. The ethnicity was 94.6% White, 1.2% Mixed, 2.7% Asian, 1.1% Black and 0.4% Other. The place of birth of residents was 91.1% United Kingdom, 1.3% Republic of Ireland, 1.6% other Western European countries and 6.0% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 63.4% Christian, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.8% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 6.7% Jewish, and 2% Muslim. 17.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.5% had an alternative religion and 8.7% did not state any religion.
The economic activity of residents aged 16 to 74 was 41.5% in full-time employment, 10.2% in part-time employment, 11.4% self-employed, 4.2% unemployed, 2.1% students with jobs, 3.6% students without jobs, 11.2% retired, 6.7% looking after home or family, 5.9% permanently sick or disabled and 3.2% economically inactive for other reasons.
The industry of employment of residents was 13.2% retail, 8.8% manufacturing, 5% construction, 15.8% real estate, 11.3% health and social work, 9.3% education, 6% transport and communications, 5.4% public administration, 4.2% hotels and restaurants, 14.3% finance, 0.3% agriculture and 6.4% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in finance and education. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 21.9% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide. According to Office for National Statistics estimates, during the period of April 2004 to March 2005 the average gross weekly income of households was £670, compared with an average of £650 in South East England.

## References and footnotes

* 1 2 "Chalkwell". Southend City Council. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
* ↑ Church of England parish finder "Westcliff: St Saviour's Church"
* ↑ Church of England parish finder "Westcliff: St Michael and All Angels"
* 1 2 "About Chalkwell". Chalkwell Ward Residents Association. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
* 1 2 "Crowstone Conservation Area Appraisal". November 2009. Southend-on-Sea Borough Council.
* 1 2 Matthew Fautley, James Garon (2004). Essex Coastline Then and Now. p. 214. ISBN 9780954801007.
* ↑ "SOUTHEND PARKS (NORTH)". domesday. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
* ↑ Pevsner. N (2007). Essex: The Buildings of England. p. 716. ISBN 9780300116144.
* ↑ Port of London. Vol. 40. 1965. p. 220.
* ↑ "The Crow Stone (London Boundary Stone), Non Civil Parish - 1472163 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
* ↑ "OLD CROWSTONE, Non Civil Parish - 1168708 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
* ↑ "Metal – visitsouthend.co.uk". Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
* ↑ "Southend-on-Sea: the arty way is Essex – The Guardian – Joanna O'Connor p.23 July 2017". TheGuardian.com. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
* ↑ "Village Green festival keeps entry charge as details for 2015 bash are revealed". Evening Echo. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
* ↑ "An arty weekend in … Southend-on-Sea, Essex". The Guardian. 22 March 2023.
* ↑ "Join in the fun urges Southend carnival organiser Garry". Maldon & Burnham Standard. 11 August 2014.
* ↑ "Chalkwell Beach". Visit Southend. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
* ↑ "Chalkwell Bowls Club". Sea Around Britain. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
* ↑ "Essex County Bowls Club". Essex County Bowls Club. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
* ↑ "Chalkwell Redcaps". Surf Life Saving GB. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
* ↑ "Aldi supermarket 'shuts' and air ambulance lands as man dies at scene". Essex Live. 12 November 2020.
* ↑ "Crowstone Conservation Area – Southend-on-Sea Borough Council". Retrieved 19 October 2017.
* ↑ "The Historic Crowstone – This feature from the Essex Countryside magazine was printed in 1965 Written by J Blundell – Southend Timeline". Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
* ↑ "Listed Buildings". Southend-on-Sea City Council. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
* ↑ "Southend Ward population 2011". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
* 1 2 "Neighbourhood Statistics". Statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
* ↑ Church of England terms.