page_title: Mersea Island
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mersea Island / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Pill Box on Mersea Island. It appears to have sunk or the sand has come back up to claim it.
context_page_description: Mersea Island is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word meresig, meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautological. The island is split into two main areas, West Mersea and East Mersea, and connected to the mainland by the Strood, a causeway that can flood at high tide.
  The island has been inhabited since pre-Roman times. It was used as a holiday destination in Roman Britain for occupants of Camulodunum. Fishing has been a key industry on the island since then, particularly oysters, and along with tourism makes up a significant part of the island's economy. The Church of St Peter & St Paul in West Mersea is thought to have existed since the 7th century, while the Church of St Edmund in East Mersea dates from around the 12th or 13th centuries. The island became popular with smugglers from the 16th to the 19th century. It became a focal point for troops in both world wars, and a number of observation posts can still be found on the island. Tourism remains popular, and there are a number of beach huts and holiday parks on the island.
context_section_description: There is evidence of pre-Roman settlement on Mersea in the form of "red hills" that are the remains of Celtic salt workings. A large Romano-British round barrow near the Strood contained the remains of a cremated adult in a glass urn, within a lead casket, now in the local Mersea Museum. In 1730, a large mosaic floor was found underneath the Church of St Peter & St Paul at West Mersea and in 1764, Richard Gough discovered further evidence of Roman remains around the church. West Mersea was believed to be a holiday destination for Romans staying at Camulodunum (Colchester).
  Evidence has shown a number of fish traps exist around the island, which date from around the 7th century. The Anglo-Saxons established a large fish weir at Besom Fleet to the southwest of the island and built the church at West Mersea. It was damaged by Norse raiders in 894 and rebuilt afterwards. The west tower was added to the church around the 11th century, the south aisle in the 15th and various other rebuilds continued towards the end of the 18th century.
  The Strood causeway was also built by the Saxons; oak piles discovered in 1978 have been dated to between 684 and 702 using dendrochronology.  By 950, there was a Benedictine priory at West Mersea and land here was granted to the Abbey of St Ouen in France by Edward the Confessor in 1046. The priory survived until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1542.
  The Parish Church of St Edmund in East Mersea dates from around the 12th or 13th century, with extensions in the late 15th or 16th. The church and hall are surrounded by a moat that is thought to be the remains of a Danish refuge after their defeat by King Alfred at Farnham.
  In the English Civil War, the Parliamentary Army built a blockhouse at East Mersea in 1648, with the aim of blockading the River Colne during the Siege of Colchester. Some ruins of this blockhouse remain and are known as the Block House Stone, which is legally protected by English Heritage as a scheduled monument. Fishing grew in importance on the island during this time, with numerous fish weirs being installed. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch and French settlers arrived on the island. Some locals supplemented their income from the oyster trade by smuggling, which remained popular until the mid-19th century. Smugglers favoured the Peldon Rose, immediately north of the Strood, where they would store contraband in the pond alongside the inn. In the early 19th century, the increased demand for oysters despite a limited supply from the Strood and Pyefleet Channel led traders to get oysters from other places and pass them off as native to the island.
  By the end of the 19th century, the land around the island had been partially reclaimed, allowing easier access. A police officer for the island was appointed in 1844 and a school was opened in 1871.
  In the First World War, 320 soldiers came from Mersea Island, of which 50 lost their lives. They are commemorated at the War Memorial at the parish church. Troops were stationed at Mersea Island during the war. In 1916, a Zeppelin crash landed at nearby Great Wigborough to the northwest of the island. The survivors were stationed at Mersea before moving to prisoner-of-war camps. In 2013, the Mersea Island Tales Educational Trust obtained a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to set up a First World War exhibition at Ivy Farm, which features a 1916 Sopwith Pup biplane and information about soldiers from Mersea who took part in the war.
  In 1926, West Mersea became a self-governing urban district, which allowed it to set up a self-contained water and sewer system. Unlike several other coastal resorts, the island did not immediately develop any holidaymaker facilities aside from the beach huts which now stretch along the Esplanade.
  At the outbreak of World War II, the island became part of the front line for invasion and was heavily fortified. Along with other coastal resorts, the island drew in evacuees from London, though as the war progressed, these were moved to safer settlements further inland. 2000 troops were stationed 
caption: A pillbox on the east edge of Mersea Island, near the Mersea Stone
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