Rochford / Southend

[Southend Spitfire]

Thanks for uploading that, nice to see the extension from the air. You can see where the road used to be before being diverted.

[Southend Spitfire]

Tuesday 10th April 2012. The new Runway extension being used by an EasyJet Airbus A319-111 G-EZFT 'Sir George White'.

The Medieval Church, St Laurence & All Saints of Eastwood, was going to be moved to accomodate the new extension of the Runway but wasnt after Councillors voted 44 to nil to reject the scheme. The church spire was repaired by the Canadian Government as a lasting memorial to the Canadian airmen who flew out of Southend during WW2.

[REF]

Hi SS, nice to see Easyjet have finally arrived at Southend. I didn't know about the church spire, is there anything at the church to record this? A memorial plaque or notice maybe?

[Southend Spitfire]

Ive not seen anything but will see if i can find out.

[AG]

Good grief! You might as well make it the airfield chapel - I knew it was close, but I didn't realise that the airfield practically surrounded the church!

A couple of entirely random observations, the first gleaned from an EADT article some years ago.

1. Peter Sallis's mother is buried there (I thought he was a northerner too but no, he was born and raised in Twickers)

2. It has six bells, rung from the ground floor, with the tenor being 9cwt 8lb in A. Those timber bell towers are very typical of Essex.

Adrian

[Gooney Bird]

Good grief! You might as well make it the airfield chapel - I knew it was close, but I didn't realise that the airfield practically surrounded the church!

A couple of entirely random observations, the first gleaned from an EADT article some years ago.

1. Peter Sallis's mother is buried there (I thought he was a northerner too but no, he was born and raised in Twickers)

2. It has six bells, rung from the ground floor, with the tenor being 9cwt 8lb in A. Those timber bell towers are very typical of Essex.

Adrian

Yes, I am actually a bellringer and I remember ringing the bells there one Saturday morning when a British World 1-11 took off on runway 24. The whole building just shook as it passed by!

[AG]

I might have known I'd flush out another ringer! I haven't rung there - being based in Oxford, I don't get to ring in my natal county much - but as I was looking at the church it was natural to dig out Dove's and have a butchers. The tower just looked tintinnabulous (is that a word? If not, why not? It's too good not to be!), so out came the book...

Adrian

[Gooney Bird]

I use to live in Southend but now live, and ring, in Hertfordshire. I must say, for both a bellringer and an aircraft enthusiast, that tower is Utopia and I wish my local tower was as well-placed as that! I certainly think that the word tintinnabulous sums it up nicely!

[Southend Spitfire]

Two German destinations have been announced http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/9909...erman_flights/

[Southend Spitfire]

Hi SS, nice to see Easyjet have finally arrived at Southend. I didn't know about the church spire, is there anything at the church to record this? A memorial plaque or notice maybe?

I sent an e-mail to the church asking for some information and got a reply.

When, in 1956/57 major repairs were being carried out to the building, the cedar shingles to cover the tower and spire were donated by the Canadian Government in thanksgiving for Canadian servicemen.
There are no memorials in the church or in the graveyard to Canadians. There are a number of War Grave Commission Graves but they are all English.

During the summer of 2008 the tower and spire were reclad using riven oak shingles as the cedar shingles had become porous and had also been damaged by woodpeckers.