Prittle Brook

The Prittle Brook at Leigh on Sea showing the concrete walling

It is unlikely that The Prittle Brook which is a brook in Essex, England, rises from a spring in Pound Wood, Thundersley Common.

It appears to start in Thundersley to the West of West Wood. It flows eastwards through West Wood, then briefly under some properties before crossing Daws Heath Road, it flows through some private property before flowing through Dodds Grove Nature Reserve and then into Great Wood, Belfairs Wood and into Leigh-on-Sea, Prittlewell, past Southend University Hospital, through Priory Park and eventually enters the River Roach after flowing through Southend-on-Sea.

A pathway enables walkers to follow the section of the brook from Belfairs to Roots Hall, effectively providing a route from Leigh into Southend which avoids the main roads. This pathway, built in the 1940s, passes under several roads; the bridge which leads to Our Lady of Lourdes School in Manchester Drive runs directly over the brook. This part of the brook's route has been urbanised since the 1930s, and the banks have been concreted east of the Belfairs Wood area. As a consequence, the velocity of the river has greatly increased, particularly after heavy rain.

Note: Coordinate 51.55109°N 0.70207°E / 51.55109; 0.70207 is at Priory Park, Southend on Sea