Shoeburyness

Shoeburyness
Shoeburyness  Shoeburyness shown within Essex
Population	19,991 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	TQ941851
Unitary authority	Southend-on-Sea
Ceremonial county	Essex
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SOUTHEND-ON-SEA
Postcode district	SS3
Dialling code	01702
Police	Essex
Fire	Essex
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Rochford and Southend East
List of places: UK • England • Essex

Shoeburyness is a town in southeast Essex, England, situated at the mouth of the river Thames Estuary. It is within the borough of Southend-on-Sea, and is situated at the far east of the borough, around 3 miles (5 km) east of Southend town centre. It was an urban district of Essex from 1894 to 1933, when it became part of the county borough of Southend-on-Sea.

The eastern terminus of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (c2c line) is at Shoeburyness railway station. The eastern end of the A13 is at Shoeburyness. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) site at Pig's Bay is situated nearby and the facility is run by the company QinetiQ.

Shoeburyness has two beaches; East Beach and Shoebury Common Beach (also known as West Beach), both Blue Flag beaches:

East Beach in Shoeburyness

East Beach is a sandy/pebbly beach around a quarter of a mile long and is sandwiched between the Pig's Bay MOD site and the former Shoeburyness Artillery barracks. Access to the large gravel/grass pay-and-display car park is via Rampart Terrace. East Beach is the home of a defence boom, built in 1944, to prevent enemy shipping and submarines from accessing the River Thames. This replaced an earlier similar boom built 100 yards (91 m) east. The majority of the boom was dismantled after the war, but around one mile still remains stretching out into the Thames Estuary. East Beach benefits from a large grassy area immediately adjacent to the sands that is suitable for informal sports and family fun.

Shoebury Common Beach is bounded to the East by the land formerly occupied by the Shoeburyness Artillery Barracks and continues into Jubilee Beach. Shoebury Common Beach is home to many beach huts located on both the promenade and the beach. Uncle Tom's Cabin provides visitors with the usual seaside refreshments. A Coast Guard watch tower at the eastern end of the beach keeps watch over the sands and mudflats while listening out for distress calls over the radio. A cycle path skirts around the sea-front linking the East Beach to Shoebury Common Beach, and thence into Southend.

A tower was planned to stand in the Shoeburyness Garrison housing development. The tower was to be 18 storeys high and designed to mark the start of the Thames Gateway development.

Popular culture

The most famous work of literature in which Shoeburyness is mentioned is H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds.

Shoeburyness is also mentioned in The Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams et al. The Meaning of Liff is a fictional dictionary assigning names to local English towns. Shoeburyness is described as "that uncomfortable feeling one experiences when sitting in a chair that is still warm from the last occupant."

In the fifth Temeraire novel Victory of Eagles, it is the setting of a fictitious climactic battle in which Wellesley and Nelson drive Napoleon out of England in early 1808.

Philip Reeves's Larklight mentions 'a squalid spot called Shoeburyness'.

Billy Bragg's Essex-style reworking of Route 66, A13, opens with the line "If you ever go to Shoeburyness".

Ian Dury's Billericay Dickie mentions Shoeburyness.

Shoeburyness is home to "the commuter", protagonist in the eponymous song and music video by Ceephax Acid Crew.

External links

• Shoeburyness Model Railway Club
• Shoebury Beaches
• Shoeburyness and Thorpe Bay Baptist Church
• Shoeburyness High School
• South Shoebury Parish
• Shoebury Youth Football Club
• Defence Boom