Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Upminster Windmill

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Upminster Windmill

    There are some more rural parts to Upminster that I had expected and this is a mill which was constructed between 1803 and 1805. It was badly damaged during storms in 1899 and the costs of reconstruction were thought to be too high, but members of the public donated half the cost of repair. The mill then stayed in usage until 1934 and there were plans for the site to be turned into housing. These plans didn’t come to fruition due to local opposition, with Essex County Council taking over the site just before the Second World War.

    The council didn’t do a great job, they left the outbuildings to fall into disrepair, requiring them to be demolished in the 1960s. They also lost some of the equipment, but in the 1970s volunteers started work on a project to restore the mill. It was fully restored and complete, but there’s a current restoration effort which has meant the top section has been temporarily dismantled.

    And an information board at the site. The mill is occasionally open to the public, although not until 2021 due to the current health crisis.

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Crumpled Horn

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Crumpled Horn

    As a slight declaration of interest, I received a free drinks voucher for this pub, hence why I thought I’d pop in. The pub is run by Marstons and the voucher should have been for a free pint of any ale. I can’t really complain that they didn’t have any, since I was taking their free gesture anyway, but Marstons are a big brewer and it isn’t ideal they had entirely run out.

    The welcome was very personable, with the staff here seeming particularly friendly. There was an elderly customer that they spent some time on, it all seemed a pub that the community could call their own. The pub was also clean and the staff were taking the health situation seriously.

    I could have had a pint of Fosters, but that thought really didn’t appeal, hence the free white wine. I bought the crisps and they were rather lovely. I’m not really a wine person, but it tasted OK, that’s about my limit of comment on that. The pub is reasonably well reviewed, but there are a few comments running through that they’re offering no craft beer and their choice of real ales is either weak or not there at all. Unfortunately, this is a lager-led pub, but then again, if that’s what keeps them busy, I guess that’s working for them. But, for decent beer, I’d recommend the Upminster Taproom.

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Clockhouse Gardens

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Clockhouse Gardens

    Clockhouse Gardens are laid out on the former site of the moated property New Place, which was demolished in the early twentieth century. It’s possible to walk around the water which was once the moat and it’s a quiet and peaceful area in what is now quite an urban environment. The site was used to grow vegetables for the war effort during the Second World War, but has now been returned to a park for use by the local community. It’s a bit hidden away, but is a rather beautiful area, although some people have complained about the number of rats which have found a home here. The site isn’t huge, around three acres, and there’s also a bowling green laid out at the site.

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Upminster Taproom

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Upminster Taproom

    This is the only Good Beer Guide listed pub in Upminster and, according to CAMRA, the first micropub in the area. And, without wanting to veer into politics, I’m disappointed that the pub clashed with local councillor Ron Ower, who the owners barred. Ower opposed the opening of this excellent bar against the advice of council officers, which is perhaps now one of the best establishments in the area.

    The interior is quirky and full of upcycled materials.

    As can be seen from the lights on the ceiling.

    This wasn’t under-poured, I only took the photo mid-way through the drink. It’s The Brazilian porter from Colchester Brewery and it had a richness to it, with a strong flavour of coffee and notes of vanilla and chocolate. It’s the third different drink I’ve had from this brewery and they produce some intriguing flavours.

    Anyway, the pub was welcoming and I was served by the co-owner. Everything was managed professionally and it’s a relaxing environment. There were five different beer options and I liked how the owner had attached the pump clips to a stick and could then show that to customers. A nice idea and there were a range of different beer types, so I was pleased that they had the dark option which I went for.

    All rather lovely, and a deserving entrant to the Good Beer Guide. And I’m glad they persisted to ensure that they opened a few years ago.

  • Basildon – Holy Cross Church

    Basildon – Holy Cross Church

    There wasn’t much in Basildon when this map was published, around 100 years ago. Holy Cross Church was fairly alone in the landscape, along with a nearby moated house, both of which survive in the modern urban landscape.

    There has been a religious building at this site since at least the early thirteenth century, although the current church is newer. The chancel dates to the late sixteenth century, built with Tudor brick, whilst the main part of the nave is from the fourteenth century.

    There are apparently graves from the early part of the eighteenth century in the churchyard, although I managed to miss them.

    The exterior is slightly mismatched and some repairs were completed to the nave in 1702. The three-stage west tower was built in around 1500.

    The chancel, which was repaired in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

    The Devil’s Door.

    This was the parish church for Basildon when it was a much smaller affair of just a few households, although a second Church of England church was added during the post-war expansion of the town.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 198

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 198

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Lush

    Another short and sweet definition from Grose, this means “strong beer”. The word has a wider meaning as well, Grose mentioned separately that ‘lushey’ means drunk and ‘to lush’ is to drink.

    There are a few word origin meanings, but my favourite is that it’s from ‘licious’, an alternative spelling of the word delicious, therefore strong beer is delicious. It’s probably though a corruption of the word ‘lush’ which had a different etymological route and means soft or luxuriant.

  • Pitsea – St. Michael’s Church

    Pitsea – St. Michael’s Church

    The Basildon and Pitsea area doesn’t have many listed buildings and the situation here is a little unfortunate, as in the 1980s they knocked down most of what was potentially one of the most interesting buildings. St. Michael’s is located on an elevated position overlooking the local countryside, it’s a medieval church and there has been a religious building here since at least the twelfth century. The church was declared redundant in March 1983 and soon became mostly derelict. In the 1990s, Orange Telecommunications eyed up the tower for a phone mast and knocked the rest of the church down, primarily as it was falling down anyway. Apparently the building materials have been moved into storage, although I can’t imagine who is monitoring that and where the bits are.

    As a loss to history, it’s not enormous, as the chancel and nave were rebuilt by Sir Arthur Blomfield in 1871, with only the early sixteenth century tower being left standing. But, it’s a shame that the church couldn’t have survived.

    The outline of the church has been marked out in stone and this is the limestone slab which was thought to be the mediaeval altar. It was split into two pieces back in the Reformation and the stone is also known as a mensa (I had forgotten that, but it’s helpfully mentioned on the little plaque).

    The remaining tower section, with the former roof line still visible. This now looks similar to Panxworth Church, near Ranworth, where they did the same demolition job to the Victorian rebuilt nave and chancel.

    The door has been attacked by arsonists. Which is really likely why they had to knock the nave and chancel down, it was going to be attacked and be a bigger problem, a bit like the situation at St. Wandregesilius Church in Bixley.

    The view over the surrounding countryside and there are also still numerous graves dotted around the site, some in a better state of repair than others.

    A viewing point area with seating has been installed.

    There are some photos of what the church used to look like at http://www.basildon.com/history/churches/sm.html.

  • Basildon – Toby Carvery

    Basildon – Toby Carvery

    I’m not sure that I’ve ever been to a Toby Carvery before, so what better place to visit in Basildon? Actually, this is more related to I’m not sure what else there actually is to see in Basildon now I’ve seen the town’s sign. Perhaps its secrets will unfold to me during the day.

    There was a friendly greeting and I paid at the counter near to the entrance. I had booked a table and the staff member suggested that this was important, although I’m not entirely sure why as I wouldn’t say that it was packed. But, it seemed a welcoming location.

    The breakfast options, including tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, hash browns and fried eggs.

    As well as sausages, bacon, Yorkshire puddings and toast. I’m not sure who orders Yorkshire puddings and gravy in the morning, but there we go. Due to the current health situation, staff serve customers rather than it being self-service.

    And round one. I didn’t want much toast, that’s not the staff being stingy. The food was actually all OK, the bacon was a bit fatty but otherwise had a decent taste and was quite salty (this is a good thing in my view). The sausages were meaty, the tomatoes were tomatoey, the hash browns were a bit limp and the eggs were fine. Not exceptional, but still perfectly good.

    I wasn’t actually entirely sure if you were meant to go back up for more food, but I did anyway and no-one said anything. I think that’s the point of the carvery, although I didn’t notice anyone else going up for multiple plates. Anyway, they should have made it clear if you weren’t allowed to.

    I decided that it seemed wrong not to get Yorkshire puddings, gravy and sausages.

    The coffee was unlimited, although I had to go back to the bar area to get top-ups, but the environment was spacious and that wasn’t an inconvenience. The prices were all relatively low, the surroundings were clean and the staff were friendly, if not particularly pro-active at times. Anyway, I might come back to Toby Carvery in the future for a meal during the day to experience their full carvery options. All very lovely.

  • Basildon – Basildon Sign

    Basildon – Basildon Sign

    My friend Liam told me that one of the highlights of Basildon was the sign at the entrance to it and I think it’s fair to say it’s the most exciting thing that I’ve seen in the town so far. A little fiddly to walk to, it was placed on the Noak Bridge turn-off in 2010, a reminder of just how exotic the town is. Or something like that.

    Denise van Outen, who is from Basildon, said at the time, “sure, the weather in Los Angeles is better, but you can’t beat the people in Basildon.” I’m not sure that the sign quite took me back to Los Angeles and looking at the Hollywood sign, but I tried to picture being back in California nonetheless. It wasn’t the cheapest to install and it has received some mockery locally (and from everywhere to be fair), but I quite like it.

  • Billericay – Billericay War Memorial

    Billericay – Billericay War Memorial

    Billericay’s war memorial was unveiled on 16 October 1921 (so, by chance, 99 years to the day when I visited), listing the names of the 62 men from the town who lost their lives during the First World War. Sadly this of course wasn’t the end of war, a panel was added behind the memorial following the Second World War, with the names of 54 men who had died in that conflict.

    A photo from the original dedication of the memorial is available at https://www.billericayhistory.org.uk/content/topics/place-2/war-memorials/billericay_war_memorial/first_world_war_memorial, and I’ve thought before what a challenging occasion these sort of unveilings must have been. The fathers and mothers of many of the war dead would turn up in their finery, proud of what their son had sacrificed, but still facing the searing pain of the loss of life.