SEARCH: City Spotlight on Southend-On-Sea, UK

City Spotlight on Southend-On-Sea, UK

by Elliot Thorpe

The English county of Essex is so named after the Saxons (Circa 600 CE) settled east of what would become London. It has a population of 1.8 million and boasts two cities, Chelmsford—the birthplace of radio—and Southend-on-Sea.

Because Southend is the most populated area in Essex (Chelmsford merely the third) and it is autonomous from Essex’s overall county council, the argument was put forward that it deserved city status. Bureaucracy and convoluted government tick-lists aside, it has direct train routes to London, the world’s longest pier, its own amusement park, theatres that attract performers like Sir Rod Stewart and Willie Nelson, casinos, restaurants, and a bustling miles-long sea front…