Wickford: Plotland

Image: © Nigel Cox Taken: 15 Aug 2006

This is Studland Avenue which runs through the centre of a plotland development. Plotlands originated from the arrival of the railways in the 19th century, which improved the accessibility of the Essex countryside to city dwellers from London. Farmers and other landowners divided their fields into narrow plots, which city dwellers bought and proceeded to build small shacks and dwellings that they could visit at weekends and on holiday to get away from London. Most of these properties did not have the benefits of running water, sewage disposal or electricity and were located down unmade tracks, sometimes miles from any services. They have a semi-rural character that is still typified by privately maintained roads, varying dwelling plot sizes, natural property boundaries and vacant plots. (Information (with spelling and grammar corrections!) from Basildon Council's website http://www.basildon.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2191 In this photo there is a substantial well-maintained modern house next to a vacant plot aptly called "The Wilderness". Elsewhere on the site there are examples of much earlier and much smaller houses. The roads are all named after holiday destinations in Dorset, others being Branksome, Boscombe, Christchurch, etc..

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