Essex

Map of the Essex Area

Essex is located in the East of England and is bordered by the North Sea along its coastline and Kent and the River Thames to its north. To the south lie Greater London and Hertfordshire to the west and to the north Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. Its county town is Chelmsford and the highest point within the county is at 482 feet above sea level and is in the village of Langley.

Essex derives its name from the "East Seaxe" (the East Saxons) and was founded by Aescwine in 527 (source: link). The county is home to the UK's oldest recorded town, Colchester originally known as Camulodunon, which dates back to before the Roman Conquest.

Essex has a population of 1670000 and a density of 454 people per km square (source: link). The London Green Belt, a policy for controlling urban growth in England, has prevented much of London's development into the county however there are two new towns of Harlow and Basildon that represent some London community's relocation after World War II. Many of the settlements in the county are used as dormitory villages or towns where London workers live and raise families.

The County's economic activity is divided into two areas: the south is largely given over to industry leaving the majority of land elsewhere to be used for agriculture. The city of Harlow is a hub for electronics, science and pharmaceutical companies and Chelmsford is the home of Britvic, a soft drinks producer. The county town of Colchester is a garrison town and its economic activity depends on the army personnel that live there.

Frank Lampard, a midfielder for the football team Chelsea, was born in Romford, a town in Essex. The actor Ian Holme also was born in and lived in Essex as did Dermot O'Leary. Due to its age and Roman and Saxon heritage the county has a large amount of historic architecture which makes it a favourite tourist spot. There are over 14000 listed buildings within the county (source: link). These historic buildings include the famous log church at Greenstead, the oldest standing wooden building in England, and Colchester Castle which is one of the first castles that was built following the Norman Conquest.