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BASILDON

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For other uses, see Basildon (disambiguation).
Basildon
Basildon
Statistics
Population: 165,000+
Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference: TQ735895
Administration
District: Basildon
Shire county: Essex
Region: East of England
Constituent country: England
Sovereign state: United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county: Essex
Historic county: Essex
Services
Police force: Essex Police
Ambulance service: East of England
Post office and telephone
Post town: BASILDON
Postal district: SS13 and SS14
Dialling code: 01268
Politics
UK Parliament: Basildon
European Parliament: East of England
England

Basildon is a new town located in south Essex, England at 51°34′34″N, 0°29′19″E. It was designated as a new town after World War II to accommodate the population overspill from London. Basildon was created from several pre-existing towns; Pitsea, Laindon & Vange. The larger Basildon district, formed in 1974 by the Local Government Act of 1972, includes Billericay and Wickford. To the north of Basildon lies Chelmsford. Southend neighbours Basildon to the east.


Contents

History

Basildon can be traced back as far as 1086 from records and is mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'Behoter'. 'Behoter' is believed to refer to 'Beorthals Hill' which was an area near what is now Holy Cross.

It is believed that 'Basildon' comes from the Anglo-Saxon name of 'Beorhthealh' and 'dun', which would've meant 'hill'. In previous historical documents, Basildon has been recorded as Berdlesdon, Bretlesdon, Batlesdon Basteldon, Basseldon & Bassendon.

The constituency of Basildon is thought to be a barometer of public opinion and has returned General Election results in line with the entire nation since 1974.

Transport

Basildon has regular trains running through the town, stopping at it's three stations; Pitsea railway station, Basildon railway station and Laindon railway station. The operator is c2c and the trains run mostly from Shoeburyness to London Fenchurch Street. However there are some trains which vary in other services such as Shoeburyness to London Liverpool Street and Laindon to London Fenchurch Street.

Busses are another form of popular transport in Basildon. The First bus company being far the most dominant across the town. Busses such as the number 8 are timetabled to arrive every 10 minutes. The most major stops are Basildon Town Centre, Pitsea Tesco and Laindon Centre. Busses are available to nearby towns such as Chelmsford and Southend amongst others.

The road network in Basildon is quite complex, with most places covered by a large main road named a 'Mayne' road. There is a 'mayne' road going through the town which is named 'Broadmayne'. There is also a 'Nethermayne' to the west and 'Southmayne' amongst others. On the north side of the town, the A127 Southend Arterial Road is next to Basildon. And on the south side is the A13. The A13 gives easier access to places such as Pitsea and Vange while the A127 gives easier access to the town centre and places such as Laindon.

Education

Secondary Schools

There are a numerous amount of Secondary Schools in the Basildon District, which, in alphabetical order, are:

  • Barstable School
  • Beauchamps School
  • Billericay School
  • Bromford School
  • Chalvedon School
  • De La Salle
  • James Hornsby High School
  • Mayflower County High School
  • Woodlands School

Barstable School & Chalvedon school became federated in 2005 to become The Federation Of Barstable & Chalvedon School. The move was initiated by the need to stabilise & improve Barstable School's reputation as a good Secondary School.