Southend Then & Now

Southend-on-Sea has gone through many transformations since its birth in the Middle Ages when a settlement of farmers and fishermen was established at the southernmost end of the lands of Prittlewell Priory. Having acquired the name `South End', the area changed when the Lord of the Manor in the eighteenth century had a `New Town' built along the cliffs to the west. The arrival of the railway in the mid-nineteenth century, and the subsequent influx of seaside day trippers, boosted Southend's popularity and it quickly expanded into a large and bustling town. In this fascinating photographic history, Ken Crowe takes a fond look at his home town, exploring the changes to its streets through carefully chosen snapshots of Southend-on-Sea as it was in the past and is today.