 |
| Shotgate | |
|---|---|
 Shotgate Sign | |
  Shotgate Location within Essex | |
| OS grid reference | TQ765925 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Wickford |
| Postcode district | SS11 |
| Dialling code | 01268 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Shotgate is a civil parish and village in Essex, England. On 1 April 2007, Shotgate became the first area of Wickford to have a Parish Council.
Mid-Iron Age pottery found at Shotgate Farm shows that the area was inhabited in 300 BC. In Roman times, a road ran from Ilford to Latchingdon through here. In the Saxon period commonhold land was often sliced into parallel strips known as 'Sceats'. This is the origin of the 'Shot' part of Shotgate, which has nothing to do with shooting or hunting. The Domesday Book of 1086 lists four farmsteads in Wickford, one of which was probably on the site of Shotgate. By 1300 this is listed as Ames or Aimes Farm. By 1540 the Rede family owned the farm, and one of its members, Elizabeth, emigrated to America to marry the son of the governor of Massachusetts, and is an ancestor of both former US president George W. Bush and presidential contender John Kerry.
In 1663, turnpike (toll) roads appeared in England, and one ran from Shenfield to Rayleigh until 1866 along the Old Southend Road, after which it was turned over to the Rochford Highway Board. During this period (1747), the Sharpe family renamed the Ames Farm as Shotgate Farm. Perhaps[ speculation? ] this indicated the existence of a tollgate at the Wickford / Rawreth boundary. During this period an inn, the King's Head, stood near present-day Oak Avenue. In 1907, houses were built as part of the `Plotlands' initiative in Enfield Road and Oak Avenue. In 1921, the Archer family bought Shot Farm, and in 1927 sold land for development. This led to the foundation of modern-day Shotgate, consisting of Bruce Grove, 1st to 5th avenues and the shopping parades. In 1989, the village was greatly expanded by the Hodgsons Way Industrial Estate and housing estates, so named after the WW2 RAF Pilot Officer William Henry Hodgson, who was shot down but managed to ditch his Hurricane aircraft, avoiding the houses of the Shotgate estate.
The sign is located next to the Southend Road (A129), it is made up of various symbols; Gate, Wheatsheaf, Archer, River, Hurricane.
Before the idea for a community hall had been conceived, many different groups were meeting on a regular basis in Shotgate. These included:
Amongst the groups it was decided that a communal building would be needed for the village. A committee was formed and started to raise funds. This included a weekly collection of 6d (2½p) from each household, as well as from fetes and waste paper collections.
A plot of land in Bruce Grove was to be auctioned in 1952 and a request was made to the Urban District Council to reserve it for the committees. The land was purchased for £325.00 in 1955. A building sub-committee was formed to facilitate the building works. The hall was opened, free of debt, on Saturday 8 November 1958 by councillor Tanswell, the then Chairman of Basildon Council.
Some of the materials used in the construction of the building were reclaimed such as the wooden wall panelling which was from a public house in the East End of London and the flooring was from American pre-fabricated buildings. The doors came from Fred's Scrap Yard (now known as Fred's (F.H. Ives) Timber Yard).
The committee raised £1200, and with further grants from the Ministry of Education (United Kingdom) for £1218 a grand total of £2418 was reached. The hall would have cost more than this to construct had it not have been for the free labour given by local volunteers.
The hall has been extended and refurbished several times since being built originally with the most recent being in 2007 when a disabled toilet was added.
The hall is, to this day, still free from debt. It is run by the Shotgate Community Association and funded by the monies raised from hiring out the hall, membership fees and donations. It is not subsidised by the council or any other organisation. [3]
There are two adjoining nature reserves. Shotgate Thickets [4] form the northern part of this reserve, which is owned by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The southern part of the reserve is owned by Basildon Borough Council and is named Giddings Copse, in memory of the co-founder and ex-Chairman of the Wickford Wildlife Society - Phil Giddings. The reserve is situated on both sides of the tidal River Crouch which is narrow at this point. It consists of a remnant of old oak woodland on the south side, and thorn thickets, rough grassland and large ponds on the north side. With the adjoining river banks and railway embankment this small area has a surprising diversity of habitats and, consequently, of wildlife.
Thurrock is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council.
Basildon is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 107,123. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159.
Southend-on-Sea, commonly referred to as Southend, is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, 40 miles (64 km) east of central London. It is bordered to the north by Rochford and to the west by Castle Point. It is home to the longest pleasure pier in the world, Southend Pier. London Southend Airport is located north of the city centre.
Billericay is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town 25 miles east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is thought to have been occupied since the Bronze Age.
Rayleigh is a market town and civil parish in the Rochford District in Essex, England; it is located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, 32 miles (51 km) east of central London. It had a population of 32,150 at the census in 2011.
Castle Point is a local government district with borough status in south Essex, 30 miles (48 km) east of central London. The borough comprises the towns and villages of Canvey Island, Hadleigh, South Benfleet, and Thundersley. The borough council is situated at Thundersley.
The Borough of Basildon is a local government district in south Essex in the East of England, centred on the town of Basildon. It was formed as the Basildon District on 1 April 1974 from the former area of Basildon Urban District and the part of Thurrock Urban District that was within the Basildon New Town. The population of the district as of 2010 is about 172,000. The local authority is Basildon Borough Council. The council made an application for borough status in February 2010 and this was given approval that year, with Mo Larkin becoming the first mayor in October.
South Ockendon is a town, former civil parish and Church of England parish within the Thurrock borough in Essex in the East of England, United Kingdom. It is located on the border with Greater London, just outside the M25 motorway. The area to the north is North Ockendon. In 2019 it had an estimated population of 22,303 and in the 2021 United Kingdom census it had a population of 22,442 In 1931 the parish had a population of 1355.
Wickford is a town and civil parish in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of 33,486. Located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of London, it is within the Borough of Basildon along with the original town of Basildon, Billericay, Laindon and Pitsea.
The A127, also known as the Southend Arterial Road, is a major road in Essex, England. It was constructed as a new arterial road project in the 1920s, linking Romford with Southend-on-Sea, replacing the older A13. Formerly classified as a trunk road, it was "de-trunked" in 1997. It is known as the Southend Arterial Road except for part of its length in Southend-on-Sea. It is also streetlit for its whole length despite its majority coverage through rural land.
The Prittle Brook is a 7.2 mile (11.59 km) watercourse in south Essex, England. A tributary of the River Roach, the brook rises in Thundersley and passes through Hadleigh, Leigh-on-Sea, Westcliff, Prittlewell, Rochford and discharges into the Roach and then into the North Sea via the Roach and Crouch estuaries.
West Horndon is a village and civil parish in the south of the Borough of Brentwood, Essex on the boundary with Thurrock. It is located 20 miles (32 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in London. The civil parish also includes East Horndon and Dunton Hills.
Pitsea is a small town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Basildon, in south Essex, England. It comprises five sub-districts: Eversley, Northlands Park Neighbourhood, Chalvedon, Pitsea Mount and Burnt Mills. It is part of the new town of Basildon. In 1931 the parish had a population of 3414.
The River Crouch is a small river that flows entirely through the English county of Essex.
The Bromfords School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Wickford, Essex, England. Most pupils live in Wickford, while a large minority of pupils live in nearby Basildon and other neighbouring towns. The sixth form is smaller than average.
Dunton Wayletts is a hamlet in the unparished area of Basildon, on the western outskirts of Laindon, in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It is located between the Southend Arterial Road and the London, Tilbury and Southend line. It is usually known as Dunton.
Essex is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Greater London to the south and south-west. There are three cities in Essex: Southend, Colchester and Chelmsford, in order of population. For the purposes of government statistics, Essex is placed in the East of England region. There are four definitions of the extent of Essex, the widest being the ancient county. Next, the largest is the former postal county, followed by the ceremonial county, with the smallest being the administrative county—the area administered by the County Council, which excludes the two unitary authorities of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea. The ceremonial county occupies the eastern part of what was, during the Early Middle Ages, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Essex. As well as rural areas and urban areas, it forms part of the wider Home Counties of England.
Shotgate Thickets is a 3.2-hectare (7.9-acre) nature reserve east of Wickford in Essex. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
William Henry Hodgson was a New Zealand fighter pilot and flying ace who flew in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was officially credited with the destruction of five enemy aircraft.
