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Amusements can be traced back a long way in Southend's history. As early as 1793, a playhouse was established in the town. It began in a rented house but later moved to a purpose built building in Prospect Place. Adjacent to this there were several grassy areas called 'The Greens.' It was here that cricket and other sports were played and frequent seasonal amusements at weekends. Pawleys Green was the most well-known of these areas. Southend's most famous amusement park was built on Pier Hill in the later part of the 1800s and was called the Pier Hill fairground. By the end of the 19th Century the Marine Park was established at the eastern end of town later to become the country's most famous amusement park - the Kursaal. The Kursaal owes its beginnings to Alfred and Bernard Wiltshire Tollhurst, who purchased land in Southchurch for this new park in 1893 and by 1894 the Marine Park and Palace Gardens Co was formed and the Marine Park opened.
A small part of the park was devoted to rides and side shows, with a dancing platform and scenic railway. In 1896 the Pyramidical Railway Syndicate leased part of the gardens for rides and a grand entrance was built of red brick, with a huge tower not unlike the Blackpool Tower, together with a series of domes built on the roof. The park changed hands yet again and became the responsibility of the Southend on Sea Tower and Marine Park & Co. This company then passed the completion of the project to the Margate and Southend Kursaals Ltd. New buildings were added and called the Kursaal and The Tower Scheme was abandoned. The Arcade was the main feature of the new building, which led from the rotunda to the gardens, and the large ballroom was used to double up as a theatre. Photo: Amusements in Southend
Ten years later, the Luna Park Company purchased it and for two years it was known as the Kursaal and Luna Park. CJ Morehouse, purchased the Kursaal and Luna Park with the initial intention of developing the land for housing, this didn't happen however. During the First World War, the park stayed open and the parts of it that were not used for war work were in fact very successful. So successful, that Morehouse decided to develop the park for amusements. The 1920s saw the introduction of the zoo and water chute rides were bought from America. Many side shows were managed by a Mr Stumke and included a snake handler, Dick Harrow the worlds heaviest man and many similar amusements. Morehouse passed the Kursaals on to his son David de Forest Morehouse who was renown as a great showman. He bought some new side-shows from America, including Eric the Whale, who at 50ft long and weighing 65 tons was a sight to behold in the 1930s, and the car belonging to America's famous gangster Al Capone.
As well as the railways and trams, Southend developed other industries, that were far removed from the original farming and fishing of the early days. During the 19th Century Milton Hall Brick Company was formed and its first brickfields were in the heart of the town. Henry Luker established a brewery in the High Street, and several mineral water firms were formed to help cope with the growing demands of the local residents and tourists. Southend's first rock (of the edible variety!) factory came into existence at the turn of the century. Photo: Commercial and office area in Southend
During the First World War, Southend witnessed the first air raid. Bombs fell on the town in 1915, causing considerable damage, and two years later several people were killed in an air raid. The Palace Hotel became a hospital for sick and wounded servicemen. A lot of the town's people became volunteers in the Civic Watch and undertook street fire patrols. When the Second World War became imminent in 1939, defensive measures were taken, and the Local Home Guard units and an Air Raid Precautions committee was formed.
By 1940 the Admiralty had taken over the pier and Royal Terrace, Southend school children were evacuated to the middle of the country, places like Derbyshire and Northamptonshire. The airport became a base for fighters with troops billeted all over the town, and 17,000 Anderson shelters were allocated to the Borough. The town was declared an evacuation area by 16th July 1940. After 1944 the town's council planned temporary housing on a number of sites in the borough designed to replace the damaged properties. Many of these prefabricated houses, nicknamed 'prefabs', ended up being much more permanent than was first expected, and lasted for many years.
Southend today is the largest town in Essex and a vibrant seaside resort, with a population of 175,500 and 2.7 million visitors each year. Southend still has the longest pier in the country, although it has been cut in half seven times by boats during its lifetime. It produces 5 miles of rock per day, 1,000 gallons of ice cream and 100 tons of cockles are cooked daily. There are 76 parks and gardens in the town providing all kinds of facilities. Southend's biggest event of the year is the Southend Airshow, the biggest free airshow in Europe.
The pedestrianised High Street shopping centre stretches for half a mile, with two main shopping centres, the Victoria Plaza and the Royals. There is also Peter Pan's Adventure Island, built around the popular format of a water theme park, with all kinds of rides and adventure golf. Photo: Victoria Plaza
Photos by Andy Howes of Wedding Days Photography © 2000
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