The Secret History of Southend-on-Sea is full of intriguing information on the incredible residents, visitors and events that have played a part in Southend's story. Southend-on-Sea, the largest town in Essex, has had an amazingly rich history, and this book collects together hundreds of little-known facts and anecdotes that will make you see the town in a new light. Discover the 'Brides in the Bath' murderer, the top secret military operations performed just off Southend shore and the secret tunnels and smuggling dens used to hide guns, tobacco and Dutch gin. This captivating book will amuse and inform readers in Essex and beyond.

The Secret History of Southend offers the reader an off-the-beaten-track tour of the city’s landmarks and streets, revealing the forgotten stories of Southend – its people, its visitors, its history, its streets and its buildings. This book is filled with hundreds of little-known facts and historical anecdotes. From the arrival of the ‘Brides in the Bath’ murderer to the famous mountaineer who liked to live at the top of his building, this book will amuse, fascinate and inform all lovers of the area. Southend may not be an ancient town, but it is the largest in Essex, and has a history that may surprise residents and visitors alike. This delightful book delves deeper, bringing history and landscape to life.

Secret City of Southend explores the lesser-known history of the town of Southend through a fascinating selection of stories, unusual facts and attractive photographs.

While Southend-on-Sea, like many seaside towns, may not have been at the forefront of the struggle for suffrage and equal rights in the lives of women between 1850 and 1950, there are surprisingly famous names linked to the town and its women. Novelist Rebecca West, living in nearby Leigh-on-Sea during the First World War (and her lover, H.G. Wells) played a key role in the suffrage and feminist movements and in women’s entry into the scientific and literary professions. Princess Louise, a visitor to the town, was known to be a feminist, regardless of her position, and Mrs Margaret Kineton-Parkes (founder member of the Women’s Tax Resistance League and involved in the Women’s Freedom League) gave a number of talks to the town’s female population. The most high profile of local residents was Mrs Rosa Sky, the one-time Treasurer of the Women’s Social and Political Union and an active member of the Women’s Tax Resistance League, but others were quietly active behind the scenes. This book is not about the distinguished and illustrious, it is about women from all classes, from all kinds of backgrounds, who entered the world of business, who rebelled against the traditional roles of mother, homemaker or domestic servant. It is about women struggling to come to terms with changes at home, in marriage, in education, in health care and in politics. It is the first to look at these issues as they impacted on a town whose population and visitors were growing in line with the expectations of its female population.

Including many conversations with Southendians, this title aims to recall life in their town, during the 1950s and '60s. It focuses on social change, as well as school days, work and play, transport, and entertainment. It also includes memories of the late '60s clashes between Mods and Rockers, and of the infamous Wall of Death at the Kursaal.

Secret Southend explores the lesser-known history of the town of Southend through a fascinating selection of stories, unusual facts and attractive photographs.

A full-colour guide to Southend's historical buildings, from past to present day.