In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Prittlewell like this:
PRITTLEWELL, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Rochford district, Essex. The village stands on the slope of a hill, 1 mile N of Southend r. station; is an ancient place, known in the time of Edward the Confessor; takes its name from a well situated at anancient priory, and feeding several fish-ponds; consists of two streets, at right angles with each other; and has a post-office under Chelmsford, and a fair on 15 and 16 July. The parish contains also the town of Southend, and the hamlet of Milton; includes a part of Canveyisland; and comprises 5, 248 acres of land, and 6,045 ofwater. ...
Real property, £17, 392; of which £570 are infisheries. Pop. in 1851, 2, 462; in 1861, 3, 427. Houses, 600. The manor, with P. Priory, belongs to D. R. Scratton, Esq. A Cluniac priory was founded here, in the time of Henry II., by R. Fitzswaine; went, at the dissolution, to the Audleys; and is partlypreserved in the present cognominal mansion. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £365.* Patron, the Bishop of Rochester. The churchstands at the junction of the village's two streets, on the top of the hill; is later English; and has a loftytower, which serves as a sea-mark. The p. curacy of Southend is a separate benefice. There are an endowed school with £23 a year, and charities £31.—The sub-district contains also two other parishes. Acres, 18,089. Pop., 5, 394. Houses, 982.
Prittlewell through time
A Vision of Britain through Time includes a large library of local statistics for administrative units. For the best overall sense of how the area containing Prittlewell has changed, please see our redistricted information for the modern district of Southend on Sea. More detailed statistical data are available under Units and statistics, which includes both administrative units covering Prittlewell and units named after it.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Prittlewell, in Southend on Sea and Essex | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/6862
Date accessed: 24th May 2013
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