The development of the town started in the late 18th century when seaside health resorts were becoming popular places for people to escape the crowded and dirty cities. Its growth was initially quite slow due to poor transport links from London. This was partly remedied by the passing of the Southend Pier Act 1829, and the subsequent construction of Southend Pier, which at 2.1 kilometres in length was and remains the longest pleasure pier in the world. To make transfer to and from the shore easier, the UK's first pier railway line was installed.
The city is also a borough in its own right and a Unitary Authority where the Southend-on-Sea City Council is made up of 17 wards. One of these wards is Shoeburyness and it is this area which is the focus of this write-up. Shoeburyness sits 3 miles to the east of Southend city centre and was a separate town until it was absorbed by its larger neighbour in 1933. The name goes back to Saxon times where the town was originally called Schoebirig before evolving into Shoebury, and later became the separate settlements of North Shoebury and South Shoebury.
The city is also a borough in its own right and a Unitary Authority where the Southend-on-Sea City Council is made up of 17 wards. One of these wards is Shoeburyness and it is this area which is the focus of this write-up. Shoeburyness sits 3 miles to the east of Southend city centre and was a separate town until it was absorbed by its larger neighbour in 1933. The name goes back to Saxon times where the town was originally called Schoebirig before evolving into Shoebury, and later became the separate settlements of North Shoebury and South Shoebury.
Archaeological finds show the area has had human inhabitants since the Mesolithic era, with a later Iron Age settlement also having been discovered. It is known that the Romans built a fort here called Essobira, which is said to have been attacked during the Boudican Revolt. However, no firm evidence of its exact location has been found. The mid-nineteenth century saw the first real expansion of South Shoebury's population, and this was as a result of the opening of a brickfield and the arrival of the military. The brickfield produced bricks which were largely transported along the River Thames into the heart of London.
The Board of Ordnance purchased land in South Shoebury in 1849 where an artillery testing and practice range was established, replacing the outdated ranges in Plumstead and Woolwich in south east London. This range went on to become the Royal Artillery School of Gunnery, The Coast Artillery School and has also been known as Shoebury Fort and Shoebury Garrison. It was also a key defensive position during the Second World War. There is still a munitions testing facility here, currently under the name of MOD Shoeburyness, but this is centred on the site's New Ranges which are located further to the east and north covering the islands of Foulness and Havengore. The original site, known as The Old Ranges was closed in 1998 with the land and buildings sold for development into a new neighbourhood.
The Board of Ordnance purchased land in South Shoebury in 1849 where an artillery testing and practice range was established, replacing the outdated ranges in Plumstead and Woolwich in south east London. This range went on to become the Royal Artillery School of Gunnery, The Coast Artillery School and has also been known as Shoebury Fort and Shoebury Garrison. It was also a key defensive position during the Second World War. There is still a munitions testing facility here, currently under the name of MOD Shoeburyness, but this is centred on the site's New Ranges which are located further to the east and north covering the islands of Foulness and Havengore. The original site, known as The Old Ranges was closed in 1998 with the land and buildings sold for development into a new neighbourhood.
Part of the land adjacent to the Thames Estuary is now called Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges, which together form a 25 hectare nature reserve managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The park and the local area contain many of the garrison's listed buildings, some of which have been repurposed into residential dwellings alongside some new builds which have been designed to subtly blend in with the old. The are also various memorials and nods to the area's past dotted around. A notable feature just outside the park is The Garrison Clock Tower. The park itself contains many different habitats including dense scrubland, scattered trees, ancient sand dunes and coastal grassland as well as a lake, and it is a haven for birds and other wildlife which even includes some rare species.
Dotted around the park are facilities for leisure such as tennis courts, cricket pitch, a basketball court, a skatepark, a couple of playgrounds and a cafe housed within the Grade II Listed 'Cart and Wagon Shed', which is an early military prefabricated building dating from around 1860. There are a number of other historical buildings and installations around the park such as the Old Barge Pier, the Heavy Quick-Firing Battery, the Searchlight Emplacement, the Boat House and the Powder Magazine. Since December 2012 the park has also been home to a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event called Southend parkrun. It takes place at 9am on Saturday mornings and is open to all abilities including people who wish to walk or take part in a wheelchair.
Dotted around the park are facilities for leisure such as tennis courts, cricket pitch, a basketball court, a skatepark, a couple of playgrounds and a cafe housed within the Grade II Listed 'Cart and Wagon Shed', which is an early military prefabricated building dating from around 1860. There are a number of other historical buildings and installations around the park such as the Old Barge Pier, the Heavy Quick-Firing Battery, the Searchlight Emplacement, the Boat House and the Powder Magazine. Since December 2012 the park has also been home to a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event called Southend parkrun. It takes place at 9am on Saturday mornings and is open to all abilities including people who wish to walk or take part in a wheelchair.
I first visited the park in January 2014 and took part in event number 69. Ten-and-a-half years later I revisited the park and took part in event number 561 and it is that latter event from which this write-up was created. Travel-wise, I used the car to reach the venue on both occasions and parked in the free on-site car park, accessible from New Barge Pier Road, which can hold approximately 100 vehicles including disabled bays. Should the car park be full there is a second, much smaller, car park located next to the cafe which is accessible from Warrior Square. At first sight, the adjacent residential roads appear to be completely free of restrictions however there are signs advising that the roads are private and that there is no right of parking. For cyclists, there is a segregated cycle route all the way along the seafront and there are bicycle racks located within both of the car parks.
For travel via public transport, the best railway station to head for is Shoeburyness which is the terminus for c2c trains running from London Fenchurch Street, stopping at stations in east London and along the southern part of Essex such as Upminster, Basildon, Chalkwell and Southend. There are only a few trains that run early enough on a Saturday morning to make it in time for parkrun, so be sure to check the timetable beforehand. The 9, 9A and 14 buses seem to be the options for bus services to the local area. For an overnight stay, Shoeburyness itself doesn't have much to offer, but there is a wide selection of hotels just along the coast in Southend itself, including three Premier Inns.
The park does not have any public toilets, however there are a couple of options nearby. The first option is just to the west of the park where the toilets can be found in the Shoebury Common Beach car park (1km from the parkrun meeting area). Another option I spotted on the way was just to the north of the park where toilets can be found on Campfield Road just next to the junction where it meets the A13 / Ness Road (900 metres away). The Southend-on-Sea City Council website lists both of these toilets as being open from 8am 365 days per year. We travelled into Southend on the A127 and saw a few McDonalds where a pit stop could also be made en-route.
Once in the park the meeting point for the parkrun is in a small clearing on the north side of the lake, directly to the south of the main car park. It is in this clearing that the briefings take place before everybody relocates to the start area which is at the junction about 100 metres to the east. Southend parkrun takes place over a three-lap anti-clockwise course with the finish being off the loop, back at the main meeting area. Underfoot is almost entirely tarmac paths, with a very short section on gravel and just a few metres of dirt each lap. My GPS data registered the total elevation change over the 5 kilometres at 9 metres, so this can only be described as a flat course. It is perfectly fine for anyone that wishes to take part with a buggy and for wheelchair users.
From the start the course heads towards the north west along the gently curved tarmac path. It is a fixed width and largely bordered with bushes and other natural features, so if you start out-of-position it may take a while to filter through as there are not a great number of opportunities to leave the path to overtake. The first corner is at the far north-west point of the course, just after passing the skate park. After turning the corner, the next section follows the perfectly straight path historically called Barge Pier Road where you get a lovely view across the lake. This was once the route of a tramway which led to The Old Barge Pier. There's an ever-so-gentle incline at the end of this path where it gently climbs and the route then proceeds a few metres from the sea wall.
The arrangement is that parkrunners should generally stick to the left hand side of the path, and anyone overtaking should do so by passing on the right hand side. I will also note that the course was very well marked out and there were marshals present at all the key points of the course. The park is popular with local dog walkers and some of the paths are part of the local cycle routes, so keep an eye out for bicycles. I'm not sure if he is a regular feature, but look out for the guy with the Union Jack flag cheering everyone on. Now heading generally to the east, this path gives a different view across the lake which is very picturesque, especially on a crisp sunny morning. If it is a windy day, this is the section where you may feel the effects of it - whether that's good or bad depends on the direction of the wind, of course.
Although the course runs alongside the Thames Estuary you don't really see the water until the latter parts of this path where it moves directly alongside the sea wall. From here it is possible to see what remains of the Shoeburyness Boom which extends out into the estuary and was used to prevent submarines gaining access to the Thames during the Cold War. This part of the park features the Heavy Quick-Firing Battery, which I heard locals refer to as The Castle. Immediately after this is where the surface underfoot changes to gravel followed by a few metres of dirt/mud, where the course has a gentle u-turn and returns to tarmac for the last section of the lap which meanders back around to the start point.
Once three laps have been completed, the course turns to the left and heads back towards the meeting point where you will find the finish funnel. The barcode scanners are positioned on the grass clearing and once scanned, you can pop your finishing token into the slot in one of the yellow buckets. I recorded the course using my Garmin and the GPS data can be viewed on my Strava account. That data was also used to create a course fly-by video using the Relive app. For the record, the course in 2024 was identical to the one used in 2014. The results were published a short while later and there were 259 participants at event 561 which is pretty much spot-on the expected number for this venue.
The post-parkrun refreshments are listed as being at The Shorehouse Harvester, on Ness Road. There are of course other options such as the Serendipity Cafe located in the Cart and Wagon shed. This cafe is in the same building as the Shoeburyness Heritage Centre. If you have time it is worth having a little look around the local area where you may spot some of the area's historic buildings and features. Another obvious post-parkrun option would be to head into the centre of Southend and have a day out at the seaside. We had planned to do that and walk to the end of the pier, but sadly ran out of time. Nevertheless we had a lovely morning out in Gunners Park and Shoeburyness. Finally, a huge thanks goes to all of the volunteers that helped put the parkrun on.
Related Links:
- Southend parkrun GPS data (28 September 2024)
- The course Relive video (28 September 2024)
- The Essex parkrun venues (blog7t)
- My 2014 Southend parkrun write-up (blog7t)
- Chalkwell Beach parkrun write-up (blog7t)
