EssexEssex (ˈɛsᵻks) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the south, Greater London to the south-west, and Hertfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Southend-on-Sea. The county has an area of and a population of 1,832,751. After Southend (180,686) the largest settlements are the city of Colchester (192,700), city of Chelmsford (181,763), and Basildon (187,659).
Hemel HempsteadHemel Hempstead (ˌhɛməl_ˈhɛmpstᵻd) is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is northwest of London, and is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new town, it has existed since the 8th century and was granted its town charter by Henry VIII in 1539. Nearby towns are Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The settlement was called by the name Henamsted or Hean-Hempsted in Anglo-Saxon times and in William the Conqueror's time by the name of Hemel-Amstede.
StevenageStevenage (ˈstiːvənᵻdʒ ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage was designated the United Kingdom's first New Town under the New Towns Act. "Stevenage" may derive from Old English stiþen āc / stiðen āc / stithen ac (various Old English dialects cited here) meaning "(place at) the stiff oak".
BasildonBasildon (ˈbæzᵻldən ) 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. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and west of the city of Southend-on-Sea. Nearby towns include Billericay to the north-west, Wickford to the north-east and South Benfleet to the south-east.
WatfordWatford (ˈwɒtfərd) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, north-west of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and breweries. While industry has declined in Watford, its location near London and transport links have attracted several companies to site their headquarters in the town. Cassiobury Park is a public park that was once the manor estate of the Earls of Essex.
RickmansworthRickmansworth (ˈrɪkmənzwərθ), also known as "Ricky", is a town in south-west Hertfordshire, England; it is located about north-west of central London, south-west of Watford and is inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) and the River Colne. Rickmansworth is the administrative seat of the Three Rivers District Council; the confluence of the River Chess and the River Gade with the Colne in Rickmansworth inspired the district's name.
New towns in the United KingdomThe new towns in the United Kingdom were planned under the powers of the New Towns Act 1946 and later acts to relocate populations in poor or bombed-out housing following the Second World War. They were developed in three waves. Later developments included the expanded towns: existing towns which were substantially expanded to accommodate what was called the "overspill" population from densely populated areas of deprivation. Designated new towns were removed from local authority control and placed under the supervision of a development corporation.
HertfordshireHertfordshire (ˈhɑrtfərdʃɪər or -ʃər ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For government statistical purposes, it forms part of the East of England region. Hertfordshire covers . It derives its name – via the name of the county town of Hertford – from a hart (stag) and a ford, as represented on the county's coat of arms and on the flag.
East of EnglandThe East of England is one of the nine official regions of England in the United Kingdom. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region. The population of the East of England region in 2018 was 6.24 million. Bedford, Luton, Basildon, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea, Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford and Cambridge are the region's most populous settlements.
New towns movementThe New Towns movement refers to towns that were built in the United Kingdom after World War II and the associated social movement to advocate for their construction. These towns were planned, developed, and built with two main intentions: to remedy overcrowding and congestion in some instances, and to organize scattered ad hoc settlements in others. The bigger purpose of this development was to reduce congestion in larger industrialised cities, and to rehouse people in freshly built, fully planned towns that were completely self-sufficient for the community.
