Basildon is a Town in the county of Essex.
Basildon is a town in Basildon District in the county of Essex. It has a population of about 80,000 people.
Basildon’s history goes all the way back to Roman times. Basildon was also mentioned by William Henry Smyth who wrote about Basildon being an important iron production area in early Victorian times.
There are great places to visit near Basildon including some great towns, castles, woodlands, airports, historic buildings, cities, villages, country parks, shopping centres, parks and nature reserves.
The area around Basildon features a number of interesting towns including Colchester, Epping, Maldon, Southend-on-Sea, Saffron Walden, Braintree, and Basildon.
Places near Basildon feature a number of interesting castles including Colchester Castle.
Basildon's best nearby woodlands can be found at Epping Forest, and Bedfords Park.
There are a number of airports near Basildon including London Southend Airport, and London Stansted Airport.
Historic Buildings to visit near Basildon include Audley End House and Gardens, and Chelmsford Cathedral.
There are a number of cities near to Basildon including Chelmsford.
Don't miss Hatfield Peverel's villages if visiting the area around Basildon.
There are a several good country parks in the area around Basildon like Thorndon Country Park.
Shopping Centres to visit near Basildon include Lakeside Shopping Centre.
The area around Basildon's best parks can be found at Bedfords Park.
Places near Basildon feature a number of interesting nature reserves including Bedfords Park.
Basildon History
There are some historic monuments around Basildon:
Places to see near Basildon
History of Basildon
By the beginning of the 1900s, Basildon had evolved with much of the land having been sold in small plots during a period of land speculation and development taking placed haphazardly with building by plot owners ranging from shelters created from recycled materials to brick-built homes and with amenities such as water, gas, electricity and hard-surfaced roads lacking. In the 1940s, Billericay Urban District Council and Essex County Council, concerned by lack of amenities in the area and by its development, petitioned the Government to create a New Town. Basildon was one of eight ‘New Towns’ created in the South East of England after the passing of the New Towns Act. On 4 January 1949 Lewis Silkin, Minister of Town and Country Planning, officially designated Basildon as a ‘New Town’. Basildon Development Corporation was formed in February 1949 to transform the designated area into a modern new town. The New Town incorporated Laindon and Pitsea and was laid out around small neighbourhoods with the first house being completed in June 1951. The first tenants moved into homes in Redgrave Road in Vange. A large, illuminated town sign “Basildon Town Centre Site” at 3.5 feet (1.1 m) was erected in 1956 by the railway and stood until early construction was completed. Since March 2010 Basildon has a miniature famous white Hollywood sign, reading “Basildon”: at five feet tall, the new sign is one-ninth of the height of the Hollywood original. This was aimed “to bring the town into the 21st century and to attract more visitors” part of a plan of landscaping and infrastructure improvements funded by £400,000 from the Prescott-spearheaded Thames Gateway. Opponents from all parties believe spending could have been directed toward social problems.
