Word of the Day
Essex (EH-siks)
· Common clues: English county on the Thames; Southend-on-Sea's County; Favorite of Elizabeth
· Crossword puzzle frequency: 3 times a year
· Frequency in English language: 3881 / 86800
Essex is a county in the East of England. It borders Greater London to the south west, Hertfordshire by the River Stort to the west, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk by the River Stour to the north and Kent by the River Thames to the south.
The county town is Chelmsford and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley near the Hertfordshire border, which reaches 147m/482ft.
The name Essex derives from the Kingdom of Essex or Kingdom of the East Seaxe which was founded around 500 AD, occupying territory to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lee.
Because of its proximity to London and the economic magnetism which that city exerts, many of Essex's settlements function as dormitory towns or villages where London workers raise their families. Essex is known for being the origin of the political term Essex man.
The pattern of settlement in the county is diverse. The London Green Belt has effectively prevented of the further sprawl of the metropolis into the County, although it contains the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, originally developed to resettle Londoners following the destruction of London housing in World War II but since much expanded. Part of the south east of the county, already containing the major population centres of Southend and Thurrock, is within the Thames Gateway and designated for further development. To the north of the Green Belt, with the exception of major towns such as Chelmsford, the county is rural, with many small towns, villages and hamlets largely built in the traditional materials of timber and brick, with clay tile or thatched roofs. Colchester in the north east of the county is Britain's oldest recorded town, dating back to Roman times, and has a rich history.
In 1998 the districts of Southend-on-Sea (pop. 160,300) and Thurrock (pop. 143,000) separated from the county of Essex becoming unitary authority areas.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Essex".
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