Wivenhoe

This article is about the town in England. For other uses, see Wivenhoe (disambiguation).

Wivenhoe
240px
Wivenhoe  Wivenhoe shown within Essex
Population	7,637 (2011)
OS grid reference	TM045225
Civil parish	Wivenhoe
District	Colchester
Shire county	Essex
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	COLCHESTER
Postcode district	CO7
Dialling code	01206
Police	Essex
Fire	Essex
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Harwich and North Essex
List of places UK England Essex

Wivenhoe is a town and civil parish in north eastern Essex, England, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) south east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two separate settlements but with considerable development in the 19th century the two have merged.

At the 2001 census, the town had a population of over 7,221, increasing to 7,637 at the 2011 census. The town's history centres on fishing, ship building, and smuggling.

Much of lower Wivenhoe is also a designated conservation area, with many streets being of particular architectural interest.

Etymology

The place-name Wivenhoe is Saxon in origin, deriving from the personal name Wifa's or Wife's spur or promontory (hoe). The place-name is now usually pronounced 'Wivvenho', but the Essex accent would traditionally have rendered it as 'Wivvenhoo'. According to folk etymology, the name derived from "Wyvernhoe", originating from the mythical beast called a wyvern and the previously mentioned ridge (hoe). The town's football team, Wivenhoe Town FC, is nicknamed 'The Wyverns'.

History

Wivenhoe is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wiivnhou when it formed part of the land of Robert Gernon, where there was a mill, 12 acres (49,000 m²) of meadow and pasture for 60 sheep. Wivenhoe developed as a port and until the late 19th century was effectively a port for Colchester, as large ships were unable to navigate any further up the River Colne, which widens here into its estuary. Wivenhoe had two prosperous shipyards. It became an important port for trade for Colchester and developed shipbuilding, commerce and fishing industries. The period of greatest prosperity for the town came with the arrival of the railway in 1863.

In 1884 the town suffered significant damage when it lay close to the epicentre of one of the most destructive UK earthquakes of all time - the 1884 Colchester earthquake. In 1890, there was a population of about 2,000 mostly engaged in fishing for oysters and sprats and in ship and yacht building. A dry dock was built in 1889 and extended in 1904, making it one of the largest on the East Coast; it was demolished in the mid-1960s. In the 1960s, Wivenhoe Park was chosen as the location for the University of Essex.

During the UK miners' strike (1984-1985), the now defunct Wivenhoe Port imported coal and became subject to picketing by miners (many from Yorkshire), which led to a very substantial police presence, some of them drafted in from other counties, and violent skirmishes as striking miners tried to prevent vehicles entering and leaving the port.

Wivenhoe Park

Wivenhoe Park, by John Constable, 1816.

Wivenhoe Park, bordering on the town of Colchester, is the location for the University of Essex. The site was the home for several centuries of the Rebow family, descendants of Flemish clothweavers from Colchester. Wivenhoe House was designed for Isaac Rebow in 1759 by Thomas Reynolds; the park itself was designed by Richard Woods. it was remodelled in 1846-7 by T. Hopper. A view of the house across the lake was painted by John Constable painting on a social visit to Major-General Francis Slater Rebow in 1816 for a fee of 100 guineas.

Transport

Wivenhoe station is served by an electric rail service to and from London Liverpool Street via Colchester railway station currently provided by Abellio Greater Anglia. The town is connected by a seasonal foot ferry service at weekends in the summer across the River Colne, Essex to Fingringhoe and Rowhedge. There is a bus connection to Colchester. Wivenhoe is just over one hour from Stansted Airport and 30 minutes from Harwich International Port.

Society and leisure

Wivenhoe has a population of between nine and ten thousand people with a mixture of students from the University of Essex, a long-standing artistic community, and commuters. Property prices averaged £286,000 in February 2008. The town has a number of small local shops: there is a bookshop, chemist, two post offices, corner house coffee shop, toy shop, delicatessen, tea rooms, Co-op, pet supplier and florist. There are six pubs including the Black Buoy Pub, Horse and Groom, Flag, some of which are the venue for musical events, including a jazz club. The Crab & Winkle Gallery can be found at the town's railway station. The town is popular with students from the university who walk from the campus to enjoy the facilities of the town's public houses and its waterfront.

The town has a number of sports and leisure clubs and societies: Wivenhoe Sailing Club's clubhouse is just downstream of the river barrier. Wivenhoe Town Football Club play at Broad Lane Sports Ground, which is also used by Colchester United Ladies and was home to Wivenhoe Old Boys Football Club, and is also home to Wivenhoe Tennis Club. Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club is located on Rectory Road. The Cricket Club also hosts a monthly comedy club, "Wivenhoe Funny Farm", established in 2005. There are a number of musical and theatre groups, and an art gallery. The King George V Playing Field is in the lower half of the town, with a small skate park, football pitches, a small play park and a dog-walking area. There is a bowls club on De Vere Lane and a bridge club meets in the Town Council's offices.

Education

Wivenhoe has two primary schools: Broomgrove Infant and Junior, and Millfields Primary.

Secondary schools are available in the surrounding area. The University of Essex has been located at Wivenhoe Park since 1964.

Notable residents

Wivenhoe was home, until her death, of the actress Joan Hickson who played Miss Marple in the BBC adaptations of Agatha Christie's novels.

It was also home to children's author, journalist, and writer Leila Berg.

It is also home of the poet and musician Martin Newell.

James Dodds painter, printmaker and publisher under the imprint of Jardine Press.

The Singer Polly Scattergood was born in Wivenhoe before moving to London.

It was once a favourite watering-hole of the painter Francis Bacon, whose house on Queens Road still remains as it was when he died, and several journalists and writers have been based in the lower end of the town: George Gale (former editor of The Spectator, Daily Telegraph cartoonist and Daily Express columnist) parodied by Private Eye magazine as 'George G. Ale', and Peregrine Worsthorne, (former editor of the Sunday Telegraph) both had homes there.

Anna Mendelson, a writer (as 'Grace Lake'), poet and political activist was a resident of Wivenhoe and a student at Essex University. She was associated with the short-lived British terrorist organisation the Angry Brigade.

Wivenhoe manor was owned by John De Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford and was passed down with the earldom until sold by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford in 1584.

Actor-manager Sir John Martin-Harvey was born in the village in 1863 and is commemorated by a blue plaque on Quay House, one of his childhood homes. He was the son of yacht-designer John Harvey and grandson of Thomas Harvey, yacht builder. The Volante was built by Thomas Harvey & Son (Thomas & Thomas Harvey junior) in the Halifax Yard at Ipswich. The "Volante" competed in the first America's Cup in 1851.

During the first half of the nineteenth century, Wivenhoe Hall was the home of William Brummell, brother of the more famous Beau Brummell.

Harry Bensley became famous for taking on a wager to walk around Britain and eighteen other countries while wearing an iron mask and pushing a perambulator. Bensley lived in the village with his wife, Kate, after having served in the First World War.

Pianist and popular entertainer Semprini lived in Wivenhoe during his retirement in Talisman House which is adjacent to the high street.

Wivenhoe also became the adopted home of Louis Claiborne.} Mr. Claiborne served as a U.S. Deputy Solicitor General from 1962 to 1985, presented oral argument in over 70 cases to the United States Supreme Court and is regarded as "one of the single most important lawyers in environmental law's formative years in the Court." Additionally, Claiborne was noted for being one of only a few American lawyers to have been admitted as an English barrister, and also for being one of even a smaller number of English barristers to have argued before the United States Supreme Court.

External links

• The Wivenhoe Encyclopedia - maintained by Eugene Kraft, Paul Alden, and Wivenhoe Town Council
• Homepage for Wivenhoe Town Council
• Broomgrove Junior School
• Wivenhoe Funny Farm
• Wivenhoe Town Football Club
• Wivenhoe May Fair
• Wivenhoe Fingringhoe Rowhedge Ferry
• Transition Town Wivenhoe
• BBC Inside Out Miners' Strike