Essex

A home county due to its boarder with Greater London, Essex is a melting pot of culture and industry.  Dating back to 527AD, it is home to more than 300 towns – including the UK’s smallest, Manningtree, and Britain’s oldest, Colchester, which dates back to before the Roman conquest.  Today, Colchester is better known for its electronics industry.  Home to companies including Marconi (owned by Ericsson of Sweden since 2005), it delivered Britain’s first public broadcast in 1920.  Meanwhile, other towns in Essex have excelled in different sectors – Harlow in pharmaceuticals, Basildon in agriculture and Brentwood in the motor industry, thanks to Ford’s European headquarters being based there.  But this is just one side of Essex. There is also the 350 miles of coastline to be discovered and resorts of Southend-on-Sea, Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze to explore, the latter of which dates back to early Victorian times.  

Barchester homes in Essex: