View source for Southend-on-Sea

{{Short description|City and unitary authority in Essex, England}}
{{Redirect|Southend|other uses|Southend (disambiguation)|and|Southend-on-Sea (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Southend-on-Sea
| native_name        =
| nickname           =
| motto = {{force singular}} ''Per Mare Per Ecclesiam''<br /><small>(By Sea, By Church)</small>
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities in the United Kingdom|City]], [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority area]] and [[Borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]]
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
| image_skyline      = {{multiple images|perrow=1 2 1|border=infobox|total_width=260
|image1= View north along Southend High Street (geograph 7675871).jpg |caption1= The High Street
|image2= Southend Pier with train.jpg |caption2= [[Southend Pier]]
|image3= St Mary, Prittlewell - geograph.org.uk - 3944549.jpg |caption3= [[St Mary's Church, Prittlewell|St Mary's Church]]
|image4= Westcliff-on-Sea, - Western Esplanade (geograph 7675875).jpg |caption4= Western Esplanade
}}
| image_flag         =
| flag_size          =
| image_seal         =
| seal_size          =
| image_shield       =
| shield_size        =
| image_blank_emblem = Arms-southend-transparent.png
| blank_emblem_type  = Southend-on-Sea City Council<br />(Civic arms of Southend-on-Sea)
| blank_emblem_size  = 150px
| image_map          = Southend-on-Sea UK locator map.svg
| mapsize            = 250px
| map_caption        = Shown within Essex
| image_map1         =
| mapsize1           =
| map_caption1       =
| image_dot_map      =
| dot_mapsize        =
| dot_map_caption    =
| dot_x              =
| dot_y              =
| pushpin_map        = <!-- name of a location map as per Template:Location_map -->
| pushpin_label_position = <!-- position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_map_caption =
| pushpin_mapsize    =
<!-- Location ------------------>
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United Kingdom<!--the name of the country-->
| subdivision_type1  = [[Countries of the United Kingdom|Constituent country]]
| subdivision_name1  = England
| subdivision_type2  = [[Regions of England|Region]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[East of England]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[Ceremonial county]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Essex]]
| subdivision_type4  = Admin HQ
| subdivision_name4  = Southend-on-Sea
<!-- Smaller parts (e.g. boroughs of a city) and seat of government -->| seat_type          =
| seat               =
| parts_style        = <!-- =list (for list), coll (for collapsed list), para (for paragraph format)
                               Default is list if up to 5 items, coll if more than 5-->
| parts              = <!-- parts text, or header for parts list -->
| parts_type         = Areas of the city
| p1                 = [[Chalkwell]]
| p2                 = City Centre
| p3                 = [[Eastwood, Essex|Eastwood]]
| p4                 = [[Leigh-on-Sea]] (Town)
| p5                 = [[North Shoebury]]
| p6                 = [[Prittle Brook]]
| p7                 = [[Prittlewell]]
| p8               = [[Shoeburyness]]
| p9             = [[Southchurch]]
| p10             = [[Thorpe Bay]]
| p11               = [[Westcliff-on-Sea]]
<!-- Politics ----------------->
| government_footnotes =
| government_type    = [[Unitary authority]]
| leader_title       = [[Local government in England#Councillors and mayors|Leadership]]
| leader_name        = Leader & Cabinet
| leader_title1      = Governing Body
| leader_name1       = [[Southend-on-Sea City Council]]
| leader_title2      = Executive
| leader_name2       = {{English district control|GSS=E06000033}}
| leader_title3      = [[List of MPs elected in the 2019 United Kingdom general election|MPs]]
| leader_name3       = [[Bayo Alaba]] [[Labour Party (UK)|(L)]],<br />[[David Burton-Sampson]] (L)
| leader_title4      =
| leader_name4       =
| established_title  = <!-- Settled -->
| established_date   =
| established_title1 = <!-- Incorporated (Town) -->
| established_date1  =
| established_title2 = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
| established_date2  =
| founder            =
| named_for          =
<!-- Area    --------------------->
| area_magnitude     = <!-- use only to set a special wikilink -->
| unit_pref          = <!--Enter: Imperial, to display imperial before metric-->
| area_footnotes     =
| area_total_km2     = 41.76<!-- ALL fields with measurements are subject to automatic unit conversion-->
| area_land_km2      = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on unit conversion-->
| area_water_km2     =
| area_total_dunam   = <!--Used in Middle East articles only-->
| area_total_sq_mi   =
| area_land_sq_mi    =
| area_water_sq_mi   =
| area_water_percent =
| area_urban_km2     =
| area_urban_sq_mi   =
| area_metro_km2     =
| area_metro_sq_mi   =
| area_blank1_title  =
| area_blank1_km2    =
| area_blank1_sq_mi  =
<!-- Elevation -------------------------->
| elevation_footnotes = <!--for references: use<ref> </ref> tags-->
| elevation_m        =
| elevation_ft       =
| elevation_max_m    =
| elevation_max_ft   =
| elevation_min_m    =
| elevation_min_ft   =
<!-- Population   ----------------------->
| population_as_of   =
| population_footnotes =
| population_note    =
| population_total   = [[List of English districts by population|Ranked by District {{English district rank|GSS=E06000033}}]]<br />{{English district population|GSS=E06000033}}
| population_density_km2 = {{English district density|GSS=E06000033}} <!--For automatic calculation, any density field may contain: auto -->
| population_density_sq_mi =
| population_metro   =
| population_density_metro_km2 =
| population_density_metro_sq_mi =
| population_urban   =
| population_density_urban_km2 =
| population_density_urban_sq_mi = <!-- demographics (section 1) -->
| demographics_type1 = Ethnicity <span style="font-weight:normal;">([[2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses|2021]])</span>
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="2021 Nomis">{{NOMIS2021|id=E06000033|title=Southend-on-Sea Local Authority|access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref>
| demographics1_title1 = [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|Ethnic groups]]
| demographics1_info1 = {{Collapsible list
 | 87.5% [[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]
 | 5.5% [[British Asians|Asian]]
 | 3.1% [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed]]
 | 2.9% [[Black British people|Black]]
 | 1.1% [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|other]]
 }}
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->| demographics_type2 = Religion <span style="font-weight:normal;">(2021)</span>
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="2021 Nomis"/>
| demographics2_title1 = [[Religion in England|Religion]]
| demographics2_info1 = {{Collapsible list
 | 44.9% [[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|no religion]]
 | 42.6% [[Religion in England#Christianity|Christianity]]
 | 9.5% [[Religion in England|other]]
 | 3% [[Islam in England|Islam]]
 }}
| population_density_blank1_km2 =
| population_density_blank1_sq_mi =
<!-- General information  --------------->
| timezone           = [[GMT]]
| utc_offset         = +0
| timezone_DST       = [[British Summer Time]]
| utc_offset_DST     = +1
| coordinates        = {{coord|51.55|0.71|type:city_region:GB-ESS|display=inline,title}}
| postal2_code_type  = [[Post town]]
| postal2_code       = {{Smallcaps|southend-on-sea}}
| postal_code_type   = Postcode
| postal_code        = [[SS postcode area|SS0-SS3]]
| area_code_type     = [[Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom|Dialling code]]
| area_code          = 01702
| iso_code           = GB-SOS
| blank_name         = Grid reference
| blank_info         = {{gbmappingsmall|TQ883856}}
| blank1_name        = [[ONS coding system|ONS code]]
| blank1_info        = 00KF (ONS)<br />E06000033 (GSS)
| blank2_name        =
| blank2_info        =
| website            = {{URL|https://southend.gov.uk}}
| footnotes          =
| official_name      =
| leader_party       = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
}}

'''Southend-on-Sea''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-uk-SouthendOnSea.ogg|ˌ|s|aʊ|θ|ɛ|n|d| |ɒ|n| |ˈ|s|iː|}}), commonly referred to as '''Southend''' ({{IPAc-en|s|aʊ|ˈ|θ|ɛ|n|d|}}), is a coastal city and [[unitary authorities of England|unitary authority area]] in south-eastern [[Essex]], England. It lies on the north side of the [[Thames Estuary]], {{convert|40|mi}} east of central [[London]]. It is bordered to the north by [[Rochford (district)|Rochford]] and to the west by [[Borough of Castle Point|Castle Point]]. The city is one of the most densely populated places in the country outside of London. It is home to the longest [[pleasure pier]] in the world, [[Southend Pier]],<ref name="lonely planet">{{cite book |title=England |series=Lonely Planet travel guide |editor-first=David |editor-last=Else |edition=5th |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-74104-590-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781741045901/page/445 445] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781741045901/page/445 }}</ref> while [[London Southend Airport]] is located to the north of the city centre.

Southend-on-Sea originally consisted of a few fishermen's huts and a farm at the southern end of the village of [[Prittlewell]]. In the 1790s, the first buildings around what was to become the High Street of Southend were completed. In the 19th century Southend's status as a [[seaside resort]] grew after a visit from the [[Princess of Wales]], [[Caroline of Brunswick]], and the construction of both the pier and railway, allowing easier access from London. From the 1960s onwards, the city declined as a holiday destination. After the 1960s, much of the city centre was developed for commerce and retail, and many original structures were lost to redevelopment. As part of its reinvention, Southend became the home of the [[Access (credit card)|Access credit card]], due to it having one of the UK's first [[Electronic switching system|electronic telephone exchanges]]. An annual seafront airshow, which started in 1986 and featured a flypast by [[Concorde]], used to take place each May until 2012.

Southend was granted [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] in January 2022 in memorial to the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Member of Parliament for Southend West, [[David Amess|Sir David Amess]], who was [[Murder of David Amess|murdered]] in October 2021. On 1 March 2022, the letters patent were presented to Southend Borough Council by [[Charles, Prince of Wales]].

==History==
===Early history===
Southend was first recorded in 1309 as ''Stratende'', a small piece of land in the Manor of Milton (now known as [[Westcliff-on-Sea]]), within the Parish of [[Prittlewell]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/miltonchalkwellc0000pear/page/n3/mode/1up?q=history+of+%22Southend-on-Sea%22|title=Milton, Chalkwell, and the Crowstone|author=Pearce. M|date=2000|isbn=9780860255109|page=1|publisher=Ian Henry }}</ref><ref name=Smithp1>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/originsfailureof0000smit/page/3/mode/1up|title=The origins and failure of New South-End|author=Smith, J. R.|date=1991|isbn=9780900360886|page=3|publisher=Essex County Council }}</ref> Its next recorded mention was  in a will from 1408, where the area south of Prittlewell was called ''Sowthende''.<ref name=Pevsner/> In March 1665, the English naval ship, [[English ship London (1656)|''London'']] blew up while moored just off South-end on its way to fight in the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-53013454|title=Coronavirus and Brexit hit bid to save The London shipwreck|website=BBC|date=15 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |date=2015-08-12 |title=17th-century HMS London gun carriage lifted from Southend seabed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/12/gun-carriage-17th-century-hms-london-lifted-southend-seabed |access-date=2025-08-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The hamlet of South-end consisting of a few fishermen's huts and Thames Farm farmhouse stayed this way until the mid-18th century. In 1758 a large house was built, which by 1764 had become the Ship Inn.<ref name=Smithp1/> Oystermen cottages were built in 1767, and a year later the settlement was recorded in the parish records for taxation purposes for the first time. By 1772 records show a salt works and a lime kiln.<ref name=Smithp1/> A visitor to the settlement in 1780 said "not anything in the place worth notice", but a year later the first bathing machine was brought to the hamlet.<ref name=Smithp1/> By 1785, the ''[[Essex Chronicle|Chelmsford Chronicle]]'' was reporting subscriptions to build a hotel, and plans to make South-end,
{{blockquote|equal, if not to rival any of the watering places to which the genteelest company usually resort; there being nothing wanting but such a place of accommodation, where the agreeable distance from the metropolis, and the excellence of the roads, added to the incomparable fineness of the water, have induced so much polite company down these last two summers.<ref name=Smithp1/>}}
The planned hotel was not built, but the Chronicle reported in 1787 that "Southend is likely to become a place of fashionable resort, and that there are a greater number of genteel families there this season than was ever known before".<ref name=Smithp1/> By the end of the decade, the number of bathing machines had increased and the hamlet was recorded as containing the Ship Inn and 25 houses and cottages; reported visitors included [[George Cholmondeley, 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley|Lord Cholmondley]]. The coach service from London to [[Rochford]] was extended to Southend for the summer season of 1790. The main occupations were in agriculture, fishing, boat repairing and working the barges to London and back.<ref name="Smithp5">{{cite book |author=Smith, J.R. |url=https://archive.org/details/originsfailureof0000smit/page/3/mode/1up |title=The origins and failure of New South-End |date=1991 |publisher=Essex County Council |isbn=9780900360886 |page=5}}</ref>

===The start and fail of New South-End===
[[File:Constable - Southend, D.228-1888.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Southend by [[John Constable]]]]
In 1790, the local lord of the Manor of both Prittlewell and Milton (now Westcliff-on-Sea) and landowner Daniel Scratton set aside 35-acres of land at the top of the cliffs to the west of South-end.<ref name=Smithp6-14>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/originsfailureof0000smit/page/3/mode/1up|title=The origins and failure of New South-End|author=Smith, J. R.|date=1991|isbn=9780900360886|pages=6–14|publisher=Essex County Council }}</ref> The development was called New South-End, and the original settlement was renamed Old South-end. A road was cut through the development, which would later become the High Street.<ref name=Smithp6-14/> The ''Chelmsford Chronicle'' wrote at the time,
{{blockquote|There seems but little doubt of its becoming a place of fashionable resort, and answering the expectations of the proprietors, being only {{convert|42|mi|km|0|disp=sqbr}} from London and two coaches, and the post passes through it three times a week; water carriage is also convenient, being only eight hours sail, with a fair wind, from London.<ref name=Smithp6-14/>}}
By January 1792, the first house in Grove Terrace was completed, a hotel had been roofed and 60 dwellings had been started on. By the summer, the Duke of York and the Duke of Clarence public houses had opened. However, by September that year ''[[The Times]]'' was reporting that the resort was likely to attract the lower and middle classes, not the wealthy clientele that it was being aimed at. One of the initial developers started to sell his interests. By December 1792, the  Duke of York was advertised for sale.<ref name=Smithp6-14/> Development continued with The Grand Hotel, (now known as The Royal Hotel) opened on 1 July 1793, and most of Grove Terrace was available to let.<ref name=Gordon2014/> Later that year, New South-End was listed for the first time in the parish annual rate, and by the summer of 1794 the Terrace, Grove Terrace, the Mews and Library had been completed. In February 1795 however, one of the main developers was declared bankrupt and ownership of The Grand Hotel was assigned. A similar fate awaited another developer and much of New-Southend remained open land.<ref name=Smithp6-14/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vc4HAAAAQAAJ&dq=southend+commercial+industry&pg=PA83|title=Royal Illustrated History of Eastern England|author=A. D. Bayne|date=1873|pages=82–83}}</ref> In contrast, Old South-end doubled in size during the same period; the Ship Inn and the Anchor and Hope Inn had been built as well as five shops and the Caroline baths.<ref name=Smithp15>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/originsfailureof0000smit/page/3/mode/1up|title=The origins and failure of New South-End|author=Smith, J. R.|date=1991|isbn=9780900360886|page=15|publisher=Essex County Council }}</ref> A large house was built by Abraham Vandervord in 1792 in Old South-end which would later become the Minerva public house.<ref name=Smithp18>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/originsfailureof0000smit/page/3/mode/1up|title=The origins and failure of New South-End|author=Smith, J.R.|date=1991|isbn=9780900360886|page=18|publisher=Essex County Council}}</ref>

===Growth of the town===
Due to the bad transportation links between Southend and London, there was not rapid development during the [[Georgian Era]] as there was in [[Brighton]]. [[Margate]], although further away from London than Southend, offered cheaper boat and stagecoach fares and had more to offer the visitor.<ref name=Smithp21>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/originsfailureof0000smit/page/3/mode/1up|title=The origins and failure of New South-End|author=Smith, J.R.|date=1991|isbn=9780900360886|page=21|publisher=Essex County Council }}</ref> Development was piecemeal in the early 19th century, with a theatre being built in Old South-end by [[Thomas Trotter (impresario)|Thomas Trotter]] in 1804.<ref name=Smithp18/> Southend was, however, mentioned in [[Jane Austen]]'s novel ''Emma'' of 1815. The resort first received royal patronage in 1801 when [[Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817)|Princess Charlotte of Wales]] visited to sea bathe on the order of her physician.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/southendseasideh0000ever/page/10/mode/1up|title=Southend Seaside Holiday|author=Everritt, Sylvia|date=1980|page=10|publisher=Phillimore |isbn=0850333342}}</ref><ref name=benton>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkgBxak9f9cC&dq=%22The+Machines%22+southend&pg=PA622|title=The History of Rochford Hundred, (together with the Parishes Comprised Within the Union,)|author=Philip Benton|date=1888|page=622|publisher=Unicorn Press |isbn=978-0-9516587-1-0 }}</ref> Her mother, Princess [[Caroline of Brunswick]] stayed at 7-9 The Terrace during 1803 and [[Emma, Lady Hamilton|Lady Hamilton]] held a ball in the hotel assembly room in honour of [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Lord Nelson]] in 1805.<ref name=Gordon2014>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TQ87AwAAQBAJ&dq=%22princess+caroline%22+southend-on-sea&pg=PT27|title=The Secret History of Southend-on-Sea|author=Gordon. D|date=2014|publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780750955454}}</ref> The visit of Princess Caroline boosted Southend's popularity with tourists.<ref name=Pevsner/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Thames and Thanet Guide, and Kentish Tourist ... Third Edition, Illustrated with Maps, Etc|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfcUOtJyLJ4C&pg=PA36|chapter=Southend |author=George Henry Davidson|date=1850|page=36}}</ref>

Travellers would often arrive by sailing boat or later by [[Thames steamers|Thames steamer]], which presented problems as boats could only dock during high tide.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clamp |first=Francis |title=Southend-on-Sea in the Great War |publisher=Pen and Sword |year=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fPZsBQAAQBAJ |isbn=978-1-47382-255-9|page=8}}</ref> The Southend coast consists of [[mudflat]]s that extend far from the shore, with a high tide depth that seldom exceeds {{convert|5.5|m|ft}}. Large boats were unable to port near to the beach and no boats could approach at low tide.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tsouras |first=Peter G |title=Bayonets, Balloons & Ironclads: Britain and France Take Sides with the South |publisher=Skyhorse |year=2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HmF4BwAAQBAJ |isbn=978-1-62914-867-0|page=223}}</ref> Many potential visitors would travel beyond Southend on to Margate or other resorts with better docking facilities.<ref name="bbc_legacies" /> Due to this, local dignitaries led by the former [[Lord Mayor of London|Lord Mayor of the City of London]] [[Sir William Heygate, 1st Baronet|Sir William Heygate]], campaigned in the early 1820s to gain permission from Parliament to build a pier.<ref name="bbc_legacies" /> On 7 May 1829, the House of Lords passed the bill and the [[Southend Pier Act 1829]] ([[10 Geo. 4]]. c. xlix) received royal assent on 14 May 1829.<ref name="Rayment">{{cite book |last=Rayment |first=David |title=A-Z of Southend: Places-People-History |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |year=2019 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_-3DwAAQBAJ |isbn=978-1-44568-648-6|page=114}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VpZFAAAAcAAJ |title=The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |publisher=Great Britain |year=1829 |page=880 |access-date=18 August 2020}}</ref> By July, Lord Mayor of London, [[William Thompson (1792–1854)|Sir William Thompson]] laid the foundation stone and the first section of the pier opened a year later.<ref name="Rayment" /> Southend remained a quiet health resort, as the pier did not extend far enough out and visitors had issues disembarking.<ref name="Everritt12-13">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/southendseasideh0000ever/page/11/mode/1up|title=Southend Seaside Holiday|author=Everritt, Sylvia|date=1980|pages=12–13|isbn=0850333342}}</ref>

In June 1852, after several attempts at building a railway to Southend, royal assent was given to the [[London, Tilbury and Southend Extension Railway Act 1852]] ([[15 & 16 Vict.]] c. lxxxiv) authorising the building of the [[London, Tilbury and Southend Railway]].<ref name=Kay>{{cite book|last=Kay|first=Peter|title=The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway: A history of the company and line Volume 1 1836-1893|publisher=Peter Kay|year=1996|isbn=1-899890-10-6|pages=15–19}}</ref> The line reached Southend in 1856. It had been planned to terminate opposite the pier; however, residents in The Royal Terrace opposed this and the station was built further back.<ref name=Kay/>

In 1859, the Grove Field area was leased to [[Morton Peto|Sir Morton Peto]], and with a consortium which included [[Thomas Brassey]], the contractors for the railway construction, hired architects [[Robert Richardson Banks|Banks & Barry]] to design ''Clifftown''.<ref name="Pevsner" /> The first houses were made available for sale in 1871, with even the smaller properties offering a glimpse of the sea. Eventually the development would include the Clifftown Congregational Church, the Nelson Road shopping parade and Prittlewell Square, Southend's first park.<ref name="Pevsner" />

The arrival of the railway did not at first greatly increase visitor numbers, and Southend remained a quiet resort rather than a noisy fashionable seaside town. [[Benjamin Disraeli]] visited regularly between 1833 and 1884,<ref name="Deeping">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k8yZdR7aR2oC&dq=southend+1920s&pg=PA64|title=The Ordeal of Warwick Deeping. Middlebrow Authorship and Cultural Embarrassment|author=Mary Grover|date=2009|isbn=9780838641880|pages=65–66|publisher=Associated University Presse }}</ref> [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Prince Arthur]] visited in 1868, while the [[Eugénie de Montijo|Empress of France, Eugénie]] and her son, [[Louis-Napoléon, Prince Imperial]] also came to the town.<ref name="Everritt12-13" /><ref name="benton" /> A Local Board of Health was created in 1866 to serve Southend's growing population,<ref name="Everritt17">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/southendseasideh0000ever/page/11/mode/1up|title=Southend Seaside Holiday|author=Everritt, Sylvia|date=1980|page=17|isbn=0850333342}}</ref> and the large steam powered Middleton brewery was opened by Henry Luker & Co in 1869.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jvZ5EAAAQBAJ&dq=%22luker%22+brewery+southend&pg=PT48|title=Struggle and Suffrage in Southend-on-Sea. Women's Lives and the Fight for Equality|author=Dee Gordon|date=2019|publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=9781526717672}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mD1cfhKpi1AC&q=%22luker%22+brewery+southend|title=Essex Record Office Publications Issue 66|date=1974|page=67|publisher=The Council |isbn=978-0-900360-43-5 }}</ref> Southend's development as a resort however seemed to stall, until the [[Bank Holidays Act 1871]] made holidays available to more of the population.<ref name="Everritt12-13" /> The growth in visitor numbers saw the local Board purchase the pier in 1873 and construct Marine Parade in 1878, while the cliffs west of the pier were transformed into tree lined walkways during 1886.<ref name="Everritt31-32">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/southendseasideh0000ever/page/11/mode/1up|title=Southend Seaside Holiday|author=Everritt, Sylvia|date=1980|pages=31–32|isbn=0850333342}}</ref> In 1889, the [[Great Eastern Railway]] opened its station at {{rws|Southend Victoria}} and a new iron-built replacement for the pier opened.<ref name="Pevsner" /><ref name="pier" />

The town was incorporated as a [[municipal borough|borough]] called ''Southend-on-Sea'' in 1892; the official name prior to that had just been Southend.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Charter |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001777%2F18920922&page=2 |access-date=3 December 2025 |work=Southend Standard |date=22 September 1892 |page=2 |quote=...The District of Southend, comprising the whole of the Parish of Prittlewell, in the County of Essex, is hereby created a Municipal Borough by the name of the "Borough of Southend-on-Sea"...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gowing |first1=Ellis Norman |title=The Story of Prittlewell Church |date=1958 |page=101 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Story_of_Prittlewell_Church/4o-bCkC6resC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=1892&dq=name%20on%20sea%20borough%20charter%20southend%201892&printsec=frontcover |access-date=4 December 2025}}</ref> During 1892, the famous Southend department store [[Keddies]] opened its doors for the first time.<ref name="H&T">{{cite web|last1=Worpole|first1=Chris|title=G. J. Keddie & Sons|url=http://www.hadleighhistory.org.uk/page_id__200.aspx|website=Hadleigh and Thundersley Community Archive|publisher=Hadleigh History|access-date=17 September 2014}}</ref> Between 1871 and 1901 the town's population grew 100 fold from 2,800 to 29,000.<ref name="Pevsner">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/essex0000bett/page/n3/mode/1up?q=%22southend-on-sea%22+clifftown|title=The Buildings of England: Essex|author=James Bettley, Nikolaus Pevsner|date=2007|pages=690–717|publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300116144}}</ref> Marine Park & Gardens opened during 1894 and was redeveloped into [[Kursaal (amusement park)|The Kursaal]] amusement park in 1901.<ref name="Raymentp92">{{cite book |last=Rayment |first=David C. |title=A-Z of Southend: Places-People-History |publisher=Amberley Publishing |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4456-8648-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_-3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT92 |page=92}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/1837-kursaal-southend-on-sea|title=Kursaal &#124; Theatres Trust}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwrACwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64|title=The Architecture of Pleasure: British Amusement Parks 1900–1939|last=Kane|first=Josephine|date=16 March 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317044741|pages=64|language=en}}</ref> The Metropole Hotel on Pier Hill also opened in 1901 (later renamed the Palace Hotel),<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=womIAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend%22+first+world+war+st+marys+hospital&pg=PT91|title=Southend Through Time|author=Rayment. D.C.|date=2011|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=9781445631028}}</ref> and in the same year the town first received both electric street lighting and trams,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/southendseasideh0000ever/page/11/mode/1up|title=Southend Seaside Holiday|author=Everritt, Sylvia|date=1980|page=20|publisher=Phillimore |isbn=0850333342}}</ref> and an electric staircase by [[Jesse W. Reno]] had been installed on the site of the current Cliff lift.<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pk0VqExkaHgC&q=%22the+electric+stairway%22+southend-on-sea|title=Book of Prospectuses. Statements for Information and Circulars to Shareholders of Public Companies. Issue 23|date=1902|page=57}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Southend Museums Service|title=Cliff Lift History|year=2010|publisher=Southend Museums Service|location=Southend-on-Sea}}</ref>

[[File:Queen_Victoria_statue,_Southend_20171116_115134_(47717253792).jpg|thumb|Queen Victoria's statue by [[Joseph Swynnerton|Swynnerton]], pointing out to sea]]

To celebrate [[Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria|Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee]], a statue of her pointing out to sea was placed at the top of Pier Hill, which the locals amusingly remarked appeared to point towards the gents toilets. The statue was moved to its current position on Clifftown Parade in 1962.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southend.gov.uk/historic-southend/history-southend/2|title=History of Southend|website=Southend-On-Sea City Council|access-date=20 September 2024}}</ref> In 1903, it was reported that around one million people had paid admission to use the pier, while 250,000 passengers had alighted from pleasure steamboats.<ref name=pier>{{cite news |url=https://www.southendpier.co.uk/history |title=Pier History |website=Southend Pier & Railway|access-date=11 June 2024}}</ref> Further facilities were built for the growing visitor numbers, including extending the esplanade to Chalkwell in 1903<ref name=Everritt31-32/> and adding the wedding cake bandstand at the top of the cliffs, opposite Prittlewell Square in 1909; it was one of six bandstands that stood in Southend.<ref name="echo-news.co.uk">{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/nostalgia/20878063.memories-southend-cliffs-wedding-cake-bandstand/|title=Memories of the Southend Cliffs 'wedding cake' bandstand|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=4 September 2022}}</ref> In 1907, following a campaign by the Westcliff Tradesman Association who wanted to rename the town, the Borough of Southend-on-Sea and Westcliff-on-Sea, local businessman and philanthropist, [[R. A. Jones]] put forward a plan to rename the town, Thamesmouth.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/18725842.unpopular-efforts-change-southends-name-thamesmouth-sunk/|title=How unpopular efforts to change Southend's name to 'Thamesmouth' were sunk|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=19 September 2020}}</ref>

[[File:A. E. Sanders, Southend-on-Sea.jpg|thumb|Southend-on-Sea Pier, c.1904]]

In 1909, an indoor roller-skating rink was opened in Warrior Square.<ref name=Everritt34/> The population of Southend had grown to 62,723 by 1911, the fastest rate of population growth in England and Wales since the previous census in 1901.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/canadianalmanacd0000unse_g7p6/page/337/mode/1up?q=%22southend-on-sea%22 |title=Canadian almanac & directory |year=1912 |page=337}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/economichistoryo0000jhcl_c8u8/page/457/mode/1up?q=%22southend-on-sea%22|title=An Economic History of Modern Britain in Three Volumes|author=J.H. Clapham|date=1914|page=457|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> In 1914, the town gained county borough status, and the Corporation formed the first police force.<ref name=Everritt25>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/southendseasideh0000ever/page/27/mode/1up?q=Police|title=Southend seaside holiday|author=Everritt, Sylvia|date=1980|page=27|publisher=Phillimore |isbn=0850333342}}</ref>

===Southend during World War I===
Shortly after [[United Kingdom declaration of war upon Germany (1914)|the declaration of war]], the British government began the [[Internment in the United Kingdom during the First World War|internment of German citizens]] and several thousand were held on three ships, the [[HMT Royal Edward|''Royal Edward'']], the [[RMS Saxonia (1899)|''Saxonia'']] and the [[RMS Ivernia (1899)|''Ivernia'']] which were moored off the pier until May 1915.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.essexregiment.co.uk/powgships.html|title=The POW Ships at Southend on Sea|website=Essex Regiment|access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7wy4DgAAQBAJ&q=%22southend%22+first+world+war+internment|title=Prisoners of the British. Internees and Prisoners of War during the First World War|author=Michael Foley|date=2017|isbn=978-1781554791}}</ref> The War Office selected a piece of land north of the town in 1914 for a new aerodrome, with Squadron no. 37 of the Royal Flying Corps moving in a year later.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEhKAQAAIAAJ&q=southend+1920s|title=Southend Story|magazine=Aerospace|volume=8-9|date=1981|page=21}}</ref> Many soldiers passed through Southend en route to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. The pier was frequently used to reach troop ships, with the Admiralty stationing a war signal station at the pierhead, and [[Southchurch Park]] was taken over as an army training ground.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clamp |first1=Frances |title=Southend-on-Sea in the Great War |date=2014 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |location=Barnsley |isbn=9781473841307 |edition=Kindle |ref=none|pages=16–17}}</ref><ref name=pierhistory>{{cite web|url=https://www.southendpier.co.uk/history#:~:text=The%20Admiralty%2C%20responsible%20for%20the,camps%20due%20to%20safety%20concerns.|title=Pier history|website=Southend Pier & Railway|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref> During the war, the public could still walk the length of the pier.<ref name=pierhistory/> As the war drew on, Southend also became an evacuation point for casualties and several hotels were converted to hospitals, including the Metropole into the Queen Mary Naval Hospital.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clamp |first1=Frances |title=Southend-on-Sea in the Great War |date=2014 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |location=Barnsley |isbn=9781473841307 |edition=Kindle |ref=none|page=29}}</ref> Arthur Maitland Keddie, from the Keddies department store organised day trips for wounded soldiers from the Queen Mary Naval Hospital to [[Thundersley]] and [[Runwell]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Southend-on-Sea in the Great War|author=Frances Clamp|date=2014|publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=9781473840775}}</ref> The town was first bombed by German [[Zeppelin]]s on 10 May 1915 with the death of one woman, while a second attack happened on 26 May again with one death.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nelsonshistoryof0008buch/page/106/mode/1up?q=%22southend-on-sea%22|title=Nelson's History of the war|author=Buchan, John|date=1915|page=107}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Clamp |first1=Frances |title=Southend-on-Sea in the Great War |date=2014 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |location=Barnsley |isbn=9781473841307 |edition=Kindle |ref=none|pages=32–41}}</ref> Another bombing raid by [[Gotha G.IV|Gothas]] took place in 1917 with a further 33 deaths.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clamp |first1=Frances |title=Southend-on-Sea in the Great War |date=2014 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |location=Barnsley |isbn=9781473841307 |edition=Kindle |ref=none|page=118}}</ref> When peace was confirmed in 1919, official celebrations were organised by the town. A large Naval review off the Southend shore took place, with a twenty-one gun salute being fired on Peace Day on 23 July. The town organised a carnival, fetes and a firework display.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fPZsBQAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend-on-sea%22+1919&pg=PA100|title=Southend-on-Sea in the Great War|author=Frances Clamp|date=2014|page=100|publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=9781473822559}}</ref>

===Between the wars===
After the war, Southend continued to grow in both residents and visitors, with many moving out of London to live in better conditions.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WsZrBgAAQBAJ&dq=southend+1920s&pg=PA4|title=SAGUS Vol 4: Boys in the 1930s.Two teenagers in 1930s England|author=Roy Thomas and Paul Thomas|date=2015}}</ref> Its population in 1921 was recorded as 106,050 but, as the census was postponed to the summer months due to a planned general strike, it was greatly inflated by holidaymakers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23134641.southend-population-falsely-increased-huge-50-per-cent-1921/|title=Southend population falsely increased huge 50 per cent in 1921|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=20 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4YPAQAAIAAJ&q=southend+1920s|title=The Encyclopædia Britannica|date=1926|page=605 |last1=Garvin |first1=James Louis }}</ref> The Corporation purchased three former German [[U-boat]] engines to generate power for the tram network, siting them at Leigh, London Road and Thorpe Bay.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LN0mEAAAQBAJ&dq=southend+commercial+industry&pg=PA92|title=Spoils of War. The Fate of Enemy Fleets After the Two World Wars|author=Aidan Dodson, Serena Cant|date=2020|publisher=Seaforth |isbn=9781526741998}}</ref> During 1924, the Sunken Gardens at the side of the pier became Peter Pan Playground, a children's pleasure garden.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5525261.peter-pans-75-year-adventure/|title=Peter Pan's 75-year adventure|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=12 August 1999}}</ref> The pier head was enlarged in 1929 with the Prince George extension, at a cost of £58,000, to manage the increasing number of visitors arriving by paddle steamer.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1qoAwAAQBAJ&dq=southend+1920s&pg=PT9|title=By Steamer to the Essex Coast|author=Andrew Gladwell|date=2012|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=9781445623290}}</ref> A Southend icon, EKCO, opened their large factory at Priory Crescent on the site of a former cabbage patch in 1930.<ref name=eric/> To cope with the increase demand for housing, the Earls Hall estate was built during 1930, with the Manners Way estate joining it just north along with a new road towards in Rochford in 1937.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJHTAAAAMAAJ&q=%22manners+way%22+estate+southend+when+was+it+built|title=A history of Prittlewell|author=William Pollitt|date=1945|page=38}}</ref> The London Taxi Drivers Charity for Children completed their first taxi drive to Southend in 1931, with 40 [[Hackney carriage]]s bringing children to the town, who were given 6d to spend on the seafront.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ltcfc.org.uk/announcement/1931-the-birth-of-a-tradition/|title=1931 – THE BIRTH OF A TRADITION|website=London Taxi Drivers Charity for Children|date=February 1931 |access-date=27 June 2024}}</ref> At the 1931 Census the population of Southend was recorded at 110,790,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10056718/cube/TOT_POP|title=Administrative Area Southend UA|website=Vision of Britain|access-date=30 June 2024}}</ref> however the town would grow further by absorbing [[Shoeburyness|South Shoebury]] district and parts of Rochford district in 1933. Southend tried their first autumn illuminations during 1935, following the example set in 1913 by Blackpool.<ref name=Everritt34/> The town became a favourite with motorcycle riders during the 1930s, with the phase, ''Promenade Percy'', coming from this pastime.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyDtDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend%22+tourists+1950s&pg=PA70|title=Ton Up! A Century of Café Racer Speed and Style|author=Paul d'Orleans|date=2019|isbn=9780760360453|publisher=Motorbooks|page=70}}</ref> In the same year, the council purchased land on the Cliffs at Westcliff to build a 500-seater theatre and concert venue to be called Shorefield Pavilion with working starting four years later only to be suspended by the start of the war.<ref name=echodec23>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24009493.southend-cliffs-pavilion-history-much-loved-theatre-venue/|title=Southend Cliffs Pavilion: a history of the much-loved theatre venue|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=25 December 2023}}</ref><ref name=yearsley>{{cite book|title=Southend in 50 Buildings|author=Ian Yearsley|date=2016|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=9781445651897}}</ref>

===Southend during World War II===
Southend became an essential part of the British war machine.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3CJEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22hms+leigh%22&pg=PT71|title=Secret City of Southend|author=Ian Yearsley|date=2022|isbn=9781398111554|publisher=Amberley Publishing}}</ref><ref name=Nash/> In 1939, the [[Royal Navy]] had commandeered Southend Pier, renaming it ''HMS Leigh'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xe06AwAAQBAJ&dq=%22hms+leigh%22&pg=PT205|title=Front-Line Thames|author=Michael Foley|date=2008|isbn=9780750952392|publisher=History Press}}</ref> with the army building a concrete platform on the Prince George extension to house anti-aircraft guns. The navy also took over the Royal Terrace for its personnel.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rx_bEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22hms+leigh%22&pg=PT12|title=Celebrating the City of Southend|author=David C. Rayment|date=2023|isbn=9781398115811|publisher=Amberley Publishing}}</ref> The pier was used by the navy to help control the [[River Thames]], along with the [[Shoeburyness Boom|Thames Estuary
boom]] that was built at [[MOD Shoeburyness|Shoebury Garrison]] during 1939, and organised over 3,000 East Coast convoys by the end of the war.<ref name=jack>{{cite book|last1=Bennett|first1=Eric G.|title=Pull Up the Ladder Jack: Seamen Behaving Badly|date=2012|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn=9781479734757|page=22|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7yV8JOAf43MC|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0_ooAAAAYAAJ&q=%22hms+leigh%22|title=Southend-on-Sea|periodical=The Local Historian|volume=32-33|date=2002|page=6|publisher=National Council of Social Service}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r2NnAAAAMAAJ&q=%22hms+leigh%22|title=The Spirit of London's River Memoirs of the Thames Waterfront|author=L. M. Bates|date=1980|page=120|isbn=9780905418438|publisher=Gresham Books}}</ref> HMS Leigh was attacked by the Germans on 22 November when they dropped magnetic mines and machine gunned the pier, but none of the mines caused any damage and the navy's anti-aircraft guns destroyed one of the German planes. It was the last time there was a concentrated attack on the pier.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1cbPCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22hms+leigh%22&pg=PT152|title=Estuary. Out from London to the Sea|author=Rachel Lichtenstein|date=2016|isbn=9780141911533|publisher=Penguin Books Limited}}</ref> Southend Airport was requisitioned by the RAF at the outbreak of war, becoming a satellite of Hornchurch and being renamed RAF Rochford.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XDHAAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22raf+rochford%22&pg=PA270|title=Royal Air Force History. Royal Air Force - an Encyclopaedia of the Inter-War Years - Vol II|author=Ian M. Philpott|date=2007|isbn=9781844153916|publisher=Pen & Sword Aviation|page=270}}</ref> The town was believed to be the most heavily defended place in Essex, ranging from {{convert|3+1/2|mi|km|round=0.5|abbr=off}} of anti-tank cubes on the seafront to machine gun and anti-aircraft posts, road blocks and barrage balloons.<ref name=Nash>{{cite book|url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1039125&recordType=GreyLit|title= Survey of World War Two Defences in the Borough of Southend-on-Sea|author=Nash. F|date=2001|publisher=Essex County Council Heritage Conservation Branch}}</ref><ref name=WW2people/>

[[File:Cantilever pillbox.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A cantilever pillbox at Southend Airport]]

On 31 May 1940, six cockle fishing boats: the ''Endeavour'', ''Letitia'', ''Defender'', ''Reliance'', ''Renown'' and the ''Resolute'' were joined by the Southend lifeboat ''Greater London'' at the pier on their way to assist at the [[Dunkirk evacuation]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pb63EAAAQBAJ&dq=%22hms+leigh%22+dunkirk&pg=PT115|title=Essex's Military Heritage|author=Adam Culling|date=2023|isbn=9781398103085|publisher=Amberley Publishing}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://rnli.org/about-us/our-history/calm-before-the-storm-exhibition/stories-behind-the-lifeboats/greater-london#:~:text=From%201928%E2%80%931955%2C%20Greater%20London,Greater%20London%20(Civil%20Service%20No.|title=Greater London (Civil Service No. 3), Southend-on-Sea|website=RNLI|access-date=19 August 2024}}</ref> The town itself was first hit by German bombing in May 1940, when the Nore Yacht club was hit while 10 soldiers were killed near the airport.<ref name=Echo11720>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/18573333.bombed-photos-show-air-raid-destruction-80-years-ago/|title=Bombed out.. photos show air raid destruction 80 years ago|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=11 July 2020}}</ref> Southend High School for Boys was hit in a raid in June 1940.<ref name=Echo11720/> By June 1940, much of the town was sealed off, with all bar 10% of the population that were engaged in essential services, evacuated and only military personnel remaining.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P1IYAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22southend-on-sea%22+evacuation&pg=PA106|title=The Emergency Medical Services: England and Wales|author=Cuthbert Lindsay Dunn|date=1952|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|page=106}}</ref> A cordon of {{convert|20|mi|km|0}} was set up, with the town being designated part of the coastal defence area, but with the risk of invasion dropping, in 1941 it was reduced to {{convert|10|mi|km|0}}.<ref name=WW2people>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/37/a7154237.shtml|title=A day at the seaside|website=WW2 People's War - BBC|date=21 November 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XU6uDQAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend%22+world+war+ii+defences&pg=PA3|title=Churchill's Last Wartime Secret. The 1943 German Raid Airbrushed from History|author=Adrian Searle|date=2016|isbn=9781473877733|publisher=Pen and Sword|page=3}}</ref> By 28 October 1940, RAF Rochford had been renamed RAF Southend, no longer being a satellite of Hornchurch, although they still had Fighter Control at the base. A day later 264 Squadron arrived for night fighter duties equipped with the [[Boulton Paul Defiant]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vFk7AwAAQBAJ&dq=raf+rochford&pg=PT15|title=RAF Southend|author=Peter C. Brown|date=2012|isbn=9780752477015|publisher=History Press}}</ref> In the same month, a bombing raid damaged houses in the Fleetwood Avenue in Westcliff.<ref name=Echo11720/> During 1941, Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] visited [[MOD Shoeburyness|Shoebury Garrison]] twice for weapon demonstrations, with the Experimental Establishment carrying out numerous trials of weird and wonderful weapons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.qinetiq.com/en/shoeburyness/about/mod-shoeburyness-timeline-and-history|title=OLD RANGES 1849-1998|website=MOD Shoeburyness|access-date=27 August 2024}}</ref> An air raid in February 1941 destroyed the London Hotel in the High Street,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=252220922938043&id=100070934755536|title=HMS Leigh - community lead heritage and art project|website=Facebook|date=15 January 2021}}</ref> while the foreshore was often used by German bomber aircraft as a dumping ground for their bomb loads during the war if their primary target was not possible to hit.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/bomb-disposal-units-called-southend-5059550|title=Bomb disposal units called to Southend-on-Sea after WWII bombs found washed up on coast|website=Essex Live|date=2 March 2021}}</ref>

In 1942, the area along the seafront from the Pier to Chalkwell was transformed into ''HMS Westcliff'', a huge naval transit and training camp run by [[Combined Operations Headquarters|Combined Operations]].<ref name=JohnLee>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_LBEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22hms+westcliff%22&pg=PA127|title=A Grateful Nation Soon Forgot. The Remarkable Story of Southend's Contribution in Defence of the Nation|author=John Lee|date=2023|isbn=9781399949606|page=127|publisher=Paragon Publishing}}</ref><ref name=Echo28Sept>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/1719571.secret-life-of-hms-westcliff/|title=Secret life of HMS Westcliff|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=28 September 2007}}</ref> The police helped the Combined Operations Service find the owners of the empty properties so they could requisition properties to billet their staff.<ref name=JohnLee/> HMS Westcliff was officially opened, in secret, by [[Lord Mountbatten]] in 1943.<ref name=Echo28Sept/> The well known jeweller R.A. Jones store was damaged by bombing in October 1942.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/19046892.r-jones-favourite-southend-high-street-world-war-ii-attack/|title=R A Jones was a favourite on Southend High Street after World War II attack|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=30 January 2021}}</ref> An amusing moment during the war was [[Lord Haw-Haw]] announcing in his radio broadcasts that German forces had sunk the British ships HMS Westcliff and HMS Leigh.<ref name=JohnLee/> The town started to fall under constant [[V-1 flying bomb|V1]] and [[V-2 rocket|V2]] rocket attacks until December 1944, with one hitting the Pavilion on the pier.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zuqCAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend%22+hms+westcliff&pg=PA86|title=You're in the Navy Now. A Teenage Recruit Sees Front-Line Action in WWII|author=Alan Higgins|date=2013|isbn=9781861510662|publisher=Memoirs Publishing|page=86}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BZFABAAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend%22+v2+bombs&pg=RA2-PA8|title=Disarming Hitlers V Weapons. Bomb Disposal, the V1 and V2 Rockets|author=Chris Ransted|date=2013|isbn=9781473829671|publisher=Pen & Sword Books}}</ref> In 1944, while towing a Mulberry harbour caisson to Goole in Hampshire, it was found to be leaking so it was brought into the Thames Estuary off Thorpe Bay to be checked, but after being left by the tugs, it moved partially into the channel, and without support of the mudflat snapped in half and remains there to this day.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAoZDAAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend%22+d+day&pg=PT47|title=Shipwrecks for Walkers Volume 2|author=TOM BENNETT}}</ref> Further disaster happened when in August 1944, the liberty ship [[SS Richard Montgomery]], with over 6,000 tonnes of explosive on board, lost its mooring off the Isle of Sheppey, opposite Southend, in strong winds and wedged itself onto the mudflat, breaking its back.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TQ87AwAAQBAJ&dq=southend+uss+richard+montgomery&pg=PT62|title=The Secret History of Southend-on-Sea|author=Dee Gordon|date=2014|isbn=9780750955454|publisher=History Press}}</ref> Prior to this, HMS Leigh had been the mustering point for 576 ships in June 1944 before they headed for Normandy and D-Day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.facebook.com/groups/420105900348418/|title=D-Day 80th Anniversary event. Southend-on-Sea, Essex. 8 June 2024|website=Facebook|date=10 June 2024}}</ref> Force L, the follow up forces that were to follow the initial D-Day invasion force were located at Southend.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theddaystory.com/markers/force-l-follow-up-assembly-area-southend-on-sea-essex/|title=Force L (Follow-up) Assembly area, Southend-on-Sea, Essex.|website=The D-Day Story. Portsmouth|access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref>

=== Decline and regeneration ===
In the last weeks of the war, Southend started to open up to visitors again. The pier was officially given permission to open by the Home Office in March 1945, although the Prince George Extension was still out of bounds to the public. The ''Chelmsford Chronicle'' reported that the public returned in their droves, with 79,000 visitors turning up in the first nineteen days, though it wasn't until 30 September that the pier was officially derequisitioned by the Navy.<ref name=Raymentcity>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rx_bEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend+pier%22+Prince+George+Extension+1945&pg=PT12|title=Celebrating the City of Southend|author=David C. Rayment|date=2023|isbn=9781398115811|publisher=Amberley Publishing}}</ref> The town, which had been heavily fortified, slowly started to remove the defences during 1945, however the dust and noise disturbed the holidaymakers, with two elderly ladies complaining to the police that it should be stopped while they were on their vacation for the week. Many of the fairground attractions only opened at weekend due to many of the men who worked them still being enlisted.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/nostalgia/20202922.southend-coastal-defences-removed-ww2/|title=How Southend coastal defences were removed after WW2|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=10 June 2022}}</ref> It wasn't until 1946 that the town started to return to normal,<ref name=Raymentcity/> and by 1949-50 visitor numbers had rebounded with over 5.75 million visiting the pier alone.<ref name=seasidepiers>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZeANAQAAIAAJ&q=%22southend%22+1960s|title=Seaside Piers|author=Simon H. Adamson, Antony Dale|date=1994|isbn=9780713402421|publisher=B. T. Batsford|page=60}}</ref> Visitors would have used the replaced pier railway, newly installed in 1949,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UEYTTANjAyQC&q=%22southend%22+tourists+1950s|title=British Seaside Piers|author=Anthony Wills, Tim Phillips|date=2014|isbn=9781848022645|publisher=English Heritage|page=16}}</ref> or may have visited the newly opened [[Golden Hind]] replica containing waxworks by Louis Tussaud next to the pier.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23571990.southend-golden-hind-memories-el-galeon-visit/|title=Southend Golden Hind memories after El Galeon visit|date=6 June 2023|newspaper=Evening Echo}}</ref><ref name=Raymentcity/> The number of visitors reached a peak of 7 million the following year.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeSLlUW0Pf8C&dq=%22southend%22+tourists+1950s&pg=PA40|title=Managing Coastal Tourism Resorts. A Global Perspective|author=Gareth Shaw, Sheela Agarwal|date=2007|isbn=9781845413590|publisher=Channel View Publications|page=40}}</ref>

The Kursaal and Pier were nodal attractions used to promote the town to tourists during the 1950s and 60s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EKj2h2de8XgC&dq=%22southend%22+tourists+1950s&pg=PA349|title=Tourism Management|author=Stephen Page|date=2011|isbn=9781136433917|publisher=Taylor & Francis|pages=348–349}}</ref> On 31 January 1953, Southend seafront was affected by the [[North Sea flood of 1953|North Sea flood]], with Peter Pan's Playground left underwater, however the town was not affected as badly as other parts of Essex.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.essexrecordofficeblog.co.uk/the-1953-floods-in-essex/|title=The 1953 Floods in Essex|website=Essex Records Office|date=31 January 2013}}</ref> In June 1953, the town celebrated the [[Coronation of Elizabeth II]] by holding an air race at the airport featuring aerobatic displays by supersonic jets, a military tattoo, a coronation ball at the Kursaal featuring [[Ted Heath (bandleader)|Ted Heath and his Music]] and a grand fireworks display on the seafront.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23504645.coronations-past-south-essex-celebrated/|title=Coronations of past: how south Essex celebrated them|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=6 May 2023}}</ref> In 1956, the Great Eastern line was electrified<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QxxhAAAAIAAJ&q=%22southend%22+1960s|title=Commonwealth Survey|date=1957|publisher=Central Office of Information|page=75}}</ref> which encouraged more Londoners to move to the town, further making it into a dormitory town for the capital.<ref>{{cite book|title=London and Its Railways|author=Reginald Davies, M. D. Grant|date=1983|page=75|isbn=9780715381076|publisher=David & Charles}}</ref> On 14 April 1955, [[Air Charter Limited|Air Charter]] inaugurated its first vehicle ferry service between Southend and [[Calais]] using a [[Bristol 170]] Mark 32 Super Freighter.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Airliner World|title=Britain's Carferry Airlines|publisher=Key Publishing, Avenel, NJ, USA|date=July 2005|page=34}}</ref> It signalled the future for tourism in the town. The British public's preference for foreign vacations heralding the downturn for British seaside towns,<ref name="Mark Clapson 2009 333">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwyCAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend%22+tourists+1950s&pg=PA333|title=The Routledge Companion to Britain in the Twentieth Century|author=Mark Clapson|date=2009|isbn=9781134476954|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=333}}</ref> though Southend still had strong numbers visiting.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Victoria History of the County of Essex|author=Christopher Thornton, Herbert Eiden|date=2012|page=11|publisher=Boydell & Brewer}}</ref>

Between 1948 and 1962, it was recorded that 22% of the town's population were working in holiday related industries.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Victoria History of the County of Essex|author=Christopher Thornton, Herbert Eiden|date=2012|page=12|publisher=Boydell & Brewer}}</ref> The borough council, concerned that Southend was too reliant on tourism and [[Commuter town|commuting]], decided to try and grow commercial industry. This coincided with plans in central government to de-centralise services. Town clerk Archibald Glen wanted to re-imagine Southend as "the garden suburb by the sea".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpuuaHfJvwUC&dq=%22southend%22+tourists+1950s&pg=PA78|title=Selling Places. The Marketing and Promotion of Towns and Cities 1850-2000|author=Stephen Ward|date=2005|page=78|isbn=9781135818944|publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/4130831.southend-rebranding-exercise-exciting-venture-or-a-waste-of-money/|title=Southend rebranding exercise - exciting venture or a waste of money?|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=17 February 2009}}</ref> The Miles Report of 1944 had already identified Victoria Avenue as the perfect location for office development.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://southendtimeline.co.uk/southend-timeline-post-war-development-history-of-southend-on-sea.html|title=The Miles Report of 1944|website=Southend Timeline|access-date=18 September 2024}}</ref> In 1960 the council started work on a new Civic Centre. The [[Southend Civic Centre|Civic Centre]] would encompass a new police station that opened in 1962, a [[Southend Court House|courthouse]] in 1966, council offices and chamber in 1967, a new [[South Essex College|College]] in 1971 and a [[Beecroft Art Gallery|Library]] in 1974. Plans for a fire station were shelved, but one was eventually built in Sutton Road. The new civic centre replaced the cramped facilities in Alexandra Road and Clarence Street.<ref>{{cite book|title=Southend in 50 Buildings|author=Ian Yearsley|date=2016|isbn=9781445651897}}</ref> The council in 1960 put forward a redevelopment plan, called ''Prospect of Southend'' to central government, to improve both the commercial and retail growth in the town, but the original plan and an amendment, which requested compulsory purchase orders, were both rejected by the Minister for Housing Development and Local Government.<ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f3dJEGQIAS4C&q=%22southend%22+develops+commercial+1960s|title=Southend-all-at-sea. Or how not to develop a town|periodical=Time and Tide|page=1328|volume=41|issue=27–53|date=1960|publisher=Time and Tide}}</ref><ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5dVOhCbe6AC&q=%22southend%22+ring+road|title=Revised Southend Redevelopment Scheme Rejected|periodical=Highways and Bridges and Engineering Works|volume=29|date=1961|publisher=Road Publications|page=26}}</ref><ref name=Talza>{{cite web|url=https://southendtimeline.co.uk/southend-timeline-from-talza-to-victoria-history-of-southend-on-sea.html|title=From Talza to Victoria|website=Southend Timeline|access-date=18 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Prospect of Southend. Master Design Proposals for the Town|author=Southend-on-Sea and District Chapter of Architects|date=1961}}</ref> Part of the plans included redeveloping the area north of the High Street, which included the Talza and Victoria Arcades, had been discussed with developer [[Hammerson]]. Although the plans were rejected by central government, Hammerson started a programme of buying property in the area, and in 1964 the council accepted Hammerson's plans for the site. Hammerson had by this point purchased 93% of the freeholds, and the council used Section 4 of the [[Town and Country Planning Act 1962]] ([[10 & 11 Eliz. 2]]. c. 38) to compulsory purchase the remaining properties.<ref name=Talza/> The development, which became Victoria Circus Shopping Centre, opened in 1970 and saw a large area of Victorian and Edwardian Southend demolished.<ref name=Talza/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/4785731.arcade-crushed-under-concrete/|title=Arcade crushed under concrete|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=9 December 2009}}</ref>

Plans for a ring road around the town centre were first discussed by the council in 1955.<ref name=secret>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3CJEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend%22+ring+road&pg=PT88|title=Secret City of Southend|author=Ian Yearsley|date=2022|isbn=9781398111554|publisher=Amberley Publishing}}</ref> The electrification of the [[London, Tilbury and Southend Railway|London, Tilbury and Southend railway]] line acted as an impetus as bridges over the line which were on the route of the planned ring road needed replacing.<ref name=secret/><ref name=Queensway>{{cite web|url=https://southendtimeline.co.uk/southend-timeline-queensway-ring-road-history-of-southend-on-sea.html|title=Queensway|website=Southend Timeline|access-date=18 September 2024}}</ref> In 1965, the Ministry of Transport gave the council a grant of £869,986 to the planned cost of £1.2 million to build the North and East sections of the ring road.<ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AyFeAAAAIAAJ&q=%22southend%22+ring+road|title=Southend Inner Ring Road|periodical=The Road Way|date=1966|publisher=Associated Road Operators, Road Haulage Association|page=68}}</ref> The council used compulsory purchase orders to buy up many of the properties along the planned route and work started in 1966.<ref name=Queensway/> The first section opened in 1967 and was lit by the first [[Sodium-vapor lamp|high pressure sodium street lamps]] in Britain,<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DgIjAQAAMAAJ&q=%22southend%22+ring+road|title=Street Lighting|journal=The Electrical Review|volume=180|issue=18–26|date=1967|publisher=IPC Electrical-Electronic Press|page=54}}</ref> however the west and south sections of the ring road were never completed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5506029.southend-history-collector-ken-puts-pictures-into-print/|title=Southend: History collector Ken puts pictures into print|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=19 August 2000}}</ref> In the same year, work started on dualing Victoria Avenue to Carnarvon Road,<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9vE1AQAAIAAJ&q=%22southend%22+ring+road|title=Southend-on-Sea|journal=Chartered Municipal Engineer|date=1975|volume=102-103|publisher=Institution of Municipal Engineers|page=10}}</ref> while part of the High Street was pedestrianised by 1968.<ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dK70zlf8qCUC&dq=%22southend%22+high+street+pedestrianised&pg=RA10-PA9|title=Pedestrian Malls|periodical=Urban Transportation Research and Planning, Current Literature|volume=24–26|date=1968|publisher=Bureau of Public Roads Library|page=3}}</ref> Victoria Avenue saw further development, with offices opening along the section opposite the Civic Centre. Portcullis House in 1966 was the first offices opened by [[HM Customs and Excise]] in the town.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://southendtimeline.co.uk/3/southend-timeline-the-changing-face-of-southend-history-of-southend-on-sea.html|title=The Changing Face of Southend|website=Southend Timeline|date=1965|access-date=19 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kq5VAAAAYAAJ&q=when+did+%22HM+Customs+and+Excise%22+open+an+office+in+%22Southend-on-Sea%22|title=Custom and Excise Building|periodical=Surveyor and Municipal and County Engineer|volume=127|date=1966|page=52}}</ref>

In 1969, Southend-on-Sea Borough Police [[Merger (politics)|amalgamated]] with [[Essex Constabulary]] to become the Essex and Southend-on-Sea Joint Constabulary. This merger was campaigned against by the council and local [[Member of Parliament|MP]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1968/oct/24/police-forces-essex-and-southend|title=Essex Police|access-date=31 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225134118/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1968/oct/24/police-forces-essex-and-southend|archive-date=25 December 2012|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=24 October 1968|url-status=live}}</ref> The town's decline as a holiday resort continued, with visitor numbers on the pier falling to a million during 1969–70 and the attraction lost £45,000.<ref name=seasidepiers/> Visitors to the town declined by 73% compared with the 1950s, whereas the number of holidays taken abroad grew from 1.5 million in 1951, to 4.2 million by 1971.<ref name="Mark Clapson 2009 333"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMcmDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend%22+tourists+1950s&pg=PA107|title=Mass Tourism in a Small World|date=2017|author=David Harrison, Richard Sharpley|isbn=9781780648545|publisher=CABI|page=107}}</ref> The pier slowly began to decline and with it the structure began to deteriorate. In 1971, a child's injury prompted a survey, leading to repairs and replacement to much of the pier railway throughout the decade.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cutpurse |first=Molly |title=The Chronologically Challenged Funeral Director |year=2010 |publisher=Lulu.com |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rKJzAgAAQBAJ |isbn=9-781-44576-926-4|page=163}}</ref> In response, the council allocated £370,000 over two years, starting in 1972, to ensure the pier remained maintained.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.co.uk/newspapers?id=q21kAAAAIBAJ&pg=5403,1726465&hl=en |title=Pier preserved |newspaper=The Calgary Herald |page=62 |date=23 September 1972}}</ref> In 1973, the [[Kursaal (amusement park)|Kursaal]] closed the majority of the amusement park.<ref>{{cite book |author=Southend City Council |url=https://democracy.southend.gov.uk/documents/s46290/Appendix%206%20The%20Kursaal%20CAA.pdf |title=Kursaal Conservation Area Character Appraisal |access-date=29 May 2024}}</ref> The pier head burnt down in 1976 and two years later the pier railway was closed due to its poor condition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southendpier.co.uk/history|title=Pier History|website=Southend Pier and Railway|access-date=19 September 2024}}</ref>

In 1971, the town became one of the earliest to receive an electronic telephone exchange,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Electronic telephone exchanges|journal=Post Office Telecommunications Journal|volume=22|issue=4|date=Winter 1970–71|page=616 |doi=10.1038/169616a0 |bibcode=1952Natur.169..616. }}</ref> and by 1972 [[Access (credit card)|Access]], Britain's second credit card, had opened offices in the former EKCO site in Priory Crescent.<ref name=poole/><ref name=plastic/> A year later HM Customs and Excise opened the central offices for the collection of [[VAT]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/onthisdayinessex0000debe/page/19/mode/1up?q=%22southend-on-sea%22+|title=On this day in Essex : a diary of day by day events many of which shaped the nations history with national and international timelines|author=Debenham, John|date=2010|isbn=9780955229541|page=59|publisher=Summersbook (UK) Ltd.}}</ref> In 1972, Southend Air Museum opened its doors for the first time at Aviation Way.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://southendtimeline.co.uk/2/southend-timeline-historic-aircraft-museum-history-of-southend-on-sea.html|title=The Historic Aircraft Museum|website=Southend Timeline|access-date=19 September 2024}}</ref> This was against the backdrop of the government planning to build a new airport on [[Thames Estuary Airport|Maplin Sands]] at [[Foulness Island]]. The council purchased a share in the consortium of developers hoping to shape the benefits for the town,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=admwCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22southend%22+ring+road&pg=PA76|title=State Shareholding. The Role of Local and Regional Authorities|author=Richard Minns, Jenny Thornley|date=1978|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=9781349037681|pages=76–77}}</ref> but the airport plans were pulled by the new [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour government]] in 1974.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hall|first=Peter|title=Great Planning Disasters|pages=40|publisher=University of California Press|year=1982|isbn=9780520046078}}</ref> During 1976, plans called ''Prospects 1976'' was released to improve the town's ability to attract holidaymakers, including [[bastion]]s with facilities at [[Chalkwell]] and [[Westcliff-on-Sea|Westcliff]],  but they never got off the drawing board.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://southendtimeline.co.uk/southend-timeline-prospects-1976-history-of-southend-on-sea.html|title=Prospects 1976|website=Southend Timeline|access-date=19 September 2024}}</ref>

By 1980, the town's reinvention as a commercial centre had seen it shrug off its tag as a dormitory town for London,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oVQKAQAAMAAJ&q=%22southend%22+1960s|title=The Shell Book of the British Coast|author=Adrian Henry Wardle Robinson, Roy Millward|date=1983|isbn=9780715381502|publisher=David & Charles|page=330}}</ref> however the future of the pier was in doubt. A campaign, supported by [[John Betjeman|Sir John Betjeman]], pressured the council to keep the pier open.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://essex.newsquest.co.uk/southendpier/body.html#:~:text=Visitor%20numbers%20started%20to%20decline%20in%20the,closure%20in%201980%20caused%20public%20outcry%20with|title=First Mile, walkway and train, now open|newspaper=Newsquest|access-date=19 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zurich.com/media/magazine/2024/southend-pier|title=Going to great lengths to protect the world's longest pleasure pier|website=Zurich Insurance|date=21 August 2024}}</ref> The pier was saved in 1983 when the council put up £800,000 and the Historic Buildings Fund investing £200,000 in its restoration, but the town lost another attraction that year when Southend Aircraft Museum closed for the final time.<ref name="piersp200">{{cite book |author=Anthony Wills, Tim Phillips |title=British Seaside Piers |date=2014 |publisher=English Heritage |isbn=9781848022645 |page=200}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Southend Aircraft Museum closure|magazine=Air Pictorial|volume=45|date=1983|page=56}}</ref> Further investment saw a new narrow gauge railway fitted to the pier, which was reopened by [[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Anne]] on 2 May 1986.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Pier Railway Reopens |magazine=The Railway Magazine |date=September 1986 |page=551}}</ref> A contract was given to [[Brent Walker]] to run the pier in 1986,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uw0QAQAAMAAJ&q=%22southend%22+brent+walker|title=East of England Developments|magazine=Country Life|volume=182|date=1988|page=78}}</ref> but by September it was damaged by the ship ''Kings Abbey'', destroying [[Southend-on-Sea Lifeboat Station|the lifeboat station]].<ref name=piersp200/> Two years later, management of the pier reverted to the council.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M4dnAAAAMAAJ&q=%22brent+walker%22+southend+pier|title=Southend Pier|journal=Essex Journal|page=31|volume=23–26|date=1988|publisher=Phillimore}}</ref> Plans were put forward in the late 1970s and the 1980s for a marina on the seafront, including an artificial island alongside the pier, though the council rejected the plans after the [[RSPB]] objected to the loss of intertidal areas for wildlife.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gy4cAQAAIAAJ&q=%22southend%22+marina|title=Annual Report|author=Hydraulics Research Station|date=1979|page=56|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |isbn=978-0-11-470569-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gjAlAQAAMAAJ&q=%22southend%22+marina|title=Report|author=Nature Conservancy Council (Great Britain)|date=1982|page=49}}</ref><ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zyhLAQAAIAAJ&q=%22southend%22+brent+walker|title=East of England|periodical=The Estates Gazette|volume=258 Part 2|date=1981|page=696}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pulKAAAAYAAJ&q=%22southend%22+brent+walker|title=Southend Waders Reprieve|magazine=Birds. Magazine for Members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds|volume=11|date=1986|page=65}}</ref> Plans were resurrected again in 2020 for a marina off the coast at Shoeburyness.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/18708679.ambitious-new-500m-plan-create-marina/|title=Ambitious new £500m plan to create new Southend marina|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=10 September 2020}}</ref> In May 1986, the Southend Airshow was started, featuring a fly past by [[Concorde]]; it would become Europe's biggest free airshow.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/remembering-former-free-essex-airshow-9482836|title=Remembering the former free Essex airshow loved by residents for 30 years|website=Essex Live|date=17 August 2024}}</ref> The final show took place in 2012, with the council announcing in January 2013 it could no longer afford to run the show.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24035756.southend-airshow-south-essex-residents-pleading-return/|title=Evening Echo|date=13 January 2024}}</ref> An attempt to revive the show for September 2015, as the Southend Airshow and Military Festival, failed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southendairshow.com/|title=southendairshow.com|access-date=10 November 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Victoria station and royal mail depot - geograph.org.uk - 859505.jpg|thumb|Victoria Avenue, Circus and Queensway pre-1989]]

The town started to regenerate its visitor attractions, with the Sealife Centre opening in 1993.<ref name="Southend Sealife Adventure marks 30">{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23579620.southend-sealife-adventure-marks-30-years-seafront/|title=Southend Sealife Adventure marks 30 years on seafront|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=10 June 2023}}</ref> In 1995, the owners of Peter Pan's Playground purchased the land east of the pier and started to expand, creating [[Adventure Island (amusement park)|Adventure Island]];<ref name="Old pictures of Adventure Island in">{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23320163.old-pictures-adventure-island-southend-decades/|title=Old pictures of Adventure Island in Southend through the decades|newspaper=Southend Echo|date=14 February 2023|accessdate=19 April 2023}}</ref> rated best-value amusement park in Britain in 2024.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24264654.southend-seafront-adventure-island-crowned-best-value-park/|title=Southend seafront Adventure Island crowned best-value park|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=20 April 2024}}</ref> The Kursaal, was purchased by Brent Walker in 1988, who announced plans to redevelop the site as a water theme park, but the company entered liquidation and the site remained empty.<ref name=echoaug07>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/1601784.billy-walker-back-in-southend/|title=Billy Walker back in Southend|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=8 August 2007}}</ref> The council purchased the Kursaal, and after a multimillion-pound redevelopment by the Rowallan Group, the main Kursaal building was reopened in 1998 with a bowling alley, a casino and other amusements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/11884694.From_the_Echo_archive__12_pictures_of_Southend_s_Kursaal_in_it_s_heyday/|title=From the Echo archive: 12 pictures of Southend's Kursaal in its heyday|website=Echo|date=30 March 2015 |language=en|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref><ref name=echoaug07/> In 2003, during excavations for a road widening scheme at Priory Crescent, an [[Prittlewell royal Anglo-Saxon burial|Anglo-Saxon]] royal burial site was found dating from the 6th century. The finds have been displayed at Southend Central Museum since 2019.<ref name="bbc20190509">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-48203883|title=Southend burial site 'UK's answer to Tutankhamun'|publisher=BBC|date=9 May 2019|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref><ref name="theguardian20190509">{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Mark |title=Britain's equivalent to Tutankhamun found in Southend-on-Sea |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/09/britains-equivalent-to-tutankhamun-found-in-southend-on-sea |access-date=9 May 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=8 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509075238/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/09/britains-equivalent-to-tutankhamun-found-in-southend-on-sea |archive-date=9 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The road widening was cancelled after a campaign known as [[Camp Bling]]. In 2002, there was a slippage on the Cliffs, which saw the bandstand close. The cliffs were stabilised in 2013, and the council planned to build a new museum at the location to host the Anglo Saxon discoveries, as well as the Central Museum and Beecroft Art Gallery, but in 2018 it was abandoned due to rising costs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/16989977.cliffs-museum-southend-plan-scrapped-after-news-it-will-cost-55million/|title=Cliffs Museum, Southend, plan SCRAPPED after news it will cost £55million|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=18 October 2018}}</ref> The town's commercial growth during the 60s and 70s has declined and reversed with many tenants departing, such as [[HM Revenue and Customs]] in 2022. Former offices have been converted into apartments.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23938143.alexander-house-flats-bid-images-revealed-plans-submitted/|title=Alexander House flats bid images revealed as plans submitted|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=21 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.harwichandmanningtreestandard.co.uk/news/19345712.thamesgate-house-office-block-turned-130-flats/#:~:text=PLANS%20for%20more%20than%20100,slams%20BBC%20in%20damning%20letter|title=Thamesgate House office block to be turned into 130 flats|newspaper=Harwich and Manningtree Standard|date=3 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brayfoxsmith.com/weston-homes-acquires-residential-opportunity-in-southend-for-3-25m/#:~:text=Bray%20Fox%20Smith%20has%20acquired%20a%20prime,to%20residential%20use%20through%20permitted%20development%20rights.|title=Weston Homes Acquires Residential Opportunity In Southend For £3.25m|website=BrayFoxSmith|date=28 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/southend-housing-planning-permission-granted-5824068|title=Southend housing: Planning permission granted to turn Southend-on-Sea High Street office block into 27 flats|website=Essex Live|date=24 August 2021}}</ref>

===The formation of the city===
On 15 October 2021, the Member of Parliament for Southend West, [[David Amess|Sir David Amess]], was [[Murder of David Amess|fatally stabbed]] during a constituency meeting in [[Leigh-on-Sea]]. On 18 October 2021, Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]] announced that [[Elizabeth II]] had agreed to grant Southend-on-Sea [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] as a memorial to Amess, who had long campaigned for this status to be granted.<ref name="City">{{cite news |date=18 October 2021 |title=Sir David Amess: Southend to become a city in honour of MP |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-58956615 |access-date=19 October 2021 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Preparations, led by Amess, for Southend to bid for city status in 2022 as part of the Queen's [[Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Platinum Jubilee]] were underway at the time of his death.<ref>{{cite web|title=Southend-on-Sea's City Status |url=https://yoursay.southend.gov.uk/southend-on-sea-city-status|website=Southend-On-Sea Borough Council|access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Emes|first1=Toby |title=Bid to make Southend a city officially launched|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/19595744.bid-make-southend-city-officially-launched/|website=Basildon Canvey Southend Echo|date=22 September 2021}}</ref> A "City Week" was held throughout the town between 13 and 20 February 2022,<ref>{{cite web|title=Southend City|url=https://southend.city/|access-date=20 February 2022|website=southend.city}}</ref> beginning with the inaugural "He Built This City" concert named in honour of Amess.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pictures: 'Emotional' concert held at the Cliffs in honour of Sir David Amess|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/19923898.pictures-emotional-concert-held-honour-sir-david-amess/|access-date=20 February 2022|website=Echo|date=14 February 2022 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=What you need to know about week long celebrations to mark Southend city status|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/19903520.southend-city-week-start/|access-date=20 February 2022|website=Echo|date=7 February 2022 }}</ref> The concert was held at the [[Cliffs Pavilion]] and included performers such as [[Digby Fairweather]], [[Lee Mead]], and [[Leanne Jarvis]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Stars of Amess memorial concert: "we're going to do a lot in the city in Sir David's name"|url=https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/essex/news/amess-memorial-southend-city-concert/|access-date=20 February 2022|website=Greatest Hits Radio (Essex)}}</ref> Other events such as a city ceremony and the Southend LuminoCity Festival of Light were held during the week. [[Sam Duckworth]], who knew Amess personally, performed at some of the events.<ref name=":1" /> On 1 March, Southend Borough Council was presented letters patent from the Queen, by [[Charles III|Charles, Prince of Wales]], officially granting the borough city status.<ref name="charles">{{cite news |date=1 March 2022 |title=Southend: Prince Charles presents city status document |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-60568792 |access-date=1 March 2022 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Southend became the second city in the ceremonial county of Essex, after Chelmsford, which was granted city status in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/essex-could-second-city-2021-3758807|title=Why Essex could have a second city in 2021|first=Brad|last=Gray|date=23 January 2020|website=EssexLive}}</ref>

==Geology==
The seven kilometres of cliffs from [[Hadleigh Castle]] to Southend Pier consist of [[London Clay]] overlaid in the [[Ice age]] by sand, gravel and river alluvium.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.essexfieldclub.org.uk/portal.php/p/Geology+Site+Account/s/Southend+cliffs+and+landslips/o/Southend+cliffs+and+landslips|title=SOUTHEND, Southend District, TQ875851, General geological site|website=Essex Field Club|access-date=14 June 2024}}</ref> The cliffs have been affected by [[Slip (materials science)|slip planes]] affected by groundwater, with major slips having occurred in 1956, 1962, 1964 and 1969.<ref name=echoaug2007>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/1637044.council-sued-over-cliff-slip/|title=Council sued over cliff slip|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=23 August 2007}}</ref> A major slippage in November 2002 irreparably damaged the cliff bandstand and restaurant. A £2.8 million cliffs stabilisation programme was completed in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/10136365.southend-cliff-slip-repairs-nearing-completion/|title=Southend cliff slip repairs nearing completion|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=4 January 2013}}</ref> In May 2023, work started to investigate further slippage at Belton Hills in Leigh-on-Sea, with remedy work said to cost £500,000.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.geplus.co.uk/features/ground-investigations-stabilising-southends-soft-cliff-coastline-03-05-2023/|title=Ground investigations to help stabilise Southend's soft cliff coastline|journal=Ground Engineering|date=3 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87n1p2dzx4o|title=Beauty spot shut off for cliff-slipping tests|website=BBC|date=15 February 2024}}</ref>

The British Geological Survey provided a summary in 1986 of the geology of the country around Southend and Foulness:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://webapps.bgs.ac.uk/Memoirs/docs/B01654.html|title=Geology of the country around Southend and Foulness. Memoir for 1:50 000 sheets 258 and 259, (England and Wales)|website=British Geological Survey|access-date=15 August 2024}}</ref>

===Geological succession===
{| class="wikitable sortable
|-
! Recent and Pleistocene
! Description
|-
|Made Ground
|Urban refuse, rock debris etc.
|-
|Blown sand
|Sands with shell debris overlying beach gravels
|-
|Alluvium and tidal flat deposits
|Soft greyish brown clays and silty sands with subordinate peat. Shell banks north of the River Crouch
|-
|River Terrace Deposits: Loam and Sand and Gravel
|Yellow-brown sandy silts, locally calcareous in the lower part and sandy gravels with seams of silt and clay
|-
|Head
|Firm brown sandy clay or loam with clayey gravel intercalations
|-
|Brickearth
|Yellow-brown clayey silts, locally calcareous in the lower part
|-
|Sand and gravel of unknown age
|Sand and gravel with variable clay content
|-
|Boulder Clay
|Unsorted stony clays
|-
|Glacial Sand and Gravel
|Sand and gravel with seams of silt and clay
|-
|Buried Channel Deposits––(not exposed at surface)
|Grey laminated clays with subordinate sands, overlying silty sands with gravels
|-
|}

===Solid Formations===
{| class="wikitable sortable
|-
! Palaeocene and Eocene
! Description
! Thickness
|-
|Bagshot Pebble Bed
|Rounded black flint pebbles in a sandy matrix
|up to 4
|-
|Bagshot Beds
|Orange-brown fine-grained sands with subordinate silt and clay beds
|up to 23
|-
|Claygate Beds
|Brown and orange-brown interbedded fine-grained sands, sandy silts, clayey silts and silty clays
|17 to 23
|-
|London Clay
|Grey (unweathered) and brown (weathered) fine-grained sandy clays, and silty clays
|125 to 135
|-
|Woolwich Beds including Oldhaven Beds
|Yellowish orange fine- and medium-grained sands with subordinate grey clays and pebble beds
|up to 15
|-
|Thanet Beds
|Buff fine-grained sands
|up to 40
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable
|-
! Cretaceous
! Description
! Thickness
|-
|Upper Chalk
|White chalk with abundant flint horizons
|about 85
|-
|Middle Chalk
|White chalk with occasional flint horizons
|about 70
|-
|Lower Chalk
|Grey chalk with marls
|about 50
|-
|Upper Greensand
|Calcareous sandstone
|4 to 9
|-
|Gault
|Dark greenish grey calcareous mudstones (with local basal white sand)
|34 to 56
|-
|}

==Governance==
===Current administration===
{{main|Southend-on-Sea City Council}}
{{see also|Southend-on-Sea local elections}}
Southend is governed by Southend-on-Sea City Council, which is a [[unitary authorities in England|unitary authority]], performing the functions of both a county and district council. There is one [[civil parish]] within the city at [[Leigh-on-Sea]], which has a town council that was established in 1996.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/local-government/leigh-town-council-sticky-gate/#:~:text=Leigh%2Don%2DSea,-Which%20brings%20us&text=It%20is%20a%20small%20council,offered%20such%20as%20local%20planning.|title=Leigh Town Council: "Sticky gate"|website=East Anglia Bylines|date=27 May 2024}}</ref> The rest of the city is an [[unparished area]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=8 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/southend%20on%20sea.html|title=Southend on Sea Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref> The city is split into seventeen wards, with each ward returning three councillors. The 51 councillors serve four years and one third of the council is elected each year, followed by one year without election.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southend.gov.uk/elections-registering-vote/ward-maps|title=Ward Maps|website=Southend-On-Sea City Council|access-date=15 June 2024}}</ref> As of the 2024 local elections, a coalition led by [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] run the council.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2ee38g4yj9o|title=Labour take control to lead coalition in Southend|website=BBC|date=21 May 2024}}</ref>

===Administrative history===
{{see also|County Borough of Southend on Sea}}
Southend's first elected council was a [[Local Board of Health|local board]], which held its first meeting on 29 August 1866.<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 August 1866 |title=Southend |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search-newspapers |access-date=26 May 2023 |work=Chelmsford Chronicle |page=5}}</ref> Prior to that, the town was administered by the [[vestry]] for the wider parish of [[Prittlewell]]. The local board district was enlarged in 1877 to cover the whole parish of Prittlewell.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yearsley |first=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DB2tCwAAQBAJ&dq=southend+prittlewell+local+board&pg=PT8 |title=Southend in 50 buildings |date=2016 |publisher=Amberley Publishing |isbn=978-1-4456-5189-7 |location=Stroud |access-date=26 May 2023}}</ref>

The town was made a [[municipal borough]] in 1892. In 1897 the borough was enlarged to also include the neighbouring parish of [[Southchurch]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Local Government Board's Provisional Orders Confirmation (no. 7) Act 1897 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/60-61/72/contents/enacted |access-date=3 September 2023 |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives}}</ref> with further enlargement in 1913 by taking over the area formerly controlled by [[Leigh-on-Sea|Leigh-on-Sea Urban District Council]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5y51D9X44gkC&q=%22leigh-on-sea+urban+district+council%22+1913|title=Southend-on-Sea Municipal Offices|journal=The Municipal Journal|volume=22|date=1913|page=1499}}</ref> In 1914 the enlarged Southend became a [[County Borough of Southend on Sea|county borough]] making it independent from [[Essex County Council]] and a single-tier of local government.<ref name=Everritt25/> The county borough was enlarged in 1933 by the former area of [[Shoeburyness Urban District]] and part of [[Rochford Rural District]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F232245|title=Shoeburyness Urban District Council|website=The National Archives|access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref>

[[Southend Civic Centre]] was designed by borough architect, Patrick Burridge, and was opened officially  by the [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Mother]] on 31 October 1967.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 June 2020 |title=Southend Civic Centre |url=https://modernmooch.com/tag/southend-civic-centre/ |access-date=8 February 2021 |publisher=Modern Mooch}}</ref>

[[File:Southend - Civic Centre.jpg|thumb|[[Southend Civic Centre]], autumn 2007]]

On 1 April 1974, under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], Southend became a district of Essex, with the county council once more providing county-level services to the town. In 1990, Southend was the first local authority to outsource its municipal waste collection to a commercial provider.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Stokes |first1=Raymond G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZaM0AAAAQBAJ&dq=southend+commercial+industry&pg=PA255 |title=The Business of Waste: Great Britain and Germany, 1945 to the Present |last2=Köster |first2=Roman |last3=Sambrook |first3=Stephen C. |date=2013 |isbn=9781107027213 |page=255|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> However, in 1998, it became the single tier of local government again when it became a [[unitary authority]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bettley |first=James |title=Essex |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-300-11614-4 |editor-last=Pevsner |editor-first=Nikolaus |series=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides: The Buildings of England]] |pages=690–691}}</ref>

Upon receiving city status on 1 March 2022, the council voted to rename itself ''[[Southend-on-Sea City Council]]''.<ref name=charles/>

===Coat of arms and twinning===
The Latin motto, 'Per Mare Per Ecclesiam', emblazoned on the municipal coat of arms, translates as 'By [the] Sea, By [the] Church', reflecting Southend's position between the church at [[Prittlewell]] and the sea as in the [[River Thames|Thames]] estuary.

The city has been twinned with the resort of [[Sopot]] in Poland since 1999<ref name="sopot">{{cite web |url=http://www.southend.gov.uk/info/200410/historic_southend/331/town_twinning |title=Sopot – Southend's Twin Town |work=Southend-on-Sea Borough Council |access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref> and has been developing three-way associations with [[Lake Worth Beach, Florida]].

===Members of Parliament===
{{main|Southend East and Rochford|Southend West and Leigh}}

====Current MPs====
At the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]], [[Bayo Alaba]] of the Labour Party won 38.8% of the vote to win the seat of Southend East and Rochford on a 57% turnout.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001501|title=Southend East and Rochford results|website=BBC|date=5 July 2024}}</ref> The [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] for Southend West and Leigh is [[David Burton-Sampson]] of Labour, who won 35.6% of the vote on a turnover of 63%.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001502|title=Southend West and Leigh results|website=BBC|date=5 July 2024}}</ref> This was the first time since the initial seat in parliament was created in 1918 that Labour have been elected, as the city had previously been held by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24432445.labour-makes-history-double-win-southend/|title=Labour makes history with a double win in Southend|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=5 July 2024}}</ref>

====Former MPs====
From the creation of the first parliamentary seat for [[Southend (UK Parliament constituency)|Southend]] in 1918, there has been a history of long serving MPs. [[Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh|Rupert Guinness]], of the [[Guinness family]], was Southend's first MP and only stepped down when he was given a peerage. His wife, [[Gwendolen Guinness, Countess of Iveagh|Gwendolen Guinness]] replaced him in 1927, until she retired and her son-in-law [[Henry Channon]] replaced her in 1935, serving until his death in 1958.<ref name="rayment">{{Rayment-hc|s|4|date=March 2012}}</ref> Because of the Guinness connection, the seat became known in the media as "Guinness-on-Sea".<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 January 2007 |title=Obituary: Lord Kelvedon |url=http://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jan/31/guardianobituaries.obituaries |access-date= |website=the Guardian}}</ref>

In 1950, the seat was split into [[Southend East (UK Parliament constituency)|Southend East]] and [[Southend West and Leigh (UK Parliament constituency)|Southend West]] due to the growth of the town. [[Stephen McAdden|Sir Stephen McAdden]] served as the MP for [[Southend East (UK Parliament constituency)|Southend East]] from 1950 until his death in 1979.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sir Stephen McAdden dies |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=28 December 1979 |page=2}}</ref> His replacement, [[Teddy Taylor|Sir Teddy Taylor]], served Southend East and then its replacement seat, [[Rochford and Southend East]], from 1980 until he retired in 2005.<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|title = Taylor, Sir Edward Macmillan [Teddy] (1937–2017), politician|last=Shiels|first = David C.|date=2021|doi = 10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000380366}}</ref> [[James Duddridge]] served as Sir Teddy's replacement from 2005, until stepping down at the 2024 election.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 November 2023 |title=Rochford and Southend East MP James Duddridge to step down |url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23934922.rochford-southend-east-mp-james-duddridge-step/#:~:text=Sir%20James%20Duddridge%2C%20MP%20for%20Rochford%20and%20Southend%20East%2C%20has,at%20the%20next%20General%20Election. |website=Southend Echo |language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[Paul Channon]], son of Henry replaced his father as the MP for Southend West from 1959 until he stepped down in 1997.<ref name="telegraph">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1540957/Lord-Kelvedon.html Obituary], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 30 January 2007.</ref> He was replaced by Sir David Amess, who served from 1997 until [[Murder of David Amess|his murder]] in 2021. [[Anna Firth]] of the Conservatives had replaced Amess at the by-election in January 2022 with 86% of the vote but lost her seat at the 2024 election.<ref>{{cite web |date=11 January 2022 |title=Statement of persons nominated, notice of poll and situation in polling stations |url=https://www.southend.gov.uk/downloads/file/7258/statement-of-persons-nominated-notice-of-poll-and-situation-of-polling-stations-uk-parliamentary-election-southend-west |accessdate=11 January 2022 |work=Southend Council}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Southend West by-election live updates: Residents vote to elect MP after Sir David Amess' death |url=https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/southend-west-election-live-updates-6593386 |work=[[Essex Live]] |quote=The turnout for the Southend West by election was 24.03 per cent of an electorate of 66,354}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |number=1489409859841929220 |user=BritainElects |title=Southend West parliamentary by-election, result}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=4 February 2022 |title=Election Results Southend West by-election 2022 |url=https://www.southend.gov.uk/elections-registering-vote/election-results-1 |access-date=4 February 2022}}</ref>

==Demography==
===Population density===
Southend is the seventh most densely populated area in the United Kingdom outside of the London Boroughs, with 38.8 people per hectare compared to a national average of 3.77.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://localplan.southend.gov.uk/sites/localplan.southend/files/2019-02/Southend%20Joint%20Strategic%20Needs%20Assessment%202008.pdf |url-status=live |title=Southend Joint Strategic Needs Assessment |date=April 2008 |access-date=2 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003142720/https://localplan.southend.gov.uk/sites/localplan.southend/files/2019-02/Southend%20Joint%20Strategic%20Needs%20Assessment%202008.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2020}}</ref>

====Greater Urban Area====
[[File:SouthendOnSeaBUA.png|thumb|right|400px|Map of the Southend Urban Area, with subdivisions]]

The greater [[urban area]] of Southend spills outside of the borough boundaries into the neighbouring [[Borough of Castle Point|Castle Point]] and [[Rochford District|Rochford]] districts, including the towns of [[Hadleigh, Essex|Hadleigh]], [[South Benfleet|Benfleet]], [[Rayleigh, Essex|Rayleigh]] and [[Rochford]], as well as the villages of [[Hockley]] and [[Hullbridge]]. According to the [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]], it had a population of 295,310.<ref name="BUA">{{cite web |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx|title=2011 Census – Built-up areas |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics|ONS]] |access-date=1 July 2013}}</ref>

===Deprivation===
[[Save the Children]]'s research data shows that for 2008–09, Southend had 4,000 children living in poverty, a rate of 12%, the same as [[Thurrock]], but above the 11% child poverty rate of Essex as a whole.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/feb/23/child-poverty-britain-map|title=The child poverty map of Britain|last=Ramesh|first=Randeep|date=23 February 2011|website=The Guardian|access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref>

The [[Department for Communities and Local Government]]'s 2010 Indices of Multiple Deprivation [https://web.archive.org/web/20110904051633/http://www.imd.communities.gov.uk/ Deprivation Indices] data showed that Southend is one of Essex's most deprived areas. Out of 32,482 Lower Super Output Areas in England, area 014D in the Kursaal ward is 99th, area 015B in Milton ward is 108th, area 010A in Victoria ward is 542nd and area 009D in Southchurch ward is 995th, as well as an additional 5 areas all within the top 10% most deprived areas in England (with the most deprived area having a rank of 1 and the least deprived a rank of 32,482).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/mar/31/deprivation-map-indices-multiple|title=Deprivation mapped: how you show the poorest (and richest) places in England|last=Rogers|first=Simon|date=31 March 2011|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref> Victoria and Milton wards have the highest proportion of ethnic minority residents – at the 2011 Census these figures were 24.2% and 26.5% respectively. Southend has the highest percentage of residents receiving housing benefits (19%) and the third highest percentage of residents receiving council tax benefits in Essex.

===Employment and unemployment===
As of May 2024, The Office of National Statistics have recorded the following employment, unemployment and economic inactivity in Southend-on-Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/labourmarketlocal/E06000033/|title=Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity in Southend-on-Sea|website=Office of National Statistics|date=14 May 2024}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!rowspan=2|Area Recorded
!rowspan=2|Southend - Current (%)
!rowspan=2|East of England Rate - Current (%)
!rowspan=2|Southend - Previous Year (%)
|-
|Employment rate (16-64 year olds)
|75.6 (December 2023)
|78.3
|75.7
|-
|Unemployment rate (16 years +)
|5.2 (December 2023)
|3.6
|2.9
|-
|Claimant Count (16-64 year olds)
|4.5 (March 2024)
|Not provided
|4.3
|-
|Economic inactivity (16-64 year olds)
|21 (December 2023)
|19.4
|23
|}

In the [[United Kingdom 2021 census|2021 census]], it was reported that 69.1% of the working population work in full-time employment, with 10.9% working more than 48 hours a week.<ref name="2021 Nomis"/>

===Population statistics===
As of the 2021 census, the population was recorded as 180,686, with 51.3% of the population being female, and 48.7% recorded as male.<ref name="2021 Nomis"/> It was reported that 87.5% of the population were born in the UK, while for those who were born outside of the country, most were born in Europe, and most had lived in the UK for more than 10 years. The census reported that nearly 33,000 of the population were retired.<ref name="2021 Nomis"/>

A fifth of the working population commutes to London daily. Wages for jobs based in Southend were the second lowest among UK cities in 2015. It also has the fourth-highest proportion of people aged over 65. This creates considerable pressure on the housing market. It is the 11th most expensive place to live in Britain.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Swinney|first1=Paul|title=Southend is Britain's only high-wage, high-welfare city. What gives?|url=http://www.citymetric.com/business/southend-britains-only-high-wage-high-welfare-city-what-gives-1832|access-date=15 February 2016|publisher=City Metric|date=15 February 2016}}</ref>

==Economy==
===Current industry===
Tourism is still a key industry in Southend, with over 7,500 employed people in the sector in 2019, which represented 15.9% of jobs in the city. It was reported that 253,900 people had stayed that year, generating £53.4 million, while over 7.3 million day visitors had contributed over £308 million to the economy.<ref name="Destination">{{cite book |author=Southend-on-Sea Borough Council |url=https://democracy.southend.gov.uk/documents/s41874/Appendix.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiI5cuYzuKGAxXFVUEAHbMmCEwQFnoECBsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0VG8-XN1CMMP-ZXuy__s7r |title=Destination Southend |date=13 November 2020 |page=10}}</ref> [[Rossi's]] Ice cream is a famous Southend institution, having existed since 1932.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/18173479.bbc-show-explore-history-famous-rossis-ice-cream/|title=BBC show to explore history of the famous Rossi's Ice Cream|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=20 January 2020}}</ref>

Aerospace is another key industry.<ref name=2017growth>{{cite book|url=https://democracy.southend.gov.uk/documents/s11297/23%2520-%2520Appendix%25201%2520to%2520Growth%2520Strategy%2520Report.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjvvbPE4-KGAxXYU0EAHR_wAecQFnoECEEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1Nogf-jMWb1bhjyz9gYgwv|title=Southend-on-Sea Economic Growth Strategy|date=2016|page=18}}</ref> Southend is one of [[EasyJet]]'s 10 bases in the UK.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mediacentre.easyjet.com/story/17437/easyjet-to-open-10th-uk-base-at-london-southend-airport-next-spring-signalling-continued-uk-growth|title=easyJet to open 10th UK base at London Southend Airport next spring signalling continued UK growth|website=easyJet|date=16 May 2024}}</ref> Southend has several aircraft maintenance firms including Inflite MRO Services.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inflite-mro.co.uk/what-we-do/|title=What We Do|website=Inflite MRO|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> Ipeco, a former [[London Stock Exchange]] listed international aircraft seat and airframe manufacturer, has been based in Southend since 1960.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Ipeco Holdings|journal=Aerospace|volume=13|date=1986|page=37}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.aviationbusinessnews.com/cabin/ipeco-plans-second-southend-business-park-facility/|title=Ipeco plans second Southend Business Park facility|website=Aviation Business News|date=4 July 2023}}</ref>

Other manufacturing companies based in Southend include [[MK Electric]], who relocated there in 1961 and in 2014 had seen the 100 millionth socket made at the factory,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://buildings.honeywell.com/content/dam/hbtbt/en/documents/downloads/MK-Centenary-Brochure_Spreads_FINAL.pdf|title=MK Centenary Brochure|author=Honeywell|date=2019}}</ref> and [[Olympus Corporation|Olympus UK & Ireland]] (formerly Keymed), who specialise in medical equipment and have been in Southend since 1969.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympus.co.uk/company/en/about-olympus/company-profile/|title=Company Profile|website=Olympus UK & Ireland|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>

Another major employment area in Southend is financial services, with [[NatWest]]'s credit card operations located in Thanet Grange.<ref name=2017growth/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/19983289.natwest-southend-160-bank-call-centre-jobs-risk-redundancy-processes-started/|title=NatWest Southend: 160 bank call centre jobs at risk as redundancy processes started|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=10 March 2022}}</ref> In 2006, travel insurance company [[InsureandGo]] relocated its offices from [[Braintree, Essex|Braintree]] to Maitland House in Southend-on-Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/777860.300-new-jobs-for-southend/|title=300 new jobs for Southend|date=31 May 2006|website=Echo|access-date=14 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/19739321.southend-based-insurance-firm-create-least-70-new-jobs/|title=Southend based insurance firm to create at least 70 new jobs|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=25 November 2021}}</ref> Ventrica, a customer service outsourcing company is based in the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.ventrica.co.uk/about-us/ |access-date=2025-08-11 |website=Ventrica |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/16415158.business-set-to-offer-200-new-jobs/|title=''Ventrica, Southend, set to offer 200 new jobs'' – Evening Echo Cornell.A p.13 August 2018|date=13 August 2018 |access-date=3 June 2019}}</ref>

Southend has industrial parks located at Progress Road, Comet and Aviation Way in Eastwood and Stock Road in Sutton. Firms located in Southend include [[Hi-Tec Sports]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/harrissouthernca0000merg/page/708/mode/1up?q=%22southend-on-sea%22|title=Harris southern california business directory and buyer's guide 2019|date=2019|page=708|publisher=[Place of publication not identified] MERGENT |isbn=9781641411783}}</ref>

As of 2023, large employers (those employing more than 250 people) made up only 0.4% of companies within the city, while micro employers (9 or less employees) make up 90.8%, which is 1.2% greater than the East of England average.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/1946157203/report.aspx?town=Southend-on-Sea|title=Local authority profile|website=Office of National Statistics|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>

===Former notable industry===
<gallery>
File:Office block on Queensway, Southend - geograph.org.uk - 2960009.jpg|Former HMRC office at Alexandra House
File:ATL 98 carvair G-ASHZ, British Air Ferries, Southend, UK, 14 Aug 1976 (9247917507).jpg|British Air Ferries Carvair at Southend Airport
</gallery>

{{Main|EKCO}}
EKCO was an electronics manufacturer formed by local, Eric Kirkham Cole in 1926.<ref name ="Cole Eric Kirkham">[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]: Cole, Eric Kirkham by Rowland F. Pocock</ref> The business started at a factory making radios in Leigh-on-Sea, before opening a larger site at Priory Crescent in 1930.<ref name=eric>{{cite web|url=https://www.southendmuseums.co.uk/our-eric|title=Our Eric. Ekco Park|website=Southend Museums|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> The company expanded into televisions, radar and plastics, and employed over 8,000 people in Essex at its height.<ref name=eric/> In 1960, EKCO merged with [[Pye (electronics company)|Pye]] but after financial issues, television and radio manufacturing on the site was discontinued in 1966 with the loss of 800 jobs.<ref name=poole/> EKCO Plastics, a separate subsidiary, continued to operate from the site,<ref name=poole/>   and had won awards from the [[Design Council]] and the Duke of Edinburgh for their products.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.modip.ac.uk/exhibitions/spotlight-2/ek-cole|title=
EK Cole|website=Museum of Designs in Plastics|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> The factory closed in 2008, with the whole site converted into Ekco Park, a 231 home estate.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=25 April 2008 |title=Ecomold yet to be saved from closure |url=https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/ecomold-yet-to-be-saved-from-closure/ |magazine=The Manufacturer}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/14473637.pictures-from-the-past-southends-former-ekco-radio-and-television-factory/|title=PICTURES FROM THE PAST: Southend's former Ekco radio and television factory|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=15 May 2016}}</ref> A statue of Eric Cole was erected on the estate during 2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/18592994.sculpture-honours-southends-ekco-factory-founder-eric-cole/|title=Sculpture honours Southend's Ekco factory founder Eric Cole|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=20 July 2020}}</ref>

{{Main|Access (credit card)}}
The Joint Credit Card Company was created by [[Lloyds Bank]], [[Midland Bank]] and [[NatWest|National Westminster Bank]]; it operated the [[Access (credit card)|Access]] credit card.<ref name=plastic>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/plasticelectroni0000fraz/page/21/mode/1up?q=%22joint+credit+card+company%22|title=Plastic and electronic money: new payment systems and their implications|author=Frazer, P.A.T. |date=1985|publisher=Woodhead-Faulkner |isbn=0859412903}}</ref> Established in 1972, it was the second credit card company launched in the UK. The company operated from the former [[EKCO]] television and radio factory on Priory Crescent.<ref name=poole>{{cite book|url=https://epepnet.co.uk/links/LinksPDF/EKCO%2520Dpl.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiRjZ6xmOOGAxUMQEEAHWOjCxk4HhAWegQIERAB&usg=AOvVaw0XvDwTzUYSII8as4X65XwP|title=EKCO Electronics|author=Chris Poole|date=April 2008}}</ref> In 1989, the company was renamed as Signet Ltd, along with a change to allow member banks to process their own customers as part of a [[Competition Commission|Competition and Monopolies Commission]] review into credit cards.<ref name=cma>{{cite book|title=Decision on the CMA's review of the Credit Cards (Merchant Acquisition) Order 1990|author=Commission and Monopolies Commission|date=6 September 2005}}</ref> Offices across Southend were transferred to the member banks, including Esplanade House to NatWest,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.accesscreditcard.info/offEspl.aspx|title=The Access Credit Card Offices: Esplanade House|website=Access Credit Card|access-date=17 June 2017}}</ref> Chartwell House to Midland Bank/HSBC<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.accesscreditcard.info/offChart.aspx|title=The Access Credit Card Offices: Chartwell House|website=Access Credit Card|access-date=17 June 2017}}</ref> and Essex House to Lloyds Bank.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.accesscreditcard.info/offEssex.aspx|title=The Access Credit Card Offices: Essex House|website=Access Credit Card|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> In 1991, the business was sold to [[First Data|First Data Resources]],<ref name=vendor>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/VAP-FtoGcompany/page/n105/mode/1up?q=Signet|title=Vendor Profile: A Publication from INPUT's Vendor Analysis Program|date=1993|page=4}}</ref> and the Priory Crescent site was sold to Royal Bank of Scotland. The credit card industry in Southend declined with HSBC closing their operations in 2011,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/4718137.hsbc-to-cut-hundreds-of-jobs-in-southend/|title=HSBC to cut hundreds of jobs in Southend|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=3 November 2009}}</ref> and Lloyds Bank closing Essex House in 2013.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/news/union-anger-over-further-redundancies-at-lloyds-bank/|title=Union anger over further redundancies at Lloyds Bank|magazine=HR Magazine|date=10 May 2013}}</ref> Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest, however, stayed and moved to a new purpose built building at Thanet Grange in 2003.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=New Royal Bank of Scotland developments|magazine=Architecture Today|issue=149|page=36|date=2004}}</ref>

Insurance broker, C.E. Heath moved to the purpose-built Heath House on Victoria Avenue in 1966. In 1996, redundancies saw the number of staff drop from 600 to 300 and, six years later, the company merged with Lambert Fenchurch Group and announced closure of the Southend office.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5517155.southend-merger-kills-off-insurance-giant/|title=Southend: Merger kills off insurance giant|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=4 February 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5517091.southend-300-insurance-jobs-axed-at-ce-heath/|title=Southend: 300 insurance jobs axed at CE heath|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=7 February 2000}}</ref> The property remained empty until 2016 when it was converted into flats.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/14736408.welcome-to-the-mayfair-of-southend-former-office-block-transformed-into-hundreds-of-modern-apartments/|title=Welcome to the 'Mayfair of Southend': Former office block transformed into hundreds of modern apartments|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=12 September 2016}}</ref>

[[HM Revenue and Customs]] (HMRC) previously employed over 4,000 people in Southend in Alexandra House and Portcullis House, which sat side-by-side on Victoria Avenue, and Tylers House/Dencora Court, Tylers Avenue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5431217.southend-civil-servants-stage-strike-over-job-cuts/|title=Southend: Civil servants stage strike over job cuts|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=5 November 2004}}</ref> A training centre was located in Carby House, also in Victoria Avenue.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1982-01-18/debates/5a53b410-2890-4969-862f-6c288be57e7a/CustomsAndExcise(TrainingEstablishments)|title=Customs And Excise (Training Establishments)|website=Hansard|date=18 January 1982}}</ref> In 2008, it was announced that both Tylers House and Portcullis House would be surplus to requirements.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2008-06-16/debates/08061631000011/RevenueAndCustomsClosures|title=Revenue and Customs: Closures|website=Hansard|date=16 June 2008}}</ref> Tylers House would close, with the space rented out by HMRC to other government departments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://governmentbuildings.co.uk/properties/view/166953|title=TYLERS HOUSE & DENCORA COURT|website=Government Buildings|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref> Portcullis House closed in 2008 and, in 2019, the site was purchased by Weston Homes to develop into 217 flats.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/9389358.empty-southend-office-block-to-be-demolished/|title=Empty Southend office block to be demolished|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=29 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.weston-homes.com/news-insights/latest-news/weston-homes-acquire-hmrc-hq-site-for-new-60m-apartment-scheme-in-southend-on-sea/|title=WWeston Homes acquire HMRC HQ site for new £60m apartment scheme in Southend-on-Sea|newspaper=Weston Homes|date=29 October 2019}}</ref> HMRC announced the closure of its Alexandra House office in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/14026746.hmrc-office-in-southend-affected-by-plan-to-close-170-offices-across-country/|title=HMRC office in Southend affected by plan to close 170 offices across country|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=12 November 2015}}</ref> In late 2023 planning permission was being sought to convert the building into 557 flats by [[Comer Group]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23923872.southend-hmrc-office-block-sees-plans-557-flats/|title=Southend HMRC office block sees plans for 557 flats|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=15 November 2023}}</ref>

Former companies that operated out of Southend Airport included [[Flightline (airline)|Flightline]],<ref name="FI">{{cite news |title= Directory: World Airlines |work= [[Flight International]] |page= 82 |date=3 April 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2008/12/05/eastern-takes-over-early-as-flightline-goes-bust |title=Eastern takes over early as Flightline goes bust |work=The Shetland Times |date=5 December 2008 |access-date=30 June 2011 |author=Tait, Jim |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004124246/http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2008/12/05/eastern-takes-over-early-as-flightline-goes-bust |archive-date=4 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> ATC Lasham, an aircraft maintenance company based also in Southampton that collapsed in 2015 with the loss of 144 jobs,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34466248|title=Hundreds lose jobs as ATC Lasham enters administration|website=BBC|date=7 October 2015}}</ref> [[British United Air Ferries|British Air Ferries]]<ref>{{cite magazine|title=From BUAF to BAF — Plans for the new independent British Air Ferries|magazine=Flight International|volume=92|date=1967|page=937}}</ref><ref>''Mike Sessions – Looking on the Bright Side of Life'', Airliner World, Key Publishing, Stamford, UK, March 2010, p. 48</ref> and [[Jota Aviation]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kaminski-Morrow |first1=David |title=UK operator Jota to be liquidated after pandemic and Brexit setbacks |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/uk-operator-jota-to-be-liquidated-after-pandemic-and-brexit-setbacks/148827.article |website=FlightGlobal |access-date=30 June 2022 |date=27 May 2022}}</ref>

Essex Furniture plc was a furniture manufacturer and retailer based in Southend that first listed on the [[Unlisted Securities Market]] of the London Stock Exchange in 1989.<ref>{{cite news|title=Essex Furniture plc|newspaper=Financial Times|date=1 April 1989}}</ref> The business operated five stores under the Essex Furniture brand within Essex, and expanded nationally to 28 stores under The Furniture Workshop nameplate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/1155Q:LN?embedded-checkout=true|title=Essex Furniture plc|website=Bloomberg|access-date=25 August 2024}}</ref> The company closed their Southend factory in 1998, subsequently announced a £3.7 million half year loss,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5538535.essex-futniture-shares-suspended/|title=Essex Futniture shares suspended|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=16 October 1998}}</ref> and entered insolvency later that year.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dNL7R7XaQSMC&q=%22essex+furniture+plc%22+insolvency|title=Chambers & Partners' the Legal Profession|date=1999|publisher=Chambers & Partners Publishing|page=470|isbn=978-0-85514-109-7}}</ref>

===Utilities history===
====Electricity====
Southend-on-Sea County Borough Corporation provided the borough with electricity from the early twentieth century up to 1966 from the Southend power station in London Road. Upon [[nationalisation]] of the electricity industry in 1948, ownership passed to the [[British Electricity Authority]] and later to the [[Central Electricity Generating Board]]. Electricity connections to the [[National Grid (Great Britain)|national grid]] rendered the 5.75 [[Watt|megawatt]] (MW) power station redundant. Electricity was generated by diesel engines and by steam obtained from the exhaust gases. The power station closed in 1966 and in its final year of operation it delivered 2,720 [[Kilowatt hour|MWh]] of electricity to the borough.<ref>''CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1965, 1966''. CEGB, London.</ref>

====Gas====
In 1853, a new company, ''Southend Gas Company'', was set up to build a [[coal gas]] works to supply the town.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l7Q6AQAAMAAJ&q=southend&pg=RA2-PA475|title=Southend Gas Company|journal=Gas Journal. Light, Heat, Power, Bye-products|volume=3|date=1853|page=713}}</ref> The works opened on Eastern Esplanade in 1855 and helped with the development of the then fledgling town.<ref name=easterncons>{{cite book|url=https://yoursay.southend.gov.uk/5774/widgets/17205/documents/7021|title=Southend-on-Sea: Eastern Esplanade Conservation Area Appraisal|author=Purcell|page=21}}</ref><ref name=echo13nov>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/14030049.picture-from-the-past-southend-gasworks-and-jetty-in-1970/|title=Picture from the past: Southend gasworks and jetty in 1970|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=13 November 2015}}</ref> The company was purchased by Southend Corporation after the First World War,<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8g0jAQAAMAAJ&q=%22southend+gas+works+%22+southend+corporation|title=Southend Gas Company|journal=Journal of Gas Lighting and Water Supply|volume=146|date=1919|page=200}}</ref> with its own landing pier locally known as Southend Pier Junior.<ref name=echo13nov/> The company was nationalised in 1949 and was transferred to the [[North Thames Gas Board]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Always Under Pressure. A History of North Thames Gas Since 1949|author=Malcolm E. Falkus|date=1988|publisher=Springer |isbn=9781349103164}}</ref> who in 1960 added the brutalist Esplanade House to the site as offices. The site stopped producing coal gas in 1968, and the works was demolished.<ref name=easterncons/> Esplanade House, was taken over by Access credit card operations in the 1980s but, by the 1990s, they had moved out and the gas works site remained empty until it was demolished to make way for a Premier Inn in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/11005954.sun-sand-and-stench-from-the-old-gasworks/|title=Sun, sand... and stench from the old gasworks!|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=13 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/11230715.the-changing-face-of-our-seafront-work-starts-at-premier-inn-hotel-and-gym-plan-for-southend-arcade/|title=The changing face of our seafront... Work starts at Premier Inn hotel and gym plan for Southend arcade|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=23 May 2014}}</ref>

====Water====
{{Main|Essex and Suffolk Water#Southend Waterworks Company}}

''Southend Waterworks Company'' was formed by [[Thomas Brassey]] in 1865, initially to provide water for the steam engines on the new railway line that opened in 1856, with which Brassey was involved. The company constructed the town's first deep borehole in Milton Road, along with a reservoir to hold 300,000 gallons.<ref name="ews">{{cite web|url=https://essexwatersupply.com/southend-waterworks-company/|title=Southend Waterworks Company|website=Essex Water Supply|date=17 November 2015 |access-date=15 August 2024}}</ref> In 1870, Brassey died, and a limited company was formed to take over the works, becoming a [[statutory undertaker]] via the ''{{visible anchor|Southend Waterworks Act 1879}}'' ([[42 & 43 Vict.]] c. cxx).{{sfn|SWC|1948}}<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGNCAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22southend+water+company%22&pg=PA262|journal=The Journal of Gas Lighting, Water Supply & Sanitary Improvement|title=The Southend Water Bill|volume=33|date=1879|page=268|publisher=Walter King}}</ref> The company expanded the area it covered outside of the city, and worked with neighbouring water company, South Essex Waterworks Company on projects at Langford and Hanningfield. The ''{{visible anchor|Essex Water Order 1970}}'' ([[SI 1970]]/786)<ref>Essex Water Order 1970 ([[SI 1970]]/786) Regrouping Order: transfer of the water undertakings of certain local authorities and the Southend Waterworks Company to the South Essex Waterworks Company.</ref> was passed by Parliament and, on 1 April 1970, the Southend Waterworks Company amalgamated with the South Essex Waterworks Company to become the Essex Water Company. In 1991, Essex Water purchased Suffolk Water to become Essex and Suffolk Water.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk/collections/getrecord/GB175_1176_2_2_19_602 |title=Search results in the Suffolk Record Office collections |publisher=Suffolk County Council |access-date=27 February 2015}}</ref>

===Retail===
[[File:Southend on Sea, Essex 5.jpg|thumb|High Street, looking north on market day]]

Southend High Street runs from the top of Pier Hill to Victoria Circus and has two shopping centres: the Victoria (built during the 1960s to replace the old Talza Arcade, Victoria Arcade and Broadway Market),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southendtimeline.com/victoriashoppingcentre.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003141926/http://www.southendtimeline.com/victoriashoppingcentre.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=3 October 2014|title=Victoria Shopping Centre – Southend Timeline|access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref>  and The Royals. The latter was designed by the [[Building Design Partnership]], construction starting in 1985,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23083814.southend-royals-shopping-centre-construction-remembered/|title=Southend Royals Shopping Centre construction remembered|work=Evening Echo|date=29 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3FN4VL5lEwC&dq=%22the+royals+shopping+centre%22+construction&pg=PA697|title=Essex: The Buildings of England|author=James Bettley, Nikolaus Pevsner|date=2007|isbn=9780300116144|page=697|publisher=Yale University Press }}</ref> and it was officially opened in March 1988 by singer-actor [[Jason Donovan]]. The Royals is on the site of the southern end of High Street and Grove Road and its construction saw the demolition of the Ritz Cinema and Grand Pier Hotel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southendtimeline.co.uk/southend-timeline-1980-1989-history-of-southend-on-sea.html|title=The Royals Shopping Centre|publisher=Southend Timeline|access-date=24 March 2021}}</ref> Prior to the opening, [[Morrissey]] filmed the video for his top ten charting track ''[[Everyday Is Like Sunday]]'' in the centre.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/10252550.celebrating-25-years-of-shopping-at-the-royals/|title=Celebrating 25 years of shopping at the Royals|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=27 February 2013}}</ref> Southend High Street mainly consists of chain stores, with Boots located in the Royals, while Next anchor the Victoria.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sarfend.co.uk/shopping.html|title=Shopping in Southend-on-Sea – Sarfend.co.uk|access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref> However, since the covid pandemic the amount of empty shops in the city centre has increased greatly, with the High Street being called a ghost town.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-60110289|title=Southend: The city-to-be where a quarter of shops are shut|website=BBC|date=24 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/19269482.17-empty-shops-southend-high-street/#:~:text=EMPTY%20shops%20plaguing%20Southend%20High,year%20battling%20the%20coronavirus%20pandemic.|title=The shops empty on Southend High Street|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=2 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/ghost-town-essex-city-shops-9103843|title=The ghost town Essex city where shops lay empty for years could be offered to up and coming businesses|website=Essex Live|date=17 February 2024}}</ref>

[[Dixons Retail]], now renamed [[Currys plc]], started in Southend during 1937 and is still active in 2024.<ref name="history37">{{cite web|url=http://www.dixonsretail.com/dixons/en/aboutus/history |title=History |website=Dixons Retail |publisher=Wayback Machine |date=9 September 2011 |access-date=11 November 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909152831/http://www.dixonsretail.com/dixons/en/aboutus/history |archive-date=9 September 2011}}</ref>

The Broadway in [[Leigh-on-Sea]] is known for its independent boutiques and coffee shops.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://metro.co.uk/2024/04/10/southends-trendier-sister-named-affordable-commuter-town-20623428/|title=Essex spot dubbed 'Southend's trendier sister' is the most affordable London commuter town|newspaper=Metro|date=10 April 2024}}</ref> Leigh Road in Leigh-on-Sea, Southchurch Road and London Road are where many of Southend's independent businesses now reside.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitsouthend.co.uk/shopping/|title=Visit Southend – A Shopper's paradise|access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref> Hamlet Court Road, [[Westcliff-on-Sea]] was once known as the [[Bond Street]] of Essex,<ref name=Party/> and is full of historical buildings, having been designated a conservation area in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-58550526|title=Southend's 'second high street' given conservation status|website=BBC|date=14 September 2021}}</ref> The road hosts the In Harmony festival each year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24300981.westcliff-hamlet-court-road-festival-return-month/|title=Westcliff Hamlet Court Road festival to return this month|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=12 May 2024}}</ref>

There are regular vintage fairs and markets in Southend, held at a variety of locations including the Leigh Community Centre and [[Garon Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitsouthend.co.uk/event/the-big-southend-vintage-retro-fair-2/|title=The Big Southend Vintage & Retro Fair|website=Visit Southend|date=19 March 2023 |access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref> A record fair is frequently held at West Leigh Schools in Leigh-on-Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/recordfairsuk/|title=Record Fairs UK|access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref>

==== Markets ====
Demolition of the historic Victorian covered York Road market began on 23 April 2010,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sarfend.co.uk/southendnews/2009/10/southend-york-road-market-closed.html|title=Southend York Road Market |work=Sarfend.co.uk |date=21 October 2009|access-date=15 December 2014}}</ref> with the site becoming a car park. A temporary market had been held there every Friday until 2012 after the closure of the former Southend market at the rear of the Odeon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/8116980.workmen-move-in-to-demolish-market/|title=Workmen move in to demolish market|website=Echo|date=23 April 2010 }}</ref> As of 2013, a market started to be held in the High Street every Thursday with over 30 stalls, with a further Saturday market being started in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/10993406.southend-town-centre-market-to-double-in-size/|title=Southend market to double in size|website=Echo|date=6 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23565369.southend-high-street-set-new-saturday-market/|title=Southend High Street set to have new Saturday market|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=23 June 2023}}</ref>

===Former retail businesses===
<gallery>
File:Southend-on-Sea , R.A. Jones premises, with clock and barometer - geograph.org.uk - 5926061.jpg|R A Jones building in Southend High Street
File:Victoria Circus 1969 - geograph.org.uk - 55665.jpg|Dixons in 1969
File:The_Bond_Street_of_the_East_Coast_(geograph_4610441).jpg|Havens (left) in 2015
</gallery>

Southend was not always full of chain stores, with many historical independent stores closing during the 70s, 80s and 90s:
* [[Keddies]] was a nationally recognised department store opened in 1892. The store, located in the High Street, went into administration in 1996.
* [[J F Dixons]] opened as a drapers in 1913 on the corner of London Road and what is now the High Street. Expansion before World War II saw it become a department store. The business closed in 1973.
* [[Brightwells]] was a department store that opened in 19th century. The store closed in the 1970s.
* [[Havens (department store)|Havens]] was a department store that opened in 1901, in Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff-on-Sea.<ref name=Party>{{cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/10464614.Hamlet_Court_Road_street_party_filmed_for_BBC_show/?ref=arc|title=Hamlet Court Road street party filmed for BBC show - Evening Echo p.6 June 2013|date=6 June 2013 |access-date=19 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fBJLH49xa-YC&q=%22Hamlet+Court+Road%22+is+Bond+Street&pg=PA219|title=London's Turning - The making of Thames Gateway - Edited by Philip Cohen & Michael J. Rustin page 219|isbn=9780754670636|access-date=19 December 2016|last1=Cohen|first1=Philip|last2=Rustin|first2=Michael J.|date=January 2008|publisher=Ashgate Publishing }}</ref> In May 2017, Havens announced that they would be closing their store to concentrate as an online retailer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/15281204.End_of_an_era_as_Havens_store_prepares_to_close_after_almost_100_years_on_the_high_street/|title=End of an era as Havens store prepares to close after almost 100 years on the high street – Evening Echo p.12 May 2017|date=12 May 2017 |access-date=29 June 2017}}</ref>
* Garons opened as a grocers at 64 High Street in 1885.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southend.gov.uk/historic-southend/history-southend/2r|title=The origins of Southend|website=Southend-On-Sea City Council|access-date=18 June 2024}}</ref> The grocers in 1910 opened a cinema and cafe, which had a ballroom added in 1920.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/51508|title=Garons Cinema – cinematreasures.org|access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref> The company further expanded the grocery side of the business, opening a large bakery in Sutton Road, and by 1946 branches were operating as grocers, butchers and greengrocers across the town.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/18552/page/287/data.pdf|title=The Edinburgh Gazette 11 April 1967|access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/51078815953|title=Garons of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK - advert from 1946 Post Office Telephones Directory|website=Flickr|date=28 March 2021}}</ref> The company also grew their catering facilities with the construction of Center House at 66-68 High Street.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/1150388298554976543/|title=SOUTHEND-ON-SEA Essex, 1937-1938 OFFICIAL GUIDE by Jennings, George (Publicity Officer): Good Soft cover (1937) 1st Edition,SEVERNBOOKS|website=Pinterest|access-date=18 June 2024}}</ref> In 1962, the 45 grocery stores across Essex and the bakery was sold to [[Wright's Biscuits#Moore Stores|Moores Stores]].<ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GtI-JPkMcxwC&q=%22moores%22+garons+%22southend%22|title=Moores Stores Ltd|periodical=The New Dawn|date=1962|page=436}}</ref> The cinema was closed a year later, with the premises sold to make way for a development by [[Hammerson]] and the remaining business, including the new Garons 1 Banqueting suite at Victoria Circus was sold to [[Brent Walker|G and W Walker]] in 1972.<ref name="echoaug07"/><ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XuYgAQAAMAAJ&q=%22garons%22+g+and+w+walker|title=Horizon Ahead|periodical=Investors Chronicle and Stock Exchange Gazette|volume=24|date=1973|page=728}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_great-britain-board-of-trade-board-of-trade-journal_1965-10-29_189_3580/page/1016/mode/1up?q=%22hammerson+development%22|title=Another Hammerson development in the Heart of Southend|journal=Board of Trade Journal|date=29 October 1975|volume=189|issue=3580|page=1017}}</ref> [[Garon Park]] was built on land donated by the family.
* [[R. A. Jones]] was a jewellers that was opened by Robert Arthur Jones in 1890. Jones would go on and become a benefactor for the town. The store closed in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|title=Essex Archives Online (D/BC 1/4/10/12/17)|url=http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/Result_Details.aspx?DocID=429527|publisher=Essex Record Office|access-date=15 March 2013|format=Catalogue record}}</ref>
* Owen Wallis purchased an existing ironmongers store located in the High Street in around 1882.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/industriesofeast0000unse/page/220/mode/1up?q=%22Owen+wallis%22|title=Industries of the Eastern Counties : Essex|date=1982|page=220|publisher=Essex Libraries |isbn=978-0-903630-18-4 }}</ref> The store expanded into selling toys, before closing in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/58335675@N08/8426296551/|title=Owen Wallis & Sons, Southend – Flickr|date=14 January 2004|access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref><ref name=Hornby>{{cite book|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/343003433/Hornby-Railways-International-Service-Dealer-Network-49|title=Hornby Railways International Service Dealer Network 49|author=Hornby Railways|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/southendseasideh0000ever/page/11/mode/1up|title=Southend Seaside Holiday|author=Everritt, Sylvia|date=1980|page=35|publisher=Phillimore |isbn=0850333342}}</ref>
* Bermans was a sports and toy retailer who operated from Southchurch Road. The store closed in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sarfend.co.uk/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1288393165|title=Old Shop Fronts & Names – Sarfend.co.uk|access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref><ref name=Hornby/>
* J Patience was a photographic retailers located in Queens Road.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hTciAQAAMAAJ&q=%22J+Patience%22+southend|title=Essex|journal=The British Journal of Photography|volume=132|date=1985|page=257}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/2152622.photographer-joe-patience-dies-aged-88/|title=Photographer Joe Patience dies aged 88|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=28 March 2008}}</ref>
* Schofield and Martin was a grocery firm with stores across Southend, that was purchased by [[Waitrose]] in 1944 with the name being used until the 1960s. The Alexandra Street branch was the first Waitrose store in 1951 to be made self-service.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://waitrosememorystore.org.uk/content/about/first_time_visitors_tour/schofield-and-martin|title=Acquisition of small food chains – Schofield and Martin|website=Waitrose Memory Store|date=16 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://waitrosememorystore.org.uk/content/earlydays/early-history/self-service|title=Self-Service|website=Waitrose Memory Store|date=16 June 2018}}</ref>
* Ravens was the longest surviving independent retail business in Southend. The outfitters was started in 1897 by Percy Raven from a small store in the High Street. The business moved to a larger store in the High Street designed by architect Mr Grover,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Obitutary Mr Glover|journal=The Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects|page=458|volume=42|date=1932}}</ref> before moving to a newer store on London Road in the 1930s. The store relocated to Clifftown Road in 1952, and operated from the site until its closure in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/15365918.southends-oldest-department-store-to-shut-after-120-years/|title=Southend's oldest department store to shut after 120 years|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=23 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ravensltd.co.uk/about-us-i1|title=About Us|access-date=23 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006071042/http://www.ravensltd.co.uk/about-us-i1|archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/8369051.Fifth_generation_of_family_joins_Ravens/|title=Fifth generation of family joins Ravens – Evening Echo p.3 Sept 2010|date=3 September 2010 |access-date=22 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/15365925.second-family-business-will-be-leaving-southend/|title=Second family business will be leaving Southend|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=23 June 2017}}</ref>
* LL Wellfare was a furniture and electrical store based in Sutton Road, which was started in 1946 by Linton Wellfare. The business closed in 2010 after the retirement of Linton's son Richard.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/4877941.retirement-brings-an-end-to-wellfares/|title=Retirement brings an end to Wellfares|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=30 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/8267891.farewell-to-the-man-who-set-up-wellfares/|title=Farewell to the man who set up Wellfares|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=13 July 2010}}</ref>
* James Heddle & Son was a credit drapers that operated across Essex. William Heddle was born in Orkney in 1846, moving to Maldon in 1864. He married in 1870, moving to Southend and shortly afterwards opened a drapery store in Park Street. William would go on and join the religious sect, the [[Peculiar People]], in 1873, becoming their Supreme Bishop between 1901 and 1942, before his death in 1948. The business remained in the family until it closed in 1980.<ref name=Heddle>{{cite web|url=https://www.essexarchivesonline.co.uk/Result_Details.aspx?DocID=68872|title=James Heddle and Son, Draper, of Southend|website=Essex Record Office|access-date=8 February 2025}}</ref>

==Transport==
===Airport===
{{main|London Southend Airport }}
[[File:Southend airport.jpg|thumb|left|Southend Airport, prior to the runway extension]]

London Southend Airport was developed from the military airfield at [[Rochford]]; it was opened as a civil airport in 1935. The airport was the UK's third-busiest airport during the 1960s, behind Heathrow and Manchester, before passenger numbers dropped off in the 1970s.<ref name=adsadvance>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.adsadvance.co.uk/southend-airport-records-busiest-year-ever.html|title=Southend Airport records busiest year ever|magazine=ADS Advance|date=10 January 2014}}</ref> In 2008, [[Stobart Group]] bought the lease for [[Pound Sterling|£]]21&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/sppage023-l2627206-oisbi/stobart-to-buy-southend-airport-for-up-to-21-mln-stg-idUKL262720620081202|title=Stobart to buy Southend Airport for up to 21 mln stg|publisher=Reuters |date=2 December 2008|access-date=30 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230233541/https://uk.reuters.com/article/sppage023-l2627206-oisbi/stobart-to-buy-southend-airport-for-up-to-21-mln-stg-idUKL262720620081202|archive-date=30 December 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> A rebuilding of the airport was completed during 2010.<ref name=SouthendEcho1>{{cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/southend/5072078.Southend_Airport_expansion_gets_go_ahead_from_Government/|title=Expansion gets go-ahead|work=Southend Echo |date=19 March 2010 |access-date=19 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919070724/http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/southend/5072078.Southend_Airport_expansion_gets_go_ahead_from_Government/|archive-date=19 September 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> It now offers scheduled flights to destinations across Europe, corporate and recreational flights, aircraft maintenance and training for pilots and engineers. It is served by [[Southend Airport railway station]], on the Shenfield–Southend line.
{{Clear}}

===Buses===
{{See also|Southend-on-Sea Corporation Transport}}
[[File:Arriva Southend bus 5404 (H264 GEV), 2009 Clacton Bus Rally.jpg|thumb|left|An Arriva Southend bus]]

Local bus services are provided predominantly by two main companies: [[Arriva Southend]] (formerly the council-owned Southend Transport) and [[First Essex|First Essex Buses]] (formerly [[Eastern National Omnibus Company|Eastern National]]/Thamesway). A smaller operator is [[Stephensons of Essex]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Southend-on-Sea bus services |url=https://bustimes.org/localities/southend-on-sea |website=Bustimes.org |access-date=5 December 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/moderntramway18unse_10/page/211/mode/1up?q=%22officially+as+the+Southend+-+on+-+Sea+Corporation+Light+Railways%22|title=Southend-on-Sea Corporation Light Railways|magazine=The Modern Tramway|volume=18|issue=216|date=December 1955|page=221}}</ref><ref name=Focus>{{cite book |last=Shepperton |title=Buses: Focus on British Bus Fleets Today |year=1994 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1993-07-02/Writtens-1.html |title=Hansard – House of Commons Daily Debates for 2 July 1993, Written Answers Column 635 |author=Mr Freeman |date=2 July 1993 |access-date=25 July 2008}}</ref>

Southend bus station on Chichester Road was built in 2006 and is known as the Southend Travel Centre; it replaced a temporary facility added in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/9935174.councils-21m-plan-to-get-us-on-the-buses/|title=Council's £2.1m plan to get us on the buses|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=19 September 2012}}</ref> The previous bus station on London Road was run by Eastern National, but it was demolished in the 1980s to make way for a [[Sainsbury's]] supermarket.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southendtimeline.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=136131382|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311021531/http://www.southendtimeline.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=136131382|url-status=usurped|archive-date=11 March 2018|title=Eastern National – southendtimeline|access-date=10 November 2016}}</ref> Arriva Southend is the only bus company based in Southend; its depot is located on Short Street (it was previously sited on the corner of London Road and Queensway and it also had a small facility in Tickfield Road).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.signal-training.com/ebeg/lrd-bye.htm|title=The closure of Arriva Southend's London Road Garage – 2000 By Richard Delahoy|access-date=10 November 2016}}</ref> First Essex's buses in the Southend area are based out of the depot in [[Hadleigh, Essex|Hadleigh]] but, prior to the 1980s, Eastern National had depots on London Road (at the bus station) and Fairfax Drive.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/4137197.end-of-the-road-for-busman-denis/|title=''End of the road for busman Denis'' – Evening Echo p.19 February 2009|date=19 February 2009 |access-date=23 November 2018}}</ref>
{{Clear}} First Essex runs the [[Essex Airlink]] bus service from the Southend Travel Centre to [[London Stansted]].

===Railway===
<gallery>
Southend Victoria railway station.JPG|Southend Victoria station
357036 at Southend Central.jpg|A [[c2c (1996-2025)|c2c]] train at Southend Central station
</gallery>

Southend is served by two lines on the [[National Rail]] network:
* Running from {{rws|Southend Victoria}} north out of the city is the [[Shenfield–Southend line]], a branch of the [[Great Eastern Main Line]], which is operated by [[Greater Anglia]]. Services operate to {{rws|London Liverpool Street}}, via {{rws|Shenfield}}.<ref>{{Cite web |work=Greater Anglia |title=Timetables |date=18 May 2025 |access-date=5 December 2025 |url=https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/timetables}}</ref>
* Running from {{rws|Shoeburyness}}, in the east of the borough, to {{rws|London Fenchurch Street}} is the [[London, Tilbury & Southend line]] operated by [[c2c]]. It runs west through {{rws|Thorpe Bay}}, {{rws|Southend East}} and {{rws|Southend Central}}; then either via {{rws|Benfleet}} and {{rws|Basildon}} or {{rws|Tilbury Town}} and {{rws|Barking}}. Additionally, one service from Southend Central each weekday evening terminates at Liverpool Street.<ref>{{Cite web |work=c2c |title=Timetable |date=18 May 2025 |access-date=5 December 2025 |url=https://www.c2c-online.co.uk/timetable/}}</ref>

From 1910 to 1939, the [[London Underground]]'s [[District line]]'s eastbound service ran as far as Southend and Shoeburyness.<ref>{{cite book |title=The story of London's underground |author=John Robert Day, John Reed |edition=9 |year=2005 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-85414-289-4 |page=66}}</ref>

===Roads===
[[File:Arterial road 220608.jpg|thumb|right|A127 Kent Elms, looking west]]

Two A-roads connect Southend with London and the rest of the country: the [[A127 road|A127]] (''Southend Arterial Road''), via Basildon and [[Romford]], and the [[A13 road (Great Britain)|A13]], via Thurrock and [[London Docklands]]. Both are major routes; however, within the borough, the A13 is now a local single-carriageway route, whereas the A127 is entirely dual-carriageway. Both connect to the [[M25 Motorway|M25]] and eventually London.

==Climate==
[[File:Seals off Southend.jpg|thumb|Seals off Southend]]

Southend-on-Sea is one of the driest places in the UK. It has a [[oceanic climate|marine climate]] with summer highs of around {{convert|22|C|F}} and winters highs being around {{convert|7.8|C|F}}.<ref name="Southend-on-Sea climate averages">{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/u10t0nxqf|title=Southend-on-Sea climate averages|publisher=Met Office|access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref> Summer temperatures are generally slightly cooler than those in [[London]]. Frosts are occasional; during the 1991–2020 period, there was an average of 29.6 days of air frost. Rainfall averaged {{convert|527|mm|in}}. Weather station data is available from [[Shoeburyness]], a suburb of the city.<ref name="Southend-on-Sea climate averages"/>

{{Weather box
|location = Shoeburyness, in eastern part of Southend Urban Area, 2m asl, 1991–2020
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan high C = 7.8
|Feb high C = 8.3
|Mar high C = 10.6
|Apr high C = 13.5
|May high C = 16.6
|Jun high C = 19.8
|Jul high C = 22.3
|Aug high C = 22.4
|Sep high C = 19.4
|Oct high C = 15.3
|Nov high C = 11.1
|Dec high C = 8.4
|year high C = 14.7
|Jan low C = 2.7
|Feb low C = 2.4
|Mar low C = 3.7
|Apr low C = 5.4
|May low C = 8.3
|Jun low C = 11.2
|Jul low C = 13.6
|Aug low C = 13.8
|Sep low C = 11.5
|Oct low C = 8.9
|Nov low C = 5.5
|Dec low C = 3.2
|year low C = 7.5
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 43.0
|Feb precipitation mm = 36.1
|Mar precipitation mm = 32.7
|Apr precipitation mm = 36.1
|May precipitation mm = 41.6
|Jun precipitation mm = 44.1
|Jul precipitation mm = 41.1
|Aug precipitation mm = 48.6
|Sep precipitation mm = 43.0
|Oct precipitation mm = 57.8
|Nov precipitation mm = 54.0
|Dec precipitation mm = 48.8
|year precipitation mm = 526.8
|unit rain days = 1.0 mm
|Jan rain days = 9.5
|Feb rain days = 8.3
|Mar rain days = 7.8
|Apr rain days = 7.5
|May rain days = 7.5
|Jun rain days = 7.8
|Jul rain days = 7.3
|Aug rain days = 7.1
|Sep rain days = 7.5
|Oct rain days = 10.2
|Nov rain days = 10.6
|Dec rain days = 10.7
|year rain days = 102.0
|Jan sun = 70.5
|Feb sun = 88.9
|Mar sun = 136.8
|Apr sun = 200.4
|May sun = 241.2
|Jun sun = 243.3
|Jul sun = 257.0
|Aug sun = 212.2
|Sep sun = 162.4
|Oct sun = 130.0
|Nov sun = 84.7
|Dec sun = 56.9
|year sun = 1884.3
|source 1 = [[Met Office]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/shoeburyness#?tab=climateTables|title=Shoeburyness Climatic Averages 1991–2020|publisher=Met Office|access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref>}}

==Education==
{{Main|Education in Southend-on-Sea}}
<gallery>
File:P1020316.JPG|University of Essex accommodation in Southend
File:Southend - University of Essex..JPG|South Essex College's Southend Campus
</gallery>

Southend has a mixture of secondary school offerings. The mainstream secondary schools are mixed-sex comprehensives, while the city retained the [[Grammar schools in the United Kingdom|grammar school system]], which it has four schools. Additionally, there are two single-sex schools assisted by the Roman Catholic Church.

In addition to a number of secondary schools that offer further education, the largest provider is [[South Essex College]] in a purpose-built building in the centre of town.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sarfend.co.uk/southendnews/2009/11/south-essex-college-merger-approved.html|title=South Essex College Merger Approved|date=30 November 2009}}</ref>

Higher education is provided in the city by the [[University of Essex]].<ref name="independent.co.uk">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/university-of-essex-raising-expectations-on-the-east-coast-794752.html|title=University of Essex: Raising expectations on the east coast|date=13 March 2008|work=The Independent|access-date=2 August 2008|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5429212.southend-university-plans-backed/|title=Southend: University plans backed|newspaper=Daily Gazette |date=6 January 2005}}</ref> The university has operated from the city since 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5450935.southend-degree-of-fun-by-the-sea/|title=Southend: Degree of fun by the sea|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=24 July 2003}}</ref> It also operates the East 15 Acting School Southend campus at the Clifftown Theatre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://clifftowntheatre.co.uk/east-15-acting-schoo/|title=East 15 Acting School|website=Clifftown Theatre|date=23 January 2023 |access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref> It was announced in December 2025 that the Southend campus would close in Summer 2026, with courses transferring to the Colchester campus.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vmnq0j393o|title=University to shut campus and cut 400 jobs|website=BBC News|date=2 December 2025}}</ref>

==Sport==
[[File:Southend - Leisure and tennis.jpg|thumb|Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre]]

[[Southend United F.C.|Southend United]] is the only professional club in the city. The club was formed in 1906 and has played as high as English football's [[EFL Championship|second tier]] and three time runners up in the [[EFL Trophy]]. It currently competes in the [[National League (English football)|National League]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.southendtimeline.com/1906.htm |title=1906 – Southend Timeline |work=southendtimeline.com |access-date=10 May 2014 |archive-date=20 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120074912/https://www.southendtimeline.com/1906.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref name="BBC-15Feb2023">{{cite news |title=Southend United: Fans fear future without football club |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-64635685 |access-date=16 February 2023 |work=BBC News |date=15 February 2023}}</ref> after dropping out of the Football League at the end of the 2020–21 season, after 101 years of participation.<ref name="BBC-01May2021">{{cite news |title=Barrow 1-2 Southend United |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56869357 |access-date=1 May 2021 |work=BBC Sport |date=1 May 2021}}</ref> [[Southend Manor F.C.|Southend Manor]], the city's other senior club, plays in the [[Eastern Counties Football League]], the 9th tier in the English football pyramid and are based at [[Southchurch Park|Southchurch Park Arena]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://essexseniorleague.co.uk/club/southend-manor-football-club/|title=Southend Manor Football Club|website=Essex Senior League|access-date=12 June 2024}}</ref>

There are two [[rugby union]] clubs in the city: [[Southend RFC]] play in London 1 North, while [[Westcliff R.F.C.]] play in London & South East Premier. The city has formerly been home to both the Essex Eels and [[Kent Invicta|Southend Invicta]] rugby league teams. The [[Essex Pirates]] basketball team that played in the [[British Basketball League]], were based in the city between 2009 and 2011.

[[Essex County Cricket Club]] previously played in Southend for one week a season, until the club withdrew in 2011 after 105 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/sport/9278735.festival-end-rocks-fans/|title=Festival end rocks fans|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=29 September 2011}}</ref> The Southend Cricket Festival was held at [[Chalkwell Park]] and [[Southchurch Park]], before moving to [[Garon Park#The Peter Butler Oval|Garon Park]] next to the Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://essexcricket.org.uk/2022/03/01/cricket-in-the-city-southend-on-sea/|title=Cricket in the City of Southend-on-Sea|website=Essex County Cricket|date=1 March 2022}}</ref> The only other cricket is local. The world record for the highest ever number of runs scored on one day in a male first class match was set by [[Australia national cricket team|Australia]] at Southchurch Park in 1948.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-runs-scored-in-a-day-in-a-first-class-match-male|title=Most runs scored in a day in a first-class match (male)|website=Guinness World Records|access-date=25 March 2024}}</ref>

The Old Southendians Hockey Club is based at Warner's Bridge in Southend.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.southend.gov.uk/downloads/file/1634/a-study-of-playing-pitches-southend-final-report-pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjN2L7JvLuNAxVUVkEAHdVRKcM4ChAWegQINRAB&usg=AOvVaw0wAwbcj3E2gWNIPqM4Owme|title=A STUDY OF PLAYING PITCHES in Southend-on-Sea Borough|author=Southend-on-Sea Borough Council|date=August 2004}}</ref> Previously, the city had hosted [[Greyhound racing]], initially at [[Kursaal (amusement park)#Kursaal Football Stadium|the Kursaal football stadium]],<ref name="Genders 1981">{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing|last=Genders|first=Roy|publisher=Pelham Books Ltd|year=1981|isbn=0-7207-1106-1}}</ref> before the permanent [[Southend Stadium]] opened in 1933. The stadium was demolished in 1985.<ref name="Genders 1981"/>

The eight-lane, floodlit, synthetic athletics track at [[Garon Park|Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre]] is home to [[Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club]]. The facilities cover all track and field events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southend-on-sea-athletic-club.co.uk/|title=Southend on Sea Athletic Club &#124; Founded 1905|website=www.southend-on-sea-athletic-club.co.uk}}</ref> The centre has a 25m swimming pool and a world championship level diving pool with 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10m boards, plus springboards with the only 1.3m in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southend.gov.uk/directory_record/266/southend_swimming_and_diving_centre_at_southend_leisure_and_tennis_centre |title=Leisure Centres Directory - Southend Swimming & Diving Centre at Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre &#124; Southend-on-Sea Borough Council |access-date=29 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528200146/https://www.southend.gov.uk/directory_record/266/southend_swimming_and_diving_centre_at_southend_leisure_and_tennis_centre |archive-date=28 May 2015 }}</ref>

Southend has hosted a half marathon since 1996.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ggpg8l3pyo|title=Runner dies during charity half-marathon|website=BBC|date=9 June 2024}}</ref>

==Entertainment and culture==
===Southend Pleasure Pier===
{{main|Southend Pier}}
{{see also|Southend Pier Railway}}
<gallery>
File:Southend from Southend Pier.jpg|A mile out along the [[Southend Pier|pier]]
File:Southend Pier Railway, Southend-on-Sea, UK.jpg|A pier railway train
</gallery>

Southend-on-Sea is home to the world's longest pleasure pier, originally built in 1830 from wood before being replaced in iron during 1889. The pier stretches some {{convert|1.34|mi|km}} from shore into the Thames Estuary and is a Grade II [[listed building]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pleasure Pier, Non Civil Parish - 1112705 |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1112705 |access-date=17 May 2022 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southend.gov.uk/info/200306/southend_pier/84/history_of_southend_pier|title=History of Southend Pier|website=Southend-on-Sea Borough Council|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317234401/http://www.southend.gov.uk/info/200306/southend_pier/84/history_of_southend_pier|archive-date=17 March 2016|access-date=17 October 2018}}</ref> Sir [[John Betjeman]], English poet and broadcaster, once said that "the Pier is Southend, Southend is the Pier".<ref name="bbc_legacies">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/essex/article_1.shtml |title=Architectural Heritage|website=BBC|access-date=21 August 2020 }}</ref> The pier has been home to a narrow gauge railway since 1846.<ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVtUAAAAMAAJ&q=horse+drawn+trams+southend+pier|title=Book Review|periodical=The Tramway Review|date=2003|volume=25|page=78}}</ref>

===Kursaal===
{{main|Kursaal (amusement park)}}
<gallery>
File:Kursaal Ballrooms - geograph.org.uk - 30246.jpg|The Kursaal
</gallery>

The Kursaal was one of the earliest theme parks, opening in 1901. It closed in the 1970s and much of the land was developed as housing. The entrance hall, a listed building, was redeveloped to house a bowling alley operated by [[Megabowl]] and casino in 1998. However, the bowling alley closed in 2019 and the casino closed in 2020. The building currently stands unused and, in May 2024, [[The Victorian Society]] listed the Kursaal amongst their 10 at risk sites that need rescuing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv221grlqero|title=Top 10 'at risk' sites named by Victorian Society|website=BBC|date=29 May 2024}}</ref>

===Southend Carnival===
Southend Carnival had been an annual event since 1906,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0kBzEAAAQBAJ&dq=southend+1920s&pg=PA161|title=Dressing Up. A History of Fancy Dress in Britain|author=Verity Wilson|date=2022|isbn=9781789145304|pages=161–162|publisher=Reaktion Books }}</ref> where it was part of the annual regatta, and was set up to raise funds for the Southend Victoria Cottage Hospital. In 1926, a carnival association was formed, and by 1930, they were raising funds for the building of the new General Hospital with a range of events, including a fete in Chalkwell Park.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carnivalarchive.org.uk/southend#.XPUsheSP5dg|title=Southend – Carnival Archive|access-date=3 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/16405814.southend-carnival-week-starts-friday/|title=''Southend Carnival week starts Friday'' – Evening Echo Buckley.K p.8 August 2018|date=8 August 2018 |access-date=3 June 2019}}</ref> The parades, which included a daylight and torchlight parades were cut down to just a torchlight parade during the 1990s. The carnival has not run since 2020, although attempts have been made to restart the parade,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23731677.memories-southend-carnival-event-remains-missing/|title=Memories of Southend Carnival as event remains is missing|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=19 August 2023}}</ref> however the accompanying fair returned in 2023.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23680451.chalkwell-park-funfair-returns-2023-details/|title=Chalkwell Park funfair returns for 2023 all the details|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=26 July 2023}}</ref>

===Cliff Lift===
{{main|Southend Cliff Railway}}
[[File:Southend Cliff Railway in 2008.jpg|Southend Cliff Railway|thumb]]

A short funicular railway, constructed in 1912, links the seafront to the High Street level of the town.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaltransporttrust.org.uk/heritage-sites/heritage-detail/southend-cliff-lift#:~:text=About%20Southend%20Cliff%20Lift,unreliable%20due%20its%20exposed%20location.|title=Southend Cliff Lift|website=National Transport Trust|access-date=11 September 2025}}</ref> The line runs on the site of a pioneering moving walkway, a forerunner of today's [[escalator]]. This was constructed in 1901 by the American engineer [[Jesse W. Reno]], but soon proved noisy and unreliable due its exposed location.<ref name="books.google.com"/> The lift re-opened to the public in 2010, following a period of refurbishment.<ref>{{cite news|title=Historic cliff lift reopens following refurbishment|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/local/essex/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8703000/8703018.stm|access-date=12 March 2013|newspaper=BBC Essex|date=25 May 2010}}</ref>

===Adventure Island===
{{main|Adventure Island (amusement park)}}
[[File:Southend on Sea-sunset.jpg|The sunset in Southend, a view of Adventure Island in 2007|thumb]]

Located either side of the pier the esplanade, Adventure Island is an amusement park. The park was originally opened on the west side of the pier as the "Sunken Gardens" in 1926, before becoming Peter Pans Playground. In 1976, the Miller family purchased the site and started to transform it into a modern amusement park. In 1996, the east side of the pier that was formerly a boating lake, was purchased and the park expanded onto the site.<ref name="Old pictures of Adventure Island in"/><ref name="AdventureIsland">{{Cite web|url=http://adventureisland.co.uk/about-us/|title=About us {{!}} Adventure Island|website=adventureisland.co.uk|access-date=2017-06-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/18405484.southend-adventure-island-boating-lake/|title=Southend Adventure Island when it was a boating lake|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=25 April 2020}}</ref> In 2010, the theme park entered the [[Guinness World Records]] when the record for the number of nude people on a roller coaster.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.attractionsmanagement.com/index.cfm?subID=0&pagetype=news&codeID=209043&dom=n&email=web&pub=AMe&date=|title=Theme park sets "nude world record"|magazine=Attractions Management|date=9 August 2010}}</ref> The park won Silver in the "Best Theme Park for Families" at the UK Theme Park Awards in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukthemeparkawards.com/winners/2022|title=2022 Winners|website=UK Theme Park Awards|date=22 September 2022}}</ref>

===Other seafront attractions===
''SeaLife Adventure'' [[aquarium]] and zoo is located at the east end of City Beach and has been open since 1993. It is owned by the same company as Adventure Island.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/meerkat-escape-essex-southend-sea-life-adventure-centre-a9004211.html|title=Meerkats spotted running around Essex seafront after man breaks into Southend wildlife centre|newspaper=The Independent|date=14 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="Southend Sealife Adventure marks 30"/>  The centre received ''world class'' accredited status by the [[British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums]] in July 2025.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/25283103.sealife-adventure-southend-recognised-world-class-zoo/?callback=in&code=ZGQYYTZLNTETNZG1ZC0ZYWM3LTKZNZCTYZEYNGQ2N2YZMWE3&state=f76017a9c4014194ab6120aa13bab28a|title=Sealife Adventure Southend recognised as 'world-class' zoo|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=3 July 2025}}</ref>

As of May 2024, Southend has four [[Keep Britain Tidy]] [[Blue Flag beach|Blue Flag]] awarded beaches at East Beach, Shoebury Common, Three Shells and Westcliff Bay.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24320313.southend-beaches-handed-blue-flag-seaside-awards/|title=Southend beaches handed Blue Flag and Seaside Awards|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=15 May 2024}}</ref> A modern vertical lift links the base of the High Street with the seafront and the new pier entrance.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/20601146.southend-pier-hill-lift-seafront-action/|title=Southend Pier Hill lift to seafront is out of action|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=4 August 2022}}</ref>

====Former attractions====
The cliff gardens, which included [[Never Never Land]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23314210.archives-southends-never-never-land/|title=Southend's Never Never Land: photos show former attraction|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=12 February 2023}}</ref> and a Victorian bandstand were an attraction until slippage in 2003 made parts of the cliffs unstable.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://southendband.com/history/|title=The Official Town Civic Band|website=The Southend Band|access-date=9 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5443411.southend-cliffs-are-on-move-again/|title=Southend: Cliffs are on move again|newspaper=Essex County Standard|date=20 January 2004}}</ref> The bandstand has been removed and re-erected in Priory Park.<ref name="echo-news.co.uk"/>

===Festival events===
The Southend-on-Sea Film Festival is an annual event that began in 2009 and is run by the White Bus film and theatrical company based at The Old Waterworks Arts Center located inside a Victorian era Old Water Works plant. [[Ray Winstone]] attended the opening night gala in both 2010 and 2011, and has become the Festival Patron.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southendfilmfestival.com/latest_news.html |title=Latest News |access-date=4 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823093051/http://www.southendfilmfestival.com/latest_news.html |archive-date=23 August 2011 }}</ref> Southend is also home to Horror-on-Sea festival, again run by the White Bus Company, which was founded in 2013. The festival for independent horror films takes place over two weekends in January.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-67969717|title=Gore fans gather in Southend-on-Sea for the horror version of Cannes|website=BBC|date=14 January 2024}}</ref>

Since 2021, the city has hosted a Halloween parade in October, while the Leigh Art Trail runs during July. Two events that started in 2022 were Southend City Jam, a street art festival and LuminoCity, a light festival.<ref name=guard2023/> Southend City Council announced the cancellation of the light festival for 2024 due to budget cuts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24031501.luminocity-southend-look-back-festival-cancelled/|title=LuminoCity Southend: a look back after festival cancelled|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=6 January 2024}}</ref> The Old Leigh Regatta takes place every September,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://leighlions.co.uk/leigh-regatta-2017|title=Old Leigh Regatta|website=Leigh Lions|date=29 March 2023}}</ref> while Leigh Folk Festival has run since 1992.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23952520.leigh-folk-festival-organisers-cancel-2024-event/|title=Leigh Folk Festival: organisers cancel 2024 event|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=28 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/25198498.leigh-folk-festival-full-line-up-announced-june-event/|title=Leigh Folk Festival full line-up announced for June event|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=28 May 2025}}</ref> The Southend Jazz Festival has been run since 2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23770126.southend-jazz-festival-returning-fourth-year/|title=Southend Jazz Festival returning for a fourth year|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=6 September 2023}}</ref>

Between 2008 and 2019, Chalkwell Park became home to the Village Green Art & Music Festival for a weekend every July.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/11814372.Village_Green_festival_keeps_entry_charge_as_details_for_2015_bash_are_revealed/|title=Village Green festival keeps entry charge as details for 2015 bash are revealed |work= Evening Echo |date=24 February 2015|access-date=30 March 2015}}</ref>

The London to Southend Classic Car Run takes place each summer. It is run by the South Eastern Vintage and Classic Vehicle Club.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.essexclassicvehicles.co.uk/Page1.php|title=South Eastern Vintage and Classic Vehicle Club|access-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>

The Southend Shakedown, organised by [[Ace Cafe]], is an annual event that started in 1998, featuring motorbikes and scooters. It took a three-year hiatus before returning in 2025.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0jzdpn71e3o.amp|title=Much-loved biker event makes comeback|website=BBC|date=21 April 2025}}</ref> There are other scooter runs throughout the year, including the Great London Rideout, which arrives at Southend seafront each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/8993940.bikers-ride-into-town-for-southend-shakedown/|title=Bikers ride into town for Southend Shakedown|website=Echo|date=26 April 2011}}</ref>

===Parks and nature reserves===
<gallery>
File:Southend Cliff Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 734118.jpg|Southend Cliff Gardens
File:Southend-on-Sea, UK - panoramio - cezma.jpg|Priory Park
File:Prittlewell Square.jpg|Prittlewell Square
</gallery>

Southend is home to many recreation grounds. Its first formal park to open was [[Prittlewell Square]] in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southend.gov.uk/downloads/file/3854/parks_and_greenspaces_strategy|title=Parks and Greenspaces Strategy 2015-20.pdf - Southend-on-Sea Borough Council|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref> Since then [[Prittlewell Priory|Priory Park]],<ref>{{cite sign|title=Commemorative plaque|year=1920|publisher=
Southend Museums Service|location=Priory Park gates}}</ref> Victory Sports Grounds<ref>{{cite web|title=Victory Sports Ground Trust Annual Report: year ended 31st March 2009|url=http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends21%5C0000803621_ac_20090331_e_c.pdf|publisher=Charity Commission|access-date=14 March 2013}}</ref> and Jones Corner Recreation Ground were donated by the town benefactor [[R A Jones]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Yearsley|first=Ian|title=Priory Park Preservation Society: R A Jones|url=http://www.ppps.org.uk/history/rajones.html|publisher=Priory Park Preservation Society|access-date=14 March 2013}}</ref> Other formal parks that have opened since are [[Chalkwell Park]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3FN4VL5lEwC&dq=%22Chalkwell%22+essex&pg=PA716|title=Essex: The Buildings of England|author=Pevsner. N|date=2007|isbn=9780300116144|page=716|publisher=Yale University Press}}</ref> and [[Southchurch Hall]]<ref name="Southchurch Hall Historic House">{{cite web|title=Southchurch Hall Historic House|url=http://www.southend.gov.uk/info/200070/museums_and_galleries/631/southchurch_hall_historic_house/1|publisher=Southend-on-Sea Borough Council|access-date=12 March 2013}}</ref> along with [[Southchurch Park]], [[Garon Park]] and [[Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges|Gunners Park]].

Part of Southend's [[Benfleet and Southend Marshes|foreshore]] is designated a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]], while there are nature reserves at [[Great Wood and Dodd's Grove|Belfairs]] and [[Belton Hills]].

===Conservation areas and architecture===
{{Main|List of conservation areas and listed buildings in Southend-on-Sea}}

<gallery>
File:3-6 Royal Terrace, Southend on sea, Essex.jpg|The Royal Terrace, Southend
File:Southend-on-Sea war memorial - geograph.org.uk - 734140.jpg|Southend-on-Sea War Memorial
File:Porters Civic House and Mayor's Parlour, Southchurch Road, Southend-on-Sea.jpg|Porters Civic House and Mayor's Parlour, Southchurch Road, Southend-on-Sea
</gallery>

Southend has various [[Conservation area (United Kingdom)|conservation areas]] across the city, with the first being designated in 1968.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southend.gov.uk/info/200422/conservation_areas/400/clifftown_conservation_area|title=Clifftown Conservation Area – Southend on Sea Borough Council|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> Nationally Historic England have 124 recorded listed buildings within the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/results/?search=Southend-on-sea+&searchType=NHLE+Simple|title=Southend-on-Sea|website=Historic England|access-date=11 June 2024}}</ref> Five of these are Grade 1 listed: [[St Mary's Church, Prittlewell]]; [[St Laurence and All Saints Church, Eastwood]]; [[Southchurch Hall]]; [[Prittlewell Priory]] and Porters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/results/?search=Southend-on-sea+&searchType=NHLE+Simple&facetValues=facet_cb_url_ListingI%3AListing%24%24I%3Ahcgrade%7C|title=Search Southend-on-Sea|website=Historic England|access-date=16 August 2025}}</ref>

===Art, galleries, museums and libraries===
<gallery>
File:Southend-on-Sea Museum - geograph.org.uk - 560855.jpg|Southend Central Museum, Victoria Avenue
File:Beecroft Art Gallery front.jpg|[[Beecroft Art Gallery]], Victoria Avenue
File:Southchurch Hall, Southend (north-west elevation) - geograph.org.uk - 5708565.jpg|Southchurch Hall
File:Prittlewell Priory.jpg|Prittlewell Priory
File:Return sculpture, Southend-on-Sea, England.JPG|Bronze sculpture called ''Return'' located in Victoria Circus, outside Southend Victoria station. Designed by Belgian sculptor Rene Julien. 2011.
</gallery>

Southend Museums, part of Southend on Sea City Council, operates two historic houses, [[Southchurch Hall]] and [[Prittlewell Priory]]; the [[Beecroft Art Gallery]] and the [[Southend Central Museum|Southend Central Museum and Planetarium]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Southend Museums|url=http://www.southendmuseums.co.uk/|publisher=Southend Museums Service|access-date=12 March 2013}}</ref> The museums service looks after around 50,000 objects including collections of archaeology, natural history, social history, fashion and textile, fine art and photography. Southend Central Museum is the home of the world-renowned [[Prittlewell royal Anglo-Saxon burial|Prittlewell Princely Burial]] artefacts.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.foxnews.com/science/grave-ancient-christian-prince-reveals-treasures-king-tuts-tomb | title=Grave of ancient Christian 'prince' reveals its treasures, is UK's 'King Tut's tomb' | website=[[Fox News]] | date=10 May 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/anglo-saxon-burial-site-scli-intl-gbr/index.html | title=Secrets of Anglo-Saxon tomb found behind Aldi supermarket revealed | date=9 May 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vice.com/es/article/motherboard-tumba-antiguo-principe-hallada-bar-supermercado/ | title=La tumba de un antiguo príncipe fue hallada entre un bar y un supermercado | date=14 May 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lastampa.it/topnews/tempi-moderni/2019/05/09/news/l-incredibile-scoperta-della-tomba-del-principe-saexa-il-tutankhamon-inglese-1.33700790/ |title=L'Incredibile scoperta della tomba del principe Saexa, il Tutankhamon inglese | date=9 May 2019 }}</ref>

Independent museums and archives include [[The Jazz Centre UK]], a jazz cultural centre, that has operated out of the [[Beecroft Art Gallery]] since 2016<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-65764376|title=Southend-on-Sea: Jazz Centre set to remain in Beecroft Gallery home|website=BBC|date=31 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.jazzwise.com/news/article/the-jazz-centre-uk-wins-fight-to-stay-at-beecroft-art-gallery-location|title=The Jazz Centre UK wins fight to stay at Beecroft Art Gallery location|magazine=JazzWise|date=14 July 2023}}</ref> and Southend Pier Museum, located on [[Southend Pier]].

Focal Point Gallery, based in [[The Forum Southend-on-Sea|The Forum]], is South Essex's gallery for contemporary visual art, promoting and commissioning major solo exhibitions, group and thematic shows, a programme of events including performances, film screenings and talks, as well as offsite projects and temporary public artworks. The organisation is funded by Southend-on-Sea City Council and Arts Council England.<ref name=guard2023>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/mar/22/an-arty-weekend-in-southend-on-sea-essex|title=An arty weekend in ... Southend-on-Sea, Essex|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 March 2023}}</ref>

The Old Waterworks Arts Centre operates on North Road, Westcliff in the former Victorian water works building. It holds art exhibitions, talks and workshops.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southendstandard.co.uk/news/echo/10162225.VIDEO__Westcliff_TAP_gallery_opens_its_doors_after_revamp/ |title=Westcliff TAP gallery opens after fire |work=Southend Standard |date=17 January 2013|access-date=30 March 2015}}</ref>

Metal, the art organisation set up by [[Jude Kelly]] has been based in Chalkwell Hall since 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitsouthend.co.uk/culture/2579/Metal/|title=Metal – visitsouthend.co.uk|access-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019221322/http://www.visitsouthend.co.uk/culture/2579/Metal/|archive-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> The organisation offers residency space for artists and also organised the Village Green Art & Music Festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/jul/23/southend-essex-seaside-arts-festivals-seaside-family-holidays|title=Southend-on-Sea: the arty way is Essex – The Guardian – Joanna O'Connor p.23 July 2017|website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=23 July 2017|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> The park is also home to NetPark, which claims to be the world's first digital art park.<ref name=guard2023/>

Southend has several small libraries located in Leigh, Westcliff, Kent Elms and Southchurch. The central library has moved from its traditional location on Victoria Avenue to [[The Forum Southend-on-Sea|The Forum]] in Elmer Approach, a new facility paid for by Southend Council, South Essex College and The University of Essex. It replaced the former Farringdon Multistorey Car Park. The old Central Library building (built 1974) has become home to the Beecroft Gallery and the Jazz Centre UK.<ref name=guard2023/> This building had replaced the former [[Carnegie library|Carnegie funded free library]], that opened in 1906, and is now home to the [[Southend Central Museum]].<ref name=Everritt34/>

===Theatres===
====Current venues====
<gallery>
File:The Cliffs Pavilion - geograph.org.uk - 734107.jpg|The Cliffs Pavilion
File:The Palace Theatre, Westcliff - geograph.org.uk - 1114218.jpg|Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea
File:Cliff Town United Reformed Church - geograph.org.uk - 793477.jpg|Clifftown Theatre - part of East 15's Southend campus
</gallery>
The Edwardian [[Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea|Palace Theatre]] is a Grade II [[listed building]] that opened in 1912. It shows plays by professional troupes and repertory groups, as well as comedy acts. The theatre has two circles and the steepest rake in Britain. The theatre was given to the town by its then owner Gertrude Mouillot in 1942, on the condition that local amateur groups could continue to use the theatre.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DB2tCwAAQBAJ&dq=southend+during+the+1920s&pg=PT102|title=Southend in 50 Buildings|author=Ian Yearsley|date=2016|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=9781445651897}}</ref> A smaller venue called The Dixon Studio was added in the early 1980s after a fundraising campaign by the Palace Theatre Trust led by [[J F Dixons|John F Dixon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.palacetheatreclub.org.uk/content/palace-theatre/palace-theatre-history|title=Construction of the Dixon Studio|website=Palace Theatre History|access-date=17 February 2023}}</ref>

The [[Cliffs Pavilion]] is the largest purpose built arts venue in Essex.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5YiIzxJT5o8C&dq=cliffs+pavilion+biggest+arts+venue+in+essex&pg=PA33|title=The Hidden Places of East Anglia. Including Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire|author=Barbara Vesey|date=2003|isbn=9781902007915|page=33|publisher=Travel Publishing }}</ref> Plans for a theatre<ref>{{cite news|url=https://pin.it/76sPPhtl9|title=The new pavilion is taking shape|newspaper=Southend Star|date=11 February 1964|page=84}}</ref> on the site started in 1935 but was suspended by the outbreak of World War II.<ref name=echodec23/><ref name=yearsley/> After the war, work was started on building a theatre that could host shows, concerts and private functions. The building was opened by the actor, writer and director [[Bernard Miles|Sir Bernard Miles]] in July 1964, with the first show opening the next day starring [[Norman Vaughan (comedian)|Norman Vaughan]] and his troupe of dancers, the Swinging Lovelies.<ref name=echodec23/> In 1991–92, the site was extended with a new Foyer Bar and a balcony added to the auditorium, increasing the capacity to 1,600.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/24141478.cliffs-pavilion-major-8million-refurbishment-hit-delays/|title=Cliffs Pavilion major £8million refurbishment hit by delays|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=26 February 2024}}</ref><ref name=yearsley/> The venue hosts a variety of concerts, shows and performances on ice, as well as pantomimes at Christmas. Artists that have performed at the Cliffs include [[Paul McCartney]]<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/concert/1991-07-19/|title=Westcliff-on-Sea • Friday 19 July 1991|website=The Paul McCartney Project|access-date=13 June 2024}}</ref> and [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]], whose live DVD [[Live by the Sea]] was recorded at the Cliffs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23356602.oasis-filmed-southend---old-photos-unearthed/|title=When Oasis filmed in Southend - old photos unearthed|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=1 March 2023}}</ref>

The [[Cliff Town Congregational Church|Clifftown Theatre]] is located in the former Clifftown United Reformed Church and as well as regular performances is part of the East 15 Acting School campus.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clifftowntheatre.co.uk/|title=Clifftown Theatre|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref>

====Former venues====
The [[New Empire Theatre]] closed in 2009. Unlike the Cliffs Pavilion or the Palace Theatre, the theatre was privately run, and hosted more amateur groups. The theatre was converted from the old ABC Cinema, which had previously been the Empire Theatre built in 1896.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/315-new-empire-theatre|title=New Empire Theatre - The Theatres Trust|website=www.theatrestrust.org.uk|language=en|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref> The theatre closed after a dispute between the trust that ran the theatre and its owners. The building was badly damaged by fire on Saturday 1 August 2015<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/13525054.Fall_of_the_Empire___burned_out_theatre_in_pictures/|title=Fall of the Empire – burned out theatre in pictures |work=Evening Echo |date=3 August 2015|access-date=13 August 2015}}</ref> and was demolished in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southendstandard.co.uk/news/15134920.Cinema_demolition_is_finally_underway/|title=Cinema demolition is finally underway|website=Southend Standard|date=6 March 2017 |access-date=23 November 2018}}</ref>

Other former venues included the Floral Hall on Western Esplanade that burnt down in 1937,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23162475.floral-hall-brought-music-western-esplanade-fire-1937/|title=Floral Hall brought music to Western Esplanade until a fire in 1937|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=4 December 2022}}</ref> while the Sundeck Theatre was at the pier head and hosted acts like [[Arthur English]], until it closed and was converted to the Diamond Horseshoe Showbar which was destroyed by fire in 1976.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5512216.southend-its-showtime-on-the-pier-again/|title=Southend: It's showtime on the pier again|newspaper=Colchester Gazette|date=4 May 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cutpurse |first=Molly |title=The Chronologically Challenged Funeral Director |year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rKJzAgAAQBAJ |isbn=9-781-44576-926-4|page=163|publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref> The largest lost theatre was the Hippodrome in Southchurch Road, designed by [[Bertie Crewe]], which opened in 1909. The theatre could hold 1,750 on three tiers, hosting acts like [[Harry Houdini]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-21056956|title=Harry Houdini Southend escape to be re-enacted by council worker|website=BBC|date=17 January 2013}}</ref> but was purchased by [[Gaumont-British#Cinema|Gaumont Theatres]] and was converted to a cinema in 1933.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Southend.htm#hipp|title=Theatres and Halls in Southend-on-Sea, and Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex|website=Arthur Lloyd|access-date=13 June 2024}}</ref><ref name=Everritt34>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/southendseasideh0000ever/page/34/mode/1up|title=Southend Seaside Holiday|author=Everritt. S|date=1980|page=34|publisher=Phillimore |isbn=0850333342}}</ref>

===Cinema and film===
<gallery>
File:Two buses in Southend-on-Sea - geograph.org.uk - 2756114.jpg|Former Astoria/Odeon cinema - High Street
File:The ever changing face of Victoria Circus - geograph.org.uk - 533002.jpg|The current Odeon
</gallery>

Southend has one cinema – the Odeon Multiplex at Victoria Circus, which has eight screens. The borough of Southend had, at one time, a total of 18 cinema theatres,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southendtimeline.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425072618/http://www.southendtimeline.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=25 April 2009|title=Southend Timeline|website=Southend Timeline}}</ref> with the most famous being the Odeon (formerly the Astoria Theatre), which as well as showing films hosted live entertainers including the [[Beatles]] and [[Laurel and Hardy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://piley.blogspot.com/2010/08/more-memories-of-southend-cinema.html|title=Start The Revolution Without Me: More Memories of Southend Cinema!|date=23 August 2010}}</ref> This building no longer stands having been replaced by the Southend Campus of the University of Essex.

====On film====
Southend has appeared in films over the years, with the New York New York arcade on Marine Parade being used in the British gangster flick ''[[Essex Boys]]'', the premiere of which took place at the Southend Odeon.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Essex Boys premiere saw A-listers head to Southend's Odeon |url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/18782862.essex-boys-blockbuster-premiere-saw-a-listers-head-southends-odeon-cinema-2000/ |access-date=19 July 2022 |website=Echo |date=11 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Southend Airport was used for the filming of the [[James Bond]] film [[Goldfinger (film)|''Goldfinger'']].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Look back on the day Sir Sean Connery flew into Southend for Bond filming |url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/18846629.day-sean-connery-flew-southend/ |access-date=19 July 2022 |website=Echo |date=4 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Part of the 1989 [[black comedy]] film [[Killing Dad]] was set and filmed in Southend,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Killing Dad |url=https://www.timeout.com/movies/killing-dad |access-date=19 July 2022 |website=Time Out Worldwide |date=10 September 2012 |language=en-GB}}</ref> while [[Stephen Poliakoff]] used several locations in the city to film his 1981 film [[Bloody Kids]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/13873364.canvey-set-drama-features-host-of-screen-stars-before-they-were-famous/|title=Canvey-set drama features host of screen stars before they were famous|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=16 October 2015}}</ref> Southend and the surrounding areas were heavily used and featured in the Viral Marketing<ref>{{cite web |title=Jurassic World Dominion Dinotracker |url=https://www.dinotracker.com/ |access-date=15 June 2022 |website=www.dinotracker.com }}</ref> for the Universal Pictures 2022 American [[Science fiction film|science fiction]] [[action film]] sequel ''[[Jurassic World Dominion]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=England |first=Sophie |date=25 June 2022 |title=Jurassic World marketing campaigns filmed in Southend |url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/20233533.jurassic-world-marketing-campaigns-filmed-southend/ |access-date=25 June 2022 |website=Echo News}}</ref>

=== Music ===
====Venues====
<gallery>
Southend Christian Fellowship, 600 Southchurch Road, Southend-on-Sea (May 2024) (4).jpg|The Plaza Centre, Southchurch Road
</gallery>

Southend's primary music venues are Chinnerys, formerly Ivy House, and the [[Cliffs Pavilion]]. Chinnerys is a 400-person capacity club which has hosted the likes of the [[Arctic Monkeys]], [[The Charlatans (English band)|The Charlatans]] and [[The Libertines]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23795683.southend-chinnerys-see-new-indie-music-night-launch/|title=Southend Chinnerys to see new indie music night launch|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=19 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/11579138.keep-southend-uniteds-history-alive/|title=Keep Southend United's history alive|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=5 November 2014}}</ref> The Plaza, a Christian community centre and concert hall based on Southchurch Road that had previously been a cinema,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southend.gov.uk/info/200308/culture_in_southend/94/concert_series|title=Concert Series – Southend Borough Council|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref> regularly hosts concert performances.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southendchristianfellowship.org.uk/about-us/the-plaza-centre/ |title=The Plaza Centre – Southend Christian Fellowship|work=Southend Christian Fellowship |access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref>

====Former venues====
<gallery>
File:The Esplanade - geograph.org.uk - 2957405.jpg|The former Esplanade pub, now demolished
File:Chameleon nightclub, southend.jpg|Chameleon Nightclub in Lucy Road, Southend
</gallery>
The city has previously had some well-known venues:
* The Kursaal Ballroom hosted many of the big dance bands of the 20s and 40s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.victoriansociety.org.uk/endangered-buildings/landmark-essex-seaside-building-the-kursaal-on-victorian-societys-top-ten-endangered-buildings-list-2024/|title=Landmark Essex seaside building the Kursaal on Victorian Society's Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024|website=The Victorian Society|access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref> During the 1970s it became a renowned rock music venue, hosting acts such as [[Black Sabbath]], [[Deep Purple]], [[Thin Lizzy]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]] and [[AC/DC]].<ref name="KursaalPictures">{{Cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/11884694.From_the_Echo_archive__12_pictures_of_Southend_s_Kursaal_in_it_s_heyday/|title=From the Echo archive: 12 pictures of Southend's Kursaal in {{sic|it|'s|nolink=y|expected=its}} heyday|website=Echo|date=30 March 2015 |language=en|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.southendpunk.com/html/kursaalb.html|title=Southend Punk Rock History - Places - The Kursaal|website=www.southendpunk.com|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref> [[Dr. Feelgood (band)|Dr. Feelgood]] recorded their ''Going back home'' album which was also recorded on film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/11930461-Dr-Feelgood-Going-Back-Home-Live-At-The-Kursaal-Southern-1975|title=Dr. Feelgood – Going Back Home - Live At The Kursaal, Southern 1975|website=Discogs|access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://youtube.com/GzF0AETdRF8?si=NrHp2GPuA3qBcfk2|title=Dr Feelgood Live at the Kursaal|website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref> A photograph of the performance of AC/DC at The Kursaal in 1977 was used on the front cover of their ''[[Let There Be Rock]]'' album.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ac-dc.net/archive/acdc_tour_history.php?date_id=776|title=AC/DC Tour History - 19 Mar. 1977 Southend (Kursaal Ballroom)|website=www.ac-dc.net|access-date=12 May 2017}}</ref>
* Talk of the Town South in Lucy Road, opened in 1972 as a cabaret club and discotheque,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FkUEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22talk+of+the+south%22+southend&pg=PT73|title=Seeker Fever|magazine=Billboard|date=27 January 1973|page=74|via=Google Books}}</ref> with ''[[The Stage]]'' reporting at the time
{{blockquote|It was felt for a long time that Southend had paid too much attention to the younger generation and not nearly enough to the over-thirties and so it was, with this fact in mind, that the designers worked their overtime in an attempt to create decor suitable to marry different generations of people together quite compatibly. In the four months that Talk of the South has been operational, its results have proved so tremendously successful that managing director  Manzi now feels sure that the cabaret that has been previously missing from the area has not only been required, but indeed needed, for some considerable time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/19761535.wasnt-lonely-flocking-tots-southend/|title=When it wasn't only the lonely flocking to TOTS in Southend|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=5 December 2021}}</ref>}}
The club hosted big names including [[The New Seekers]], [[Frankie Howerd]], [[Buddy Greco]], [[Des O'Connor]] and [[Roy Orbison]]. The club morphed first into TOTS, then into TOTS 2000 in 1993 before becoming Talk nightclub in 2001.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5478348.southend-major-facelift-for-name-change-tots/|title=Southend: Major facelift for name-change TOTS|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=20 November 2001}}</ref> In 2015, [[Snoop Dogg]] held a DJ set at the club.<ref name=essexlive1021>{{cite news|url=https://www.essexlive.news/whats-on/music-nightlife/long-lost-nightclubs-essex-closed-4283488|title=Long lost Essex nightclubs we wish we could go back to for one last dance|website=Essex Live|date=30 October 2021}}</ref> The club closed for the last time on New Year's Eve 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/18001270.talk-nightclub-southend-close-40-years-new-years-eve/|title=Talk Nightclub, Southend, to close after 40 years on New Years Eve|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=30 October 2019}}</ref>
* The Esplanade pub was once a regular music venue. Situated on Western Esplanade, the building was opened in 1900. In the 70s it ran as a Pub Rock venue, called the Grand Canyon Club with the likes of [[Dr. Feelgood (band)|Dr. Feelgood]] performing there, while in 90s it hosted bands such as [[Pearl Jam]], [[Sneaker Pimps]], [[Reef (band)|Reef]] and [[Catatonia (band)|Catatonia]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/11488868.the-esplanade-pub-in-southend-to-be-knocked-down-and-replaced-with-a-restaurant/|title=The Esplanade pub in Southend to be knocked down and replaced with a restaurant|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=23 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/14934337.history-when-pearl-jam-sneaker-pimps-and-catatonia-graced-the-esp/|title=HISTORY: When Pearl Jam, Sneaker Pimps and Catatonia graced the 'Esp'|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=29 November 2016}}</ref>
* Originally opened as Mr. B's in the 1980s and hosted acts like [[The Prodigy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theprodigyontour.com/?cat=3|title=The Prodigy on Tour|website=The Prodigy on Tour|access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref> It was reopened as Adlib in 1994 by Dick de Vigne and Ian Reading,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.esl-systems.co.uk/projects/chameleon-nightclub-southend|title=Chameleon|website=Essex Sound and Light|access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phoenixfm.com/2011/12/17/club-culture-perfect-virtue-special/|title=Club Culture – Perfect Virtue Special|website=Phoenix FM|date=17 December 2011 |access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://mydigitalpublication.co.uk/publication/?i=648506&article_id=3593298&view=articleBrowser|title=Fitzroy spraks with Ian Reading|magazine=The Soul Survivors Magazine|date=30 January 2020}}</ref> hosting a host of big name DJs including [[Jeremy Healy]], [[Paul Oakenfold]] and [[Pete Tong]] at Glow nights, and the likes of [[Atomic Kitten]] and [[Steps (pop group)|Steps]] at Outrage nights.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://moxser.com/mixes/jeremy-healy-live-glow-adlib-nightclub-southend-on-sea-first-birthday-xx-xx-1997|title=Jeremy Healy Live @ Glow Adlib Nightclub Southend-on-Sea (First Birthday) (xx.xx.1997)|website=Moxser|access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ra.co/promoters/27825|title=Steve Cochrane|website=Resident Advisor|access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref> In October 1999, the club night Rage controversially held a Halloween party with act Nightmare, with Southend East MP, Sir Teddy Taylor, saying,
{{blockquote|This kind of horrific display will simply give a bad name to the Southend nightclub scene. Of course Halloween is meant to be a time of fun and celebration. I don't feel these grotesque displays are in that vein. This is simply part of a nasty culture growing up in parts of London which I don't think we want in Southend at all. How does it add to people's enjoyment to see people being dismembered and beheaded?<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5521746.southend-europes-goriest-act-on-the-way/|title=Southend: Europe's goriest act on the way|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=22 October 1999}}</ref>}}
The club was bought by Luminar Leisure and in 2000 was refurbished and renamed as Chameleon.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/5514679.southend-nightclubs-1-million-revamp/|title=Southend: Nightclub's £1 million revamp|newspaper=Daily Gazette|date=20 March 2000}}</ref> Chameleon hosted various club nights, but was known for its alternative Panic night on Fridays, which hosted DJs like Radio 1's [[Daniel P. Carter]] until it ended in 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/10837973.radio-1-dj-will-host-club-night/|title=Radio 1 DJ will host club night|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=2 December 2013}}</ref><ref name=essexlive1021/> The club hosted the first Luck N Neat Juniors rave outside of London in April 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/17604769.luck-n-neat-juniors-rave-held-southend/|title=Luck N Neat Juniors rave held in Southend|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=29 April 2019}}</ref> Later that year, owner Dick de Vigne put the club up for sale, however the club remained open until the Covid lockdown and has never reopened.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/17776623.dick-de-vignes-nightclub-goes-sale-southend/|title=Dick de Vigne's nightclub goes up for sale in Southend|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=17 July 2024}}</ref>
* For twenty years, the Sunrooms in Market Place, Southend hosted a variety of big name DJs including [[Scroobius Pip]] and [[Nina Kraviz]] before closing in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/10656879.sunrooms-in-southend-to-close-down-after-20-years/|title=Sunrooms in Southend to close down after 20 years|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=6 September 2013}}</ref>

====Southend scene====
Southend has had a nationally renowned rock music scene since the 1960s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g3tPAAAAMAAJ&q=southend+music+scene|title=Towns for People. Transforming Urban Life|author=Ken Worpole|date=1992|isbn=9780335099658|page=85|publisher=Open University Press }}</ref> [[The Paramounts]] had chart success in the early 1960s, before morphing into [[Procol Harum]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Procol Harum Beyond the Pale|author=Claes Johansen|date=2000|publisher=SAF Publishing |isbn=9780946719280}}</ref> During the 70s, Southend was a big part for the [[Pub rock (United Kingdom)|Pub rock]] scene,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXyFAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22pub+rock%22+southend&pg=PT1752|title=The Music Sound|author=Nicolae Sfetcu|date=2014}}</ref> with Paul Shuttleworth and [[Will Birch]] running a pub rock venue at The Esplanade, with other venues like The Top Alex,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/raising-the-bar-the-chaotic-story-of-pub-rock|title=Raising the bar: the chaotic story of pub rock|magazine=Classic Rock|date=1 June 2020}}</ref> and influential acts like [[The Kursaal Flyers]] and [[Mickey Jupp]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D54EswEACAAJ|title=Hole in My Pocket: The True Legend of Mickey Jupp: the Rock'n'roll Genius Who Declined to Be a Star|last=Wade|first=Mike|date=2015 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |isbn=9781506088037}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/29/i-dont-want-my-career-resurrected-the-last-orders-of-pub-rock-pioneer-mickey-jupp|title='I don't want my career resurrected!' The last orders of pub rock pioneer Mickey Jupp|newspaper=The Guardian|date=29 July 2022}}</ref> In 1989, an album ''The Southend Connection'' was released to celebrate the roots of the genre in the town.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKY4AQAAIAAJ&q=%22the+southend+connection%22 |title=The Southend Connection|magazine=Option|issue=30–35|date=1990|page=117}}</ref> Later in the decade, Southend had a big punk rock scene producing notable bands The Machines, The Sinyx and [[Kronstadt Uprising (band)|Kronstadt Uprising]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://museumcrush.org/mods-rockers-skinheads-punks-snapshots-of-southends-subcultural-history/|title=Mods, Rockers, Skinheads, Punks: Snapshots of Southend's Subcultural History|website=Museum Crush|date=15 November 2018}}</ref> Media theorist [[Dick Hebdige]] stated that punk originated from "a whole range of heterogeneous youth styles: glitter rock, American proto-punk, London pub-rock, Southend R & B bands, Northern soul and reggae".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jkWLCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22punk%22+southend+Dick+Hebdige&pg=PA70 |title=The Fornes Frame. Contemporary Latina Playwrights and the Legacy of Maria Irene Fornes|author=Anne García-Romero|date=2016|isbn=9780816531448|page=70|publisher=University of Arizona Press }}</ref>

In the early 1990s, rock bands such as Understand and Above All had [[Kerrang!]] compare the Southend music scene to punk rock meccas New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington DC.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/05/understand-on-the-90s-punk-scene-that-shunned-them|title='In Southend, not being glassed was an achievement': the might and misfortune of UK rockers Understand|newspaper=The Guardian|date=5 April 2023}}</ref> Between 2001 and 2006, the ''Southend scene'' was centered on the Junk Club, which was held in the basement of the Royal Hotel. It was run by Oliver "Blitz" Abbott & Rhys Webb of The Horrors, and the underground club night played an eclectic mix from Post Punk to Acid House, 1960s Psychedelia to Electro. The club was influential and featured nationally in the [[NME]]; [[Dazed|Dazed & Confused]]; [[i-D]]; [[Rolling Stone]]; [[The Guardian]] and [[British Vogue|Vogue]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/sep/01/popandrock2|title=The beach boys|date=1 September 2006|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref name=Osgerby>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PxlQBwAAQBAJ&dq=junk+club+Southend&pg=PA74|title=Subcultures, Popular Music and Social Change|author=William Osgerby|date=2014|isbn=9781443867375|pages=73–75|publisher=Cambridge Scholars }}</ref> Acts associated with the scene included:
* [[The Horrors]]<ref name=Osgerby/>
* [[These New Puritans]]<ref name=Osgerby/>
* [[The Violets]]<ref name=Echo4909>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/4579763.will-horrors-cause-a-scream-at-awards/|title=Will Horrors cause a scream at awards?|newspaper=4 September 2009}}</ref>
* [[Ipso Facto (band)|Ipso Facto]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/mar/03/it-was-nuts-what-we-got-away-with-remembering-the-00s-uk-indie-explosion|title='It was nuts what we got away with': remembering the 00s UK indie explosion|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 March 2023}}</ref>
* [[Neils Children]]<ref name=Echo4909/>
* [[No Bra (band)|No Bra]]<ref name=ECC>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2008/08/19/experimentalcircle_feature.shtml|title=Experimental Circle Club|website=BBC|date=11 March 2009}}</ref>
* [[Ulterior (band)|Ulterior]].<ref name=ECC/>

====Videos and songs====
Southend has been used as the location for several music videos, by artists such as [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]], [[Morrissey]] and [[George Michael]].<ref>[http://www.lovesouthend.co.uk/landmarks-attractions/top-10-music-videos-shot-southend.html "Music Videos Shot in Southend"], ''Love Southend''</ref> The city is mentioned in a number of songs including [[Elton John]]'s track ''Bitter Fingers'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genius.com/Elton-john-bitter-fingers-lyrics|title=Elton John Lyrics - Bitter Fingers|website=Genius|access-date=14 June 2024}}</ref> ''Picture Book'' by [[The Kinks]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genius.com/The-kinks-picture-book-lyrics|title=Picture Book. The Kinks|website=Genius|access-date=14 June 2024}}</ref> and in [[Billy Bragg]]'s hymn to Essex, ''A13, Trunk Road to the sea'', a British version of ''[[(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66|Route 66]]'', where the final line of the chorus is "Southend's the end".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Billy Bragg - A13 Trunk Road to the Sea Lyrics |url=https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107859516425/ |access-date=26 July 2022 |website=SongMeanings |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qdsfrYAu-x8C&dq=a13+essex+is+the+route+66+music+john+peel&pg=PA121|title=The Peel Sessions. A Story of Teenage Dreams and One Man's Love of New Music|author=Ken Garner|date=2010|isbn=9781409074830|page=121|publisher=Random House }}</ref>

====Artists and bands====
Southend has had numerous bands and musicians that have originated from the town, including:
{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* [[Busted (band)|Busted]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-65114886|title=Busted: Stardom in social media age is a 'different thing'|website=BBC|date=30 March 2023}}</ref>
* [[Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/sam-duckworth-interview-get-cape-wear-cape-fly-recreations-beaches-aint-shit-a7357926.html|title=Sam Duckworth interview: 'I love making music and without sounding corny it feels like this is what I'm meant to do' – The Independent 12 October 2016|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|access-date=7 January 2018|date=12 October 2016|archive-date=24 May 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/sam-duckworth-interview-get-cape-wear-cape-fly-recreations-beaches-aint-shit-a7357926.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Danielle Dax]]<ref name="Larkin80">{{cite book |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music]] |editor-first=Colin |editor-last=Larkin |editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |date=2003 |edition=3rd |isbn=1-85227-969-9 |pages=144–145}}</ref>
* [[Eddie and the Hot Rods]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-okDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22eddie+and+the+hot+rods%22+southend&pg=PA135|title=The Damned - The Chaos Years An Unofficial Biography|author=Barry Hutchinson|date=2017|isbn=9780244302566|page=135|publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref>
* [[Eight Rounds Rapid]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://matrix-music.com/artist/eight-rounds-rapid/|title=EIGHT ROUNDS RAPID|website=Matrix Music|access-date=9 June 2024}}</ref>
* [[The Horrors]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/4533792.the-horrors-are-just-the-latest-in-a-long-line-of-south-essex-hitmakers/|title=The Horrors are just the latest in a long line of south Essex hitmakers|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=8 June 2019}}</ref>
* [[The Kursaal Flyers]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2xiVAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22the+kursaal+flyers%22+southend&pg=PA161|title=101 Songs To Discover From The Seventies|author=James McCarraher|date=2012|isbn=9781447862666|page=161|publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref>
* [[Mickey Jupp]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NOQkBQAAQBAJ&dq=mickey+jupp+southend&pg=PA164|title=Be Stiff. The Stiff Records Story|author=Richard Balls|date=2014|isbn=9780957570061|page=164|publisher=Soundcheck Books }}</ref>
* [[Nothing But Thieves]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.echonews.co.uk/news/11342998.We___ve_just_been_signed_to_the_same_record_label_as_Pharrell_Williams_and_David_Bowie/ |title=We've just been signed to the same record label as Pharrell Williams and David Bowie |website=echo-news.co.uk |access-date=11 May 2015 |first=Kelly |last=Buckley |date=17 July 2014 |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116075622/https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/11342998.weve-just-been-signed-to-the-same-record-label-as-pharrell-williams-and-david-bowie/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[The Paramounts]]
* [[Procol Harum]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0DMDAwAAQBAJ&q=procum+harlem+southend|title=Procol Harum: The Ghosts Of A Whiter Shade of Pale|author=Henry Scott-Irvine|date=2012|publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=9780857128027}}</ref>
* [[These New Puritans]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.papermag.com/these-new-puritans-rip-it-up-and-start-again-1427219025.html|title=These New Puritans Rip It Up and Start Again|last=Kinney|first=Bunny|date=19 February 2014|website=Paper Magazine|access-date=19 July 2019}}</ref>
* [[Tonight (band)|Tonight]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/8729954.tonight-finally-release-album-after-32-years/|title=Tonight finally release album after 32 years|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=11 December 2010}}</ref>
* [[Wilko Johnson]]<ref name = Times>{{cite news|url = https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/wilko-johnson-raucous-guitarist-with-dr-feelgood-dies-aged-75-3lct3z62j|title = Wilko Johnson obituary|newspaper = [[The Times]]|date = 23 November 2022|access-date = 26 November 2022|url-access = subscription}}</ref>
}}

=== Radio ===
In 1981, Southend became the home of [[Essex FM|Essex Radio]], which broadcast from studios below Clifftown Road. The station was formed by several local companies, including Keddies, Garons and TOTS nightclub, with [[Murray David Maitland Keddie|David Keddie]], owner of the Keddies department store in Southend, becoming its chairman.<ref>{{cite web|title=Keddies|url=http://www.sarfend.co.uk/insouthend.html|website=In and Around Southend-on-Sea|publisher=Sarfend.co.uk|access-date=17 September 2014}}</ref> In 2004, the renamed Essex FM, then [[Heart Essex]] moved to studios in Chelmsford. It is now part of [[Heart East]].

The [[BBC Local Radio]] station that broadcasts to Southend is [[BBC Essex]].

On 28 March 2008, Southend got its own radio station for the first time, which was also shared with [[Chelmsford Radio]]. [[Southend Radio]] started broadcasting from purpose-built studios adjacent to the Adventure Island theme park.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sarfend.co.uk/southendradio|title=Sarfend.co.uk's page on Radio in Southend|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326181754/http://www.sarfend.co.uk/southendradio/|archive-date=26 March 2008}}</ref> The station merged with Chelmsford Radio in 2015 and became [[Radio Essex]].

=== Television ===
Southend is served by London and East Anglia regional variations of the [[BBC]] and [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]. Television signals are received from either [[Crystal Palace transmitting station|Crystal Palace]] or [[Sudbury transmitting station|Sudbury]] TV transmitters.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Crystal_Palace | title=Crystal Palace (Greater London, England) Full Freeview transmitter |date=May 2004 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Sudbury |title=Sudbury (Suffolk, England) Full Freeview transmitter |date=May 2004 }}</ref> The area can also pick up [[BBC South East]] and [[ITV Meridian]] from the [[Bluebell Hill transmitting station|Bluebell Hill]] TV transmitter.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Bluebell_Hill |title=Bluebell Hill (Medway, England) Full Freeview transmitter |date=May 2004 }}</ref>

Southend has appeared in several television shows and advertisements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southendtimeline.com/tvstar.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229052846/http://www.southendtimeline.com/tvstar.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=29 December 2011|title=Southend Timeline – TV Stars|access-date=9 February 2015}}</ref> It has been used on numerous occasions by the soap ''[[EastEnders]]'' with its most recent visit in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/10714703.Video__Eastenders_stars_take_to_the_streets_of_Southend_for_filming/|title=EastEnders starts take to Southend Streets |work= Evening Echo |date=3 October 2013|access-date=9 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/20022862.eastenders-times-filmed-city-southend/|title=EastEnders: Times they have filmed in the city of Southend|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=26 March 2022}}</ref> Southend Pier was used by [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] show [[Minder (TV series)|''Minder'']] for its end credits in season 8, 9 and 10,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.minder.org/locations/loc_endcredits_openingtitles.htm|title=Minder titles & Credits|access-date=9 February 2015}}</ref> and since 2014 has been home to ''[[Jamie & Jimmy's Friday Night Feast]]''. Advertisements have included Abbey National, CGU Pensions, National Lottery, the 2015 [[Vauxhall Motors|Vauxhall]] Corsa adverts featuring Electric Avenue, a seafront arcade<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/11737254.Southend_is_backdrop_for_new_prime_time_ad/?ref=mr|title=Southend is backfrop for new prime time ad |work=Evening Echo |date= 21 January 2015|access-date=9 February 2015}}</ref> the 2018 Guide Dogs for the Blind campaign<ref>{{cite web|url=https://marcommnews.com/guide-dogs-new-drtv-ad-reveals-inspirational-ambitions-of-a-tattoo-artist-following-sight-loss/|title=Guide Dogs' new DRTV ad reveals inspirational ambitions of a tattoo artist following sight loss|publisher=Marketing Communication News|date=4 October 2018|access-date=8 December 2020}}</ref> and for the promo for [[David Hasselhoff]]'s [[Dave (TV channel)|Dave]] programme ''Hoff the Record''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dave.uktv.co.uk/shows/hoff-the-record/|title=Hoff The Record – Dave Channel – UKTV.co.uk|access-date=13 August 2015}}</ref>

===In fiction===
Southend is the seaside holiday location chosen by the John Knightley family in [[Emma (novel)|''Emma'']] by [[Jane Austen]], published 1816.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pemberley.com/images/landt/maps/emma/SouthEnd.html|title=South End, Essex – Jane Austen Gazetteer – pemberley.com|access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref> The family arrived by stage coach and strongly preferred it to the choice of the Perry family, [[Cromer]], which was {{convert|100|mi|km|-1}} from London, compared to the easier distance of {{convert|40|mi|km|0}} from the London home of the John and Isabella Knightley, as discussed at length with Mr. Woodhouse in the novel in Chapter XII of volume one.

In ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' by [[Douglas Adams]], after being saved from death in the vacuum of space, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect find themselves in a distorted version of Southend (a consequence of the starship ''Heart of Gold'''s Infinite Improbability Drive). Dent briefly feared that both he and Prefect did in fact die, based on a childhood nightmare where his friends went to either Heaven or Hell but he went to Southend.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6LgGIvmSce0C&dq=The+Hitchhiker%27s+Guide+to+the+Galaxy+%22southend%22&pg=PT51|title=The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Original Radio Scripts|author=Douglas Adams|date=2012|publisher=Pan Macmillan |isbn=9781447204886}}</ref>

''[[Dance on My Grave]]'', a book by [[Aidan Chambers]], is set in Southend.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmuforia.co.uk/summer-of-85-2020/|title=Summer of 85|website=filmuforia.co.uk|date=17 October 2020|access-date=14 December 2020}}</ref> Chambers had worked as a teacher in the city's Westcliff High School for Boys for three years.<ref name=chambers>{{cite web|url=https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/aidan-chambers|title=Adrian Chambers|website=British Council.org|access-date=14 December 2020}}</ref>

In the novel [[Starter for Ten (novel)|Starter for Ten]] by [[David Nicholls (writer)|David Nicholls]], the main character Brian Jackson comes from Southend-on-Sea.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/oct/12/fiction.geraldinebedell|title=Geek is the word|newspaper=The Guardian|date=12 October 2003}}</ref> The book was adapted into a [[Starter for 10 (film)|2006 film]] directed by Tom Vaughan.

== Places of worship ==
There are churches in the borough catering to different Christian denominations, such as [[Our Lady Help of Christians and St Helen's Church, Westcliff-on-Sea|Our Lady Help of Christians and St Helen's Church]] for the Roman Catholic community. There are two synagogues; one for orthodox Jews, in Westcliff, and a reform synagogue in Chalkwell. Three mosques provide for the Muslim population; one run by the Bangladeshi community,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/maps.php#/mosque/815|title=Google Mosque Map – UK Mosques Directory|website=mosques.muslimsinbritain.org|access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref> and the others run by the Pakistani community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/maps.php#/mosque/2255|title=Google Mosque Map – UK Mosques Directory|website=mosques.muslimsinbritain.org|access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/maps.php#/mosque/2256|title=Google Mosque Map – UK Mosques Directory|website=mosques.muslimsinbritain.org|access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref>

There are two Hindu Temples, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baps.org/Global-Network/UK-and-Europe/Southend-on-Sea.aspx|title=BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir|website=BAPS Charities|access-date=10 March 2023}}</ref> and Southend Meenatshe Suntharasar Temple,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.facebook.com/southendmeenatshsuntharasartemple.suntharasar|title=Southend Meenatshe Suntharasar Temple|website=Facebook|access-date=10 March 2023}}</ref> while there is one Buddhist temple, Amita Buddha Centre.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/12877994.mayor-to-open-towns-first-buddhist-temple/|title=Mayor to open town's first Buddhist temple|newspaper=Evening Echo|date=8 April 2015}}</ref>

The [[Salvation Army]] has been based in Southend since 1887.<ref>{{cite periodical|url=https://archive.org/details/christian0000unse_l5t1/page/n117/mode/1up?q=%22southend-on-sea%22|title=Salvation Army|periodical=The Christian|date=27 January 1888|page=21}}</ref>

== Notable people ==
{{Main|List of people from Southend-on-Sea}}

==Freedom of the City==
{{Main|List of people from Southend-on-Sea}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Southend-on-Sea}}
{{Wikivoyage|Southend-on-Sea}}
* {{official website|http://www.southend.gov.uk/ }}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Southend-on-Sea |short=x}}

{{S-start}}
{{succession box | title=[[Local Government Chronicle|LGC]] Council of the Year| before=[[Blackburn with Darwen]] | after= | years=2012}}
{{S-end}}
{{Essex}}
{{East of England}}
{{UK cities}}
{{Unitary authorities of England}}
{{London commuter belt}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Southend-on-Sea| ]]
[[Category:Southend-on-Sea (district)| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Essex]]
[[Category:Beaches of Essex]]
[[Category:Local government districts of the East of England]]
[[Category:Local government in Essex]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Essex]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns of the North Sea]]
[[Category:Seaside resorts in Essex]]
[[Category:Unitary authority districts of England]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Essex]]
[[Category:Cities in the East of England]]
[[Category:Boroughs in England]]