Chalkwell

Chalkwell is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is situated on the north bank of the Thames Estuary and is in traditional terms still part of Westcliff-on-Sea. The ward of Chalkwell is bordered by Woodfield Road, Leigh-on-Sea to the west, London Road to the North and Valkyrie Road, Westcliff-on-Sea to the east.

History
Chalkwell as a suburb started in the early 20th century as a housing development on the former farmland of the Chalkwell Hall estate. The name is believed to be derived from chalk pits dug by farmers to neutralise acid soil. On the second Ordnance Survey map of 1897 it showed the area as open fields and brickworks. The current hall stands on the site of previous halls and was built in 1830, with the site opening as a public park in 1903 after the land and hall were purchased by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council. Nikolaus Pevsner selected several properties for mention in his guide to Essex, including a pair of semi detached houses on the corner of Galton Road and Chalkwell Avenue, and several properties in Imperial Avenue and Seymour Road.

The Crow Stone (less often called London Stone) stands high on a plinth on the mud on the Thames Estuary foreshore facing the south end of Chalkwell Avenue. The line, known as the Yantlet Line, between the Crow Stone and the London Stone, Yantlet Creek, almost due south on the other shore of the Thames is the eastern limit of the jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority (PLA). This is relevant to local byelaws such as for a locally qualified maritime pilot into and out of port of larger vessels and the PLA's authority to police navigation (which also reserves the right to go in hot pursuit). It was designated as a Grade II listed building in July 2021. This is the third stone erected on the Chalkwell foreshore, the original being placed in 1285, before the replacement from 1755 was found to be cracked and was moved to Priory Park.

Governance
Chalkwell is an electoral ward of Southend-on-Sea covering Chalkwell. It is represented by three local government councillors, each elected to serve a four-year term.

Councillors
Indicates Councillor elected that year.

2019 Southend Local Elections:Chalkwell
Green candidate compared to 2016 election

2016 Southend Local Elections:Chalkwell
UKIP candidate compared to 2014 election

Amenities
Chalkwell has a railway station on the c2c line, a few metres from the beach, with regular direct trains to London.

Chalkwell Park has hosted Essex County Cricket Club matches and is the home ground for two local cricket clubs. Metal, the art organisation set up by Jude Kelly OBE has been based in Chalkwell Hall since 2006. The organisation offers residency space for artists and also organises the Village Green Art & Music Festival. The festival ran from 2008 for a weekend every July, but has not run since 2019 due to covid. The park is also home to NetPark, which claims to be the world’s first digital art park. The park is home to the annual fair that accompanies the Southend Carnival.

Chalkwell Beach was awarded a Seaside Award in 2021, an English award for the best beaches. Chalkwell is home to two bowls clubs, Chalkwell Bowls Club which is based on Chalkwell Esplanade, and the Essex County Bowls Club that is based in Imperial Avenue. In 2009, an open water swimming club, the "Chalkwell Redcaps" was established.

Chalkwell is home to an Aldi supermarket.

Conservation Area
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council designated the Crowstone area of Chalkwell in 1990. The most prominent building in the conservation area is Crowstone House, built in 1905 and now a nursing home. The area is named after the North Eastern marker, the Crow Stone which marked the extent of power in history of the City of London and the Port of London Authority.

The only listed structure in Chalkwell is Chalkwell Hall, which has been Grade II listed since 1974.

Demography
At the 2001 UK census, the Chalkwell electoral ward had a population of 9,207, increasing to 10,045 at the 2011 Census. The ethnicity was 94.6% White, 1.2% Mixed, 2.7% Asian, 1.1% Black and 0.4% Other. The place of birth of residents was 91.1% United Kingdom, 1.3% Republic of Ireland, 1.6% other Western European countries and 6.0% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 63.4% Christian, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.8% Hindu, 0% Sikh, 6.7% Jewish, and 2% Muslim. 17.6% were recorded as having no religion, 0.5% had an alternative religion and 8.7% did not state any religion.

The economic activity of residents aged 16 to 74 was 41.5% in full-time employment, 10.2% in part-time employment, 11.4% self-employed, 4.2% unemployed, 2.1% students with jobs, 3.6% students without jobs, 11.2% retired, 6.7% looking after home or family, 5.9% permanently sick or disabled and 3.2% economically inactive for other reasons.

The industry of employment of residents was 13.2% retail, 8.8% manufacturing, 5% construction, 15.8% real estate, 11.3% health and social work, 9.3% education, 6% transport and communications, 5.4% public administration, 4.2% hotels and restaurants, 14.3% finance, 0.3% agriculture and 6.4% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in finance and education. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 21.9% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide. According to Office for National Statistics estimates, during the period of April 2004 to March 2005 the average gross weekly income of households was £670, compared with an average of £650 in South East England.