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The Essex Landscape as told by the Essex Biodiversity Project

According to The Essex Biodiversity Project there are eight regions in Essex that "has been identified of a general geomorphological, historical and landscape character"

1. The Boulder Clay Plateau


  • Comprises at least a third of the 
  • Thick, chalky clay soils left behind my the Anglian Stage of the Ice Age
  • Rivers dissecting the area formed the basis of settlement (villages, farms, hamlets etc)
  • " The soils are a rich, crop producing resource appreciated as far back as the Iron Age when Cunobelin, King of the Trinovantes, depicted an ear of bearded wheat on his coinage."
  • "a prosperous farming area until the agricultural depressions set in towards the end of the last century. "
  • 1950 - reductionist aims of agricultural improvement wrought extensive damage to the fabric of the landscape
  •  As a result there is considerable variety in the landscape quality even within a parish.
  • retaining a woodland protected by a Tree Preservation Order
  • Landscape features such as roads,lanes and field boundaries relate to topography and soil type, and fit the landscape in a way that planned landscapes often may not.
2. The Chalk


  • "The chalk which underlies the geology of Essex emerges in the extreme north-west to form an escarpment close to the Cambridgeshire border"
  • "farming history and pre-history is similar to that of the boulder clays"
  • a legacy of winding lanes and scattered ancient woods.
  • "Typical species remain Ash, Oak and Hazel rather than those species more typical of other base rich soils in southern England."

    • 3. The Bagshot Hills and Former Heathlands
    • "A transition zone separates the boulder clay plateau from the lower levels of the London clay to the south-east, effectively bisecting the county roughly below the line of the Roman road from London to Colchester, now the A12."
    • "wooded hills comprise some of the best landscapes in Essex and are high in wildlife carrying capacity and abundant in Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), nature reserves and country parks."
    • "uninteresting in landscape terms with the straight lines and planned characteristics of late enclosure, although rich in archaeology."

    4. The London Clay

    • "South and east of the Mid-Essex region lies the London clay, rising from the South Essex plain, stretching from Thurrock to Rochford"
    • "It is the largest Essex region after the boulder clays but very different in character and history"
    • Less fertile
    • Lacking chalk content
    • Farming is difficult on this land
    • sparse settlement because of the fertility
    • "The proximity of the coast gave a ready access for seaborne goods to markets as London grew, bringing a symbiosis; the coastal vessels evolving into the Thames and Blackwater barges brought produce to London and returned with “muck” to spread fertility on the clay fields and “inned” marshes.
    •  display the characteristics of early planned landscapes in marked contrast to the evolved landscape of the boulder clays. 
    • Elm trees are dominant over other trees in the area

    5. The Tendering Loams

    • "bounded by the magnificent drowned estuary of the Stour to the north, the Colne to the south, and the North Sea to the east."
    • "delicate and beautiful creeks and small valleys, and some clusters of woodland"
    6. The South East Essex Hills

    • "The Langdon and Hockley hills rise from the South Essex plain. "
    • "well wooded although much urbanised"
    7. The Thames Terraces
    • "A series of gravel terraces abut the Thames estuary in the Grays Thurrock area"
    • "a long history of mineral extraction, urban sprawl and Elm Disease and there is relatively little remaining of the historic landscape."
    8. The Marshes

    • "Extensive areas on the coast are former marshlands, now productive arable land, but still known as the Essex Marshes."
    • Sea walls have been constructed
    • In the Middle Ages the marshlands teemed with sheep, there were few roads and transport tended to be by boat or barge. 
    • No Hedgerows; they'd be odd in this landscape
    info: http://www.essexbiodiversity.org.uk/app/webroot/files/ibd/landscape.pdf

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