(area 18.45 sq km; pop. 37,000) is an island in the
River Thames estuary off the coast of
Essex ,
England . It is also the name of the
Town on that island, though this is sometimes shortened to '''Canvey'''.
The name Canvey is
Anglo Saxon in origin, and means "Cana's island", meaning that the modern name is a compound of two languages, meaning literally "Cana's island island". It was first recorded in
Manorial records of
1255 as ''Caneveye''. The island is not mentioned in the
Domesday Book of
1086 , but
Sheep grazing
Marsh land lying to the south of the
County is mentioned extensively.
Geologically , Canvey Island was originally part of the mainland, then the coastline broke up into smaller pieces, and the modern island is made up of five of those pieces. There are historical maps held at the
Essex Record Office that show where the five separate islands originally lay and it is thought that these are the marshes referred to in earlier records. Sheep farming was a mainstay industry of the island until very recently.
Because of the geological history of the island
Subsidence was a common problem and sea defences have been built to protect the island from the Thames since the
14th Century . In the early
17th Century Dutch builders were employed to reclaim land from the Thames and to strengthen the sea defences. Because of this a strong Dutch community formed in Canvey Island, evidence of which can still be found in local street names, place names and architecture. This Island is also home to the
Canvey Island Monster .
In
1791 ,
1881 and
1897 the whole island was almost completely submerged due to extensive
Flood ing of the River Thames. More modern sea defences have now been installed, and are maintained regularly. However, in
1953 the great
North Sea Flood hit the island and caused the death of 58 people.
The coast of Canvey was host to the Chapman Lighthouse famously described in
Joseph Conrad 's novel '
Heart Of Darkness '. It is believed that the peril of the mudflats below such shallow waters off the Canvey coast prompted the Romans to devise some form of beacon as a warning in the area. In
1851 a hexagonal lighthouse was constructed by the engineer James Walker, a consultant lighthouse engineer at Trinity House at the time. This all-iron
Lighthouse replaced a lightship which had been moored in the area for the preceding four years. The lighthouse was demolished in 1957 due to its poor condition.
During the
Second World War the island was one end of the
GHQ Line , a line of concrete
Pillbox es constructed as a defence against the expected
German invasion. Some of the old pillboxes are still in place today.
More recently (in the
1970s ), Canvey Island was a centre of the
Pub Rock Music al movement, featuring entertainers such as
Dr. Feelgood and
Ian Dury .
Other settlements on the island apart from the main town include
Newlands and
Leigh Beck . Other local islands include
Lower Horse and
Two Tree Island .
Canvey Island is the home of
Football Conference team
Canvey Island FC .
