Bed and breakfast accommodation in Southend-on-Sea Monasteries

Southend-on-the-Sea is known to be a great seaside resort, with a glorious stretch of sandy beach, and great attractions. But the suburb of Old Leigh gives a very different atmosphere to Southend, the old fishing village, also known as "The Old Town" echoes of a traditional fishing village.

The most famous landmark is the Southend Pier, the world’s longest iron pleasure pier, standing for over a century at 2.158km long - that’s just over a mile - and with truly stunning 360 degree views. And while walking along the pier, at the end you will find The Royal Pavilion, it hosts a busy year-round schedule of exhibitions, film screenings and all nature of live performance and events. 

If you walk along Southend-on-Sea’s High Street, towards the sea, you will see the family-friendly themed park surrounding the entrance of the Pier.  With over 50 rides and attractions, Adventure Island has plenty to offer, from the outrageous RAGE roller coaster to the calming slip of the Helter Skelter, the fun doesn’t stop.

And don’t forget to call in at the Southend Pier Museum, which documents almost 200 years of history, housing historic train cars, a toastrack tram from 1890 and vintage penny slot machines.

Travel

As the town centre is a reasonable size, it does not take long to get from one end of the town to another by foot and walking from Southend Victoria station to the sea will take maximum 15 minutes. From the seafront it is possible to walk towards Thorpe Bay or towards Westcliff within a few minutes.

If walking is not for you, Southend has a reliable, frequent bus service run by Arriva Buses and First Buses. The public transports run regularly during the day.

If you come by train, Southend Central station sits on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line and is the primary station serving the seaside town. The station is located in the town centre and easy to get to. 

If you come by plane, the town has its own airport which is only 10 minutes away from town by car. flying to places like Poland, Geneva, Barcelona, Edinburgh and Berlin. 

Southend was just a cluster of fishing huts on the Thames Estuary in Essex at the end of the 18th century.

In the early 1800s Southend came to the attention of Georgian high society when Princess Caroline visited with her five-year-old daughter, Princess Charlotte. And within decades the gigantic Southend Pier had been built, and the resort became a getaway of choice for Southeast England in the Victorian era and 20th century.

There are many churches in the borough of Southend-on-Sea. Some of these go back almost a thousand years and originally served scattered rural communities as well as the small fishing village of Leigh. The first settlement at Prittlewell was in the 6th century close to St Mary’s Church, and in fact the church still here today, contains evidence of a Saxon Arch. It was one of the most important churches back then. 

Another important religious site which marked the monastic life of the area was the Prittlewell Priory, located in Prittlewell, a district within the borough of Southend-on-Sea. It was founded in the 12th century as a cell by monks from the Cluniac Priory of St Pancras. The medieval priory was rather small and housed no more than 18 monks. The Grade I building has recently been restored and is now open to the public.