Museum dedicated to rural life, including the Discovery Centre, home to vintage tractors and interactive exhibits, the Craft Village, offering a range of craft workshops and individually owned business, and Barleylands Farm Park, featuring farmyard animals, birds of prey, two indoor playbarns and outdoor play areas.
Plot of land formerly used as an illegal encampment of travellers, which had been established without planning permission within the Green Belt. It was the largest such site in Europe before a clearance order was executed in October 2011 after 10 years of contention.
Collection of textiles, designs and paper records opened in 1993. It is the second largest collection of publicly owned textiles in the United Kingdom, consisting of some 100,000 items.
Large underground bunker maintained during the Cold War as a potential regional government headquarters. Since being decommissioned in 1992, the bunker has been open to the public as a tourist attraction, with a museum focusing on its Cold War history.
Series of military buildings constructed after the local common was used as a military camp in 1742, before becoming the East India Company's barracks in 1842 and then later the British headquarters of Ford Motor Company. The chapel was built in 1857 and now contains displays of regimental history, memorials, heraldry and regimental colours. Grade II listed building.
Pioneering modernist International style reinforced concrete building designed by Ove Arup from 1932 to 1933. It is the only building solely designed by the distinguished engineer in existence. Grade II listed building.
Neoclassical villa situated in a large park best known as one of the locations of the annual V Festival. The house was built in 1730 by Sir John Comyns, with the neoclassical facade added in 1814 by Pierre Cesar Labouchere. Grade II*listed building.
Church believed to have been founded around the 7th century under which a large mosaic floor was found in 1730, with Richard Grough finding further evidence of Roman remains around the church in 1764.
An example of a largely complete Norman castle which contains a museum dedicated to the long and varied history of Colchester. Grade I listed building.
Museum with a wide collection of locomotives and rolling stock, some of which are fully restored, two are converted into Thomas and Toby replicas while others are undergoing repair and restoration. It also plays host to three popular annual events: the Winter Beer Festival, the Cider Festival and the Summer Beer Festival.
Historic town claimed to be the oldest in Britain, as the oldest recorded Roman town in the country. It features a wide variety of historic buildings from various eras of its long history, and is also a major shopping area with a prominent market.
Tudor palace, composed of buildings, gardens and parkland, dating from 1520. It is in many ways the apotheosis of the Tudor gatehouse, and is the tallest example in Britain, as well as being a rare combination of brick and terracotta construction.
Island used as a holiday destination in Roman Britain for occupants of Camulodunum which became popular with smugglers from the 16th to the 19th centuries and became a focal point for troops in both world wars, with a number of observation posts still present on the island.
Dedicated to Saint Helena, the 14th-century Chronicle of Colchester states that the chapel was founded by the saint herself and refounded by Eudo Dapifer in 1076. Most of the present building dates from the 12th and 13th centuries, incorporating Roman brick.
Factory founded in 1885 which makes preserves, marmalades and associated products. The Visitor Centre features a tearoom, shop, and museum about the company's history, jam-making, and village life.
Area of ancient woodland and former royal forest, now managed by the City of London Corporation. It contains areas of woodland, grassland, heath, rivers, bogs and ponds, and most of it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Heritage railway which was the final section of the Great Eastern Railway branch line before being closed by London Underground in 1994, then reopened between 2004 and 2007 as a preserved railway offering a volunteer-run Class 117 DMU service between Ongar and Coopersale.
The oldest wooden church in the world, and probably the oldest wooden building in Europe still standing, albeit only in part, since few sections of its original wooden structure remain. The oak walls are often classified as remnants of a palisade church or a kind of early stave church, dated either to the mid-9th or mid-11th century.
Elizabethan mansion containing internal wall-paintings that considered the most important surviving examples of Elizabethan decorative figure painting in England.
Historic market town that takes its name from the Abbey Church of Waltham Holy Cross, a scheduled monument that was prominent in the town's early history.
The most significant of the great houses of this period, built as country retreats for wealthy City merchants and courtiers and owned by Mary I two months before she became queen in 1553.
Operational general aviation aerodrome established in 1916, which played an important role during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War, when it acted as an RAF station. It is now home to a museum and several historic aircraft.
Fine 14th-century gatehouse and bridge that are amongst the oldest remains of one of the great monastic foundations of the Middle Ages. Owned and managed by English Heritage.
Having been a place of worship since the 7th century, the present building dates mainly from the early 12th century and is an example of Norman architecture. In the late Middle Ages, it was one of the largest church buildings in England and a major site of pilgrimage; in 1540 was the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
A 'Phase I' new town built after World War II to ease overcrowding in London and the surrounding areas due to the mass devastation caused by the bombing during the Blitz.
Grade II listed church which is the best known example of the architecture of Old Harlow before it was engulfed by the new town of Harlow. Its former chapel, which is in a ruinous state in a field which was once the Harlowbury Abbey part of Old Harlow, is Grade I listed and is a scheduled monument.
Clubhouse designed by Joseph Emberton in 1931 which represented Britain's contribution to the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1932. Grade II* listed building.
Among the oldest largely intact Christian church buildings 19th oldest building in England, dating from the 7th century. It is one of the oldest functioning churches in the country. Grade I listed building.
Historic seaside town and the main seaside resort in southern Essex, with the connection to the sea being important to the identity of the local people. It contains a number of important Victorian buildings.
Museum opened in 1981 housing collections of local and natural history and containing a planetarium constructed by astronomer Harry Ford in 1984. It previously served as Southend's first free public library. Grade II listed building.
Informal collection of ecological gardens created by plantswoman Beth Chatto in 1960 from the gravel soil and bogs of the disused fruit farm belonging to her husband Andrew Chatto.
Pleasure pier opened on 27 July 1871, officially being the first building erected in the then-new resort of Clacton-on-Sea. A wooden structure 160 yards (150 m) in length and 4 yards (3.7 m) wide, the pier served as a landing point for goods and passengers, a docking point for steamships operated by the Woolwich Steam Packet Company, and a popular spot for promenading.
Cast iron lighthouse used until 1917 to guide ships around Landguard Point along with Dovercourt Low Lighthouse; the two lights aligned indicated the right course.
Cast iron lighthouse used until 1917 to guide ships around Landguard Point along with Dovercourt High Lighthouse; the two lights aligned indicated the right course.
The higher of stone twin lighthouses designed by John Rennie Senior. In 1836 the lease on the lights was purchased by Trinity House, but in 1863 they were declared redundant due to a change the position of the channel used by ships entering and leaving the port, caused by shifting sands.
Dockyard established in 1652 as it was ideally positioned for readying the fleet in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. Thereafter its importance waned; it ceased to operate as a Royal Dockyard in 1713, but was leased to a succession of private operators under whom naval and commercial shipbuilding continued.
The lower of stone twin lighthouses designed by John Rennie Senior. In 1836 the lease on the lights was purchased by Trinity House, but in 1863 they were declared redundant due to a change the position of the channel used by ships entering and leaving the port, caused by shifting sands. It has now been converted into a maritime museum.
Hanoverian navigational tower, constructed to assist ships on this otherwise fairly feature-less coast. Visitors can climb the 111-step spiral staircase to the top of the 86-foot (26 m) tower for a 360 degree view of the beach and countryside.
Museum of natural and local history, featuring maritime artefacts including a restored James Stevens 14 lifeboat and located in a former lifeboat station.
Restored late 18th-century smock mill which has been part adapted to residential use on its lower two floors only. It is the oldest surviving smock mill in Essex. Grade II listed building.
Fort built to defend London from attack from the sea, particularly during the Spanish Armada and the Anglo-Dutch Wars. The defences were fully rebuilt as a bastion fort in the late 17th century and it is the finest surviving example of the military architecture of that era in England.
Large 17th-century country house, which is considered to be one of the finest examples of Jacobean houses in England. It also includes gardens designed by Capability Brown and a large collection of art and taxidermy.
Ancient market town, originally the site of a Roman settlement on Stane Street, which thrived during the Middle Ages. Many buildings survive from this period, including a 16th-century town hall.
Historic market town and the administrative headquarters of Uttlesford District. The town retains a rural appearance and has buildings dating from the medieval period onwards.
Historic market town with over 1,000 years of history and a number of important historic buildings. It has been described as the best example of the juxtaposition of Medieval and Georgian architecture in Britain.
Tower mill built in 1804 which had been restored to working order, being the oldest working tower mill in Essex, but is currently out of action following the loss of a sail in April 2010. Grade II*listed building.
Major international airport. It is a base for a number of major European low-cost carriers, being the largest base for low-cost airline Ryanair with over 100 destinations served by the airline. In 2014 it was the fourth busiest airport in the United Kingdom after Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester.
15th-century timber-framed barn. One of the finest surviving medieval barns in eastern England, with a breathtaking aisled interior and crown post roof.
Parish church, parts of which, including the chancel, are 13th century. The interior includes a font that is thought to date from the 12th century. Grade II* listed building.
Largely 15th-century church, but contains some features from a pre-medieval church that stood on the site. Notable objects include the carved Elizabethan pulpit and stained glass.
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