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Changes in Land Use
on Brightlingsea Island since 1934
A Group Study
By THE BIRKBECK GEOGRAPHERS' ASSOCIATION
The boundaries of Brightlingsea Island are coincident with those of Bright-
lingsea Urban District but the area merits the title "island" because
it is completely separated by water from the Essex mainland and, in the floods
of 1953, was, in fact, an island in the accepted sense of the word for several
days.
In relief, the island has a belt of flat country and saltings around the
periphery. About a quarter of a mile inland there is a fairly sharp break of
slope and the land rises gently to a level plateau at about 80 feet above sea
level. The area therefore divides itself, for geographical purposes, into three
physical regions—the coastal strip, the slope, and the plateau. The soil is
mostly loam with patches of gravel, but the draining of the soil varies between
the three regions.
Above the break of slope the predominant land use today is arable, with
a wide variety of crops—potatoes, cabbages, kale, peas, clover and sugar beet
are the most common. Both the slope and the coastal strip are mainly arable
on the north-eastern and eastern sides of the island: but on the south-western
and western sides the slope is arable while the coastal plain is mainly rough
grazing. Apart from the town of Brightlingsea, settlement is mostly confined
to the main road (B.1029), along which there is a scattering of houses and
cottages with gardens. There are, however, fewer of these in the north.
Farmhouses lie to both east and west of the road and they are situated in
every case above the 25 foot contour. Outside the town, industry is represented
by two large gravel pits; one in the north-east, the other in the south-east.
In and around the town the evidence of its popularity as a pleasure resort is
found by the large number of beach-huts and caravans—particularly near the
railway station. A detailed map of the land use is reproduced at Map No. 1.
Map No. 2 shows the main changes in land use since the original survey
(by the Land Utilisation Survey) in 1934. From the agricultural aspect the
most striking feature is the considerable upgrading of land which has taken
place in the north-east and east of the island. In any comparison between land
use in Britain in 1934 and 1957 one would expect to find some improvements
and an extension of arable land; but the picture in Brightlingsea is remarkable
in the extent that much of the land concerned was classified in 1934 as rough
grazing and is now arable. On the other side of the island there has been
some upgrading of a similar nature, but in general the picture along the
bank of the Colne is one of deterioration. Nearly all the fields which were
classified as meadows in 1934 now qualify for nothing more than rough grazing.
In considering such a small area as Brightlingsea where only a few
farmers are involved and where, as a consequence, differences in land use
as between one part of the island and another may well be a reflection of the
personal circumstances or preferences of individual farmers, it is obviously
dangerous to draw general conclusions. Nevertheless it is valid to draw
attention to the factors that may have affected land use along the Essex
coast even though they may not entirely explain the changes in Brightlingsea.