WESTCLIFF-ON-SEA, ENGLAND

A History of buildings in Hamlet Court Road by Carol Edwards & Gaynor Solly

One of Carol's many books written about Southend is 'Hamlet Court Road Westcliff-on-Sea'. This Audio Tour includes extracts and images from Carol's book plus new photos and text written by Westcliff resident Gaynor Solly.

Take a walk along Hamlet Court Road to discover some of the wonderful history of the shop buildings and the people who lived and worked there. 

To your left is Montague Court, a retirement home built on the site of the Queens Hotel. Following the construction of the Hotel, near Westcliff train station in 1899, the development of Hamlet Court Road was soon urbanised with large impressive Edwardian houses. Many of the residents were commuters to London.

It soon became obvious there was a need to provide everyday amenities from groceries to ladies and gentleman’s clothing. Barbers, hairdressers, and in the 1900s names now well known, such as Barclays Bank, Havens, Smerdons, Garons and R A Jones. There were so many less well known names who contributed to the success of the road. Some of the beautiful architecture reminds us of Hamlet Court’s wonderful history.