IT’S incredibly unusual to see anyone walking around in clothes decorated with mother-of-pearl buttons nowadays, but pearly kings and queens flocked to south Essex in their droves between the 1970s and 80s.

The tradition originated in 1875 after rat catcher and street sweeper Henry Croft dressed in a suit adorned with mother-of-pearl buttons to raise funds for an orphanage.

Countless Cockney pearlies headed to south Essex, with our snaps showing Florence Arrowsmith, the pearly queen of Whitechapel, coming to Shoebury for the funeral of a charity worker in 1979 and Beatrice Marriott - who was the oldest living pearly queen of London at the time - visiting a fayre in Basildon.

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Take a step back in time with these stunning photographs from the Echo archive.

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A helping hand - Beryl Hever feeds cockles to husband Arthur at the Southend Pier Festival in 1981

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Festive - pearly kings and queens get into the Christmas spirit in Southend

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Emotional - Florence Arrowsmith sheds a tear in Shoebury

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Made the trip - London pearlies climb aboard a bus as they head to Essex

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Thumbs up - London pearly kings and queens visiting Southend in 1978

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Echo:

Kicking back - out in force as they travelled to south Essex in 1980

Echo:

All smiles - Beatrice Marriott, the oldest pearly queen of London, visits Basildon

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Raising a glass - a cockney night at a Southend pub in 1980

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Following in his father’s footsteps - Tom Cooper and his 12-year-old son Tony