Southend old photographs show quieter village life

They show old cottages which once stood in Prittlewell and other parts of Southend.

White dresses - women outside their cottages in Rochford Road, Prittlewell (Image: Archive image)

All the images date back to around the early nineteenth century when Southend was a world away from the bustling seaside resort it would eventually become.

Old cottages - Three men, possibly from the same family, pictured outside their home in Southchurch (Image: Archive image)

Several of the photos are from Prittlewell where there is thought to have been a settlement since as early as the seventh century.

Farm life - A family outside their farm in Thorpe Bay (Image: Archive image)

There was once a village green in Prittlewell until it disappeared when Victoria Avenue was constructed in the late 1880s.

Among the cottages captured in the gallery include the old workhouse cottages which once stood in the village and offered shelter to the poor and infirm.

Scroll down to see more photos from our gallery

Uninhabitable - This cottage was in dire need of repairs... or pulling down (Image: Archive image) Idyllic - A quiet country road in Prittlewell (Image: Archive image) Babe in arms - a mother and her child are pictured in the doorway of their workhouse cottage in Prittlewell (Image: Archive image) Laid back life - An early 19th century postcard depicting Prittlewell (Image: Archive image)