14 Facts About Brightlingsea

1.

Brightlingsea is a coastal town and an electoral ward in the Tendring district of Essex, England.

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2.

Brightlingsea is a limb of Sandwich, one of the Cinque Ports.

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3.

Brightlingsea was for many years twinned with French oyster fishery port Marennes, Charente-Maritime, but the relationship fell into disuse.

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4.

Brightlingsea sits on a promontory surrounded by the River Colne and its associated marshes and creeks, and was settled from an early date.

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5.

Brightlingsea became a Limb of the Head Port of Sandwich, and is the only community outside Kent and Sussex that has any connection with the Confederation of the Cinque Ports.

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6.

Wars Against France During the wars against Revolutionary France and Napoleon Brightlingsea was a base for the men and boats of the Essex Sea Fencibles, though in 1809 they disgraced themselves by pirating oysters from the River Crouch.

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7.

Church of New JerusalemBrightlingsea was one of the first places outside the major towns to have a chapel for the doctrines of the Swedish religious mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg.

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8.

Many Brightlingsea fishermen were drowned, especially on the Dutch coast; their names are recorded in the frieze of tiles inside All Saints' Church.

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9.

Age of the Big YachtsBetween 1860 and 1939 Brightlingsea was the winter laying-up and repair station for many large steam yachts owned by the wealthy, and many local men served in their crews, such as Captains Wringe, French and Sycamore.

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10.

In 1984 Brightlingsea Wharf was used to import coal during the Miners' Strike, and up to a dozen ships could be seen out in the river waiting to unload at Wivenhoe.

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11.

Brightlingsea port came to national prominence again in the 1990s with an attempt to use the port again for a controversial cargo.

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12.

Wivenhoe and Brightlingsea railway opened in 1866 and was a branch line that operated rail services from the nearby town of Wivenhoe into the town centre of Brightlingsea.

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13.

Brightlingsea is home to the Colne Community School, a secondary school which serves an extended catchment area which includes Wivenhoe, Alresford, Great Bentley, Thorrington as well as Brightlingsea itself.

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14.

Brightlingsea Sailing Club runs a competitive sailing programme and has produced many champions at international and Olympic level.

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