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Secret Essex

Explore fascinating stories from Essex.

Essex,33 episodes

Episodes

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The Silent Threat
A World War Two shipwreck near the Essex coast hides a deadly secret beneath the waves.
23 Jul 2026,7 mins
The Essex hamlet that vanished
The buildings, people and myths that made way for Hanningfield Reservoir in the 1950s.
26 Jun 2026,9 mins
Before the raid: Essex and the Dambusters
How Abberton Reservoir became a key part of the build-up to the World War Two raid.
08 May 2026,13 mins
The founding fathers of Essex cricket
Who were the four men who played a key role in creating Essex County Cricket Club?
11 mins
Britain's deadliest footpath
The largest island in Essex has been shrouded in mystery for more than a century.
03 Feb 2026,8 mins
Essex to the Rhine: The Story of Operation Varsity
It was the battle which led to the end of World War Two and Essex was on its front line.
4 mins
The Witham Rail Disaster
How three heroic Essex signalmen saved hundreds of lives when a train derailed.
02 Sep 2025,8 mins
The town built by shoes
How a Czech shoe maker transformed the fortunes of a small Essex village.
23 Apr 2025,12 mins
Saving Dovercourt’s Leading Lights
Dovercourt’s lighthouses are an iconic part of Essex’s coastline – but for how long?
07 Feb 2025,7 mins
The Battle of Brightlingsea
Why did an Essex town become the centre of national attention for 10 months in 1995?
7 mins
Inside the Braintree Cage
How a small brick building was the answer to drunken excess in 19th century Braintree.
12 Dec 2024,5 mins
Ronald Blythe - A Word from Wormingford
The author's home in the north Essex village of Wormingford has an intriguing past.
30 Nov 2024,6 mins
The Essex scientist who got man to the moon
The vital role Billericay born scientist Tom Bacon played in the Apollo 11 mission.
17 Nov 2024,5 mins
Enemy Beneath the Waves: The Harwich U-Boat Surrender
At the end of World War One, over 100 German submarines surrended off the Essex coast.
8 mins
The Last Voyage of HMS London
The vessel was part of the fleet which brought King Charles II back to England in 1660.
14 Aug 2024,6 mins
The Dunmow Flitch Trials
The Essex town with a 900 -year-old test of married couples and an unlikely prize.
12 Jul 2024,4 mins
A concise history of Beeleigh Abbey
Discovering the fascinating, diverse and tragic history of Beeleigh Abbey near Maldon.
10 Jul 2024,3 mins
The unusual uses of Hedingham Castle
The Chatelaine of Hedingham Castle reveals some interesting uses of the Essex landmark.
10 Jul 2024,2 mins
Abberton's Roman discovery
The fascinating archaeological treasures unearthed close to Abberton Reservoir.
09 Jul 2024,2 mins
Titanic: The Essex Priest Who Stayed Behind
Father Thomas Byles was a passenger on the maiden voyage of RMS Titanic in April 1912.
02 Jul 2024,3 mins
Saffron Walden's crucial Cromwell meeting
How a meeting in Saffron Walden led to the birth of English democracy.
02 Jul 2024,2 mins
How Purfleet inspired Amazing Grace
A near-death experience in Purfleet inspired John Newton to write the hymn Amazing Grace.
01 Jul 2024,2 mins
Southend's Ekco from history
The story of how an Essex radio manufacturing business and its founder changed the world.
01 Jul 2024,3 mins
Braintree's amazing 1066 coin find
The medieval coins discovered in Braintree that ended up being sold for £325,000.
01 Jul 2024,2 mins
The Great Escape: Harwich and the Kindertransport Story
How an Essex town helped save thousands of children’s lives during World War Two.
28 Jun 2024,2 mins
When Dovercourt said Hi-de-Hi! campers
What was it like living on the real Essex holiday camp where Hi-de-Hi! was filmed.
28 Jun 2024,2 mins
Essex and the secret D-Day plans
How top secret documents about the D-Day invasions were discovered in a Ford Escort.
28 Jun 2024,3 mins
What happened to Anne Boleyn?
Was the second wife of King Henry VIII buried in the village of East Horndon?
28 Jun 2024,2 mins
Opening England's oldest door
Was the door of Saint Botolph’s church in Hadstock covered with the skin of a Viking?
28 Jun 2024,2 mins
Britain's Forgotten Gold Rush
In 1904, Goldhanger residents began a search for gold on an uninhabited Norwegian island.
28 Jun 2024,2 mins