Secret EssexEpisodes Episode guide
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When Dovercourt said Hi-de-Hi! campers
What was it like living on the real Essex holiday camp where Hi-de-Hi! was filmed.
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What happened to Anne Boleyn?
Was the second wife of King Henry VIII buried in the village of East Horndon?
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The Witham Rail Disaster
How three heroic Essex signalmen saved hundreds of lives when a train derailed.
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The unusual uses of Hedingham Castle
The Chatelaine of Hedingham Castle reveals some interesting uses of the Essex landmark.
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The untold story of Operation Varsity
It was the battle which led to the end of World War Two and Essex was on its front line.
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The town built by shoes
How a Czech shoe maker transformed the fortunes of a small Essex village.
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The Henham Dragon
Were the 17th century residents of Henham near Saffron Walden terrorised by a dragon?
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The Goldhanger gold rush
In 1904, Goldhanger residents began a search for gold on an uninhabited Norwegian island.
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The Essex scientist who got man to the moon
The vital role Billericay born scientist Tom Bacon played in the Apollo 11 mission.
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The Dunmow Flitch Trials
The Essex town with a 900 -year-old test of married couples and an unlikely prize.
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The Battle of Brightlingsea
Why did an Essex town become the centre of national attention for 10 months in 1995?
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The 'Fat Man of Maldon'
Maldon grocer Edward Bright weighed an incredible 44 stone when he died in 1750.
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Southend's Ekco from history
The story of how an Essex radio manufacturing business and its founder changed the world.
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Secrets of the HMS London shipwreck
The vessel was part of the fleet which brought King Charles II back to England in 1660.
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Saving Dovercourt’s Leading Lights
Dovercourt’s lighthouses are an iconic part of Essex’s coastline – but for how long?
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Saffron Walden's crucial Cromwell meeting
How a meeting in Saffron Walden led to the birth of English democracy.
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Ronald Blythe - A Word from Wormingford
The author's home in the north Essex village of Wormingford has an intriguing past.
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Opening England's oldest door
Was the door of Saint Botolph’s church in Hadstock covered with the skin of a Viking?
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Marconi's communication revolution
How Guglielmo Marconi and an Essex workforce changed the way we communicate forever.
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Inside the Braintree Cage
How a small brick building was the answer to drunken excess in 19th century Braintree.
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How Purfleet inspired Amazing Grace
A near-death experience in Purfleet inspired John Newton to write the hymn Amazing Grace.
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Harwich and the U-Boat Surrender
In November 1918, more than 100 German U-Boats surrendered to the allied forces.
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Harwich and the Kindertransport children
How an Essex town helped save thousands of children’s lives during World War Two.
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Essex and the secret D-Day plans
How top secret documents about the D-Day invasions were discovered in a Ford Escort.
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Braintree's amazing 1066 coin find
The medieval coins discovered in Braintree that ended up being sold for £325,000.
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Abberton's Roman discovery
The fascinating archaeological treasures unearthed close to Abberton Reservoir.
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A hero of the Titanic
Father Thomas Byles was a passenger on the maiden voyage of RMS Titanic in April 1912.
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A concise history of Beeleigh Abbey
Discovering the fascinating, diverse and tragic history of Beeleigh Abbey near Maldon.



























