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Secret EssexEpisodes

  1. When Dovercourt said Hi-de-Hi! campers

    What was it like living on the real Essex holiday camp where Hi-de-Hi! was filmed.

  2. What happened to Anne Boleyn?

    Was the second wife of King Henry VIII buried in the village of East Horndon?

  3. The Witham Rail Disaster

    How three heroic Essex signalmen saved hundreds of lives when a train derailed.

  4. The unusual uses of Hedingham Castle

    The Chatelaine of Hedingham Castle reveals some interesting uses of the Essex landmark.

  5. 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.

  6. The town built by shoes

    How a Czech shoe maker transformed the fortunes of a small Essex village.

  7. The Henham Dragon

    Were the 17th century residents of Henham near Saffron Walden terrorised by a dragon?

  8. The Goldhanger gold rush

    In 1904, Goldhanger residents began a search for gold on an uninhabited Norwegian island.

  9. The Essex scientist who got man to the moon

    The vital role Billericay born scientist Tom Bacon played in the Apollo 11 mission.

  10. The Dunmow Flitch Trials

    The Essex town with a 900 -year-old test of married couples and an unlikely prize.

  11. The Battle of Brightlingsea

    Why did an Essex town become the centre of national attention for 10 months in 1995?

  12. The 'Fat Man of Maldon'

    Maldon grocer Edward Bright weighed an incredible 44 stone when he died in 1750.

  13. Southend's Ekco from history

    The story of how an Essex radio manufacturing business and its founder changed the world.

  14. Secrets of the HMS London shipwreck

    The vessel was part of the fleet which brought King Charles II back to England in 1660.

  15. Saving Dovercourt’s Leading Lights

    Dovercourt’s lighthouses are an iconic part of Essex’s coastline – but for how long?

  16. Saffron Walden's crucial Cromwell meeting

    How a meeting in Saffron Walden led to the birth of English democracy.

  17. Ronald Blythe - A Word from Wormingford

    The author's home in the north Essex village of Wormingford has an intriguing past.

  18. Opening England's oldest door

    Was the door of Saint Botolph’s church in Hadstock covered with the skin of a Viking?

  19. Marconi's communication revolution

    How Guglielmo Marconi and an Essex workforce changed the way we communicate forever.

  20. Inside the Braintree Cage

    How a small brick building was the answer to drunken excess in 19th century Braintree.

  21. How Purfleet inspired Amazing Grace

    A near-death experience in Purfleet inspired John Newton to write the hymn Amazing Grace.

  22. Harwich and the U-Boat Surrender

    In November 1918, more than 100 German U-Boats surrendered to the allied forces.

  23. Harwich and the Kindertransport children

    How an Essex town helped save thousands of children’s lives during World War Two.

  24. Essex and the secret D-Day plans

    How top secret documents about the D-Day invasions were discovered in a Ford Escort.

  25. Braintree's amazing 1066 coin find

    The medieval coins discovered in Braintree that ended up being sold for £325,000.

  26. Abberton's Roman discovery

    The fascinating archaeological treasures unearthed close to Abberton Reservoir.

  27. A hero of the Titanic

    Father Thomas Byles was a passenger on the maiden voyage of RMS Titanic in April 1912.

  28. A concise history of Beeleigh Abbey

    Discovering the fascinating, diverse and tragic history of Beeleigh Abbey near Maldon.