Southend on Sea, Essex - West Cliff Parade - Hildesheimer postcard 1907 pmk

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  West Cliff Parade, Southend 
• Publisher: Hildesheimer & Co
• Postally used: yes
• Stamp:  Edward VII half d light green
• Postmark(s): Chelmsford Aug 4 1907 cds
• Sent to:  Mrs. Thurgood, Millfields Cottage, Hatfield Peverel nr Witham, Essex
• Notes / condition: 

^{Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.}

^{Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).}

^{------------------------------------------------}

^{Postage & Packing:}

^{Postage and packing charge should be showing for your location (contact if not sure).}

^{No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. Please wait for combined invoice. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).}

^{Payment Methods:}

^{UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order}

^{Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).}

^{NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!}

^{I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.}

^{----------------------------------------------}

^{Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :}

^{*************}

^{Southend-on-Sea pronunciation (help·info)), commonly referred to as simply Southend, is a seaside resort town and wider unitary authority area with borough status, in Essex, England, on the north side of the Thames estuary 40 miles (64 km) east of central London. It is bordered to the north by Rochford and to the west by Castle Point. It is home to the longest leisure pier in the world, Southend Pier.[2] London Southend Airport is located 1.5 NM (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) north of the town centre.}

^{Originally the "south end" of the village of Prittlewell, Southend was home to a few poor fisherman huts and farms that lay at the southern extremity of Prittlewell Priory land. In the 1790s landowner Daniel Scratton sold off land either side of what was to become the High Street, and the Grand Hotel (now Royal Hotel) and Grove Terrace (now Royal Terrace) were completed by 1794, and stagecoaches from London made it accessible.[3] Due to the bad transportation links between Southend and London, there was not rapid development during the Georgian Era like Brighton. It was the coming of the railways in the 19th Century and the visit of Princess Caroline that Southend's status of a seaside resort grew. During the 19th century Southend's pier was first constructed and the Clifftown development built,[4] attracting many tourists in the summer months to its seven miles of beaches and bathing in the sea. Good rail connections and proximity to London mean that much of the economy has been based on tourism, and that Southend has been a dormitory town for city workers ever since. Southend Pier is the world's longest pleasure pier at 1.34 mi (2.16 km).[2] It has suffered fires and ship collisions, most recently in October 2005,[5] but the basic pier structure has been repaired each time.}

^{As a holiday destination, Southend declined from the 1960s onwards, as holidaying abroad became more affordable. Southend reinvented itself as the Home of the Access (credit card) due to it having one of the UK's first electronic telephone exchanges (it is still home to RBS Card Services – one of the former members of Access), with offices based in the former EKCO factory, Maitland House (Keddies), Victoria Circus and Southchurch Road. Since then, much of the town centre has been developed for commerce and retail, and during the 1960s many original structures were lost to redevelopment – such as the Talza Arcade & Victoria Market (replaced by what is now known as The Victoria Shopping Centre) and Southend Technical College (now a campus of South Essex College,[6] on the site of the ODEON Cinema). However, about 6.4 million tourists still visit Southend per year, generating estimated revenues of £200 million a year. H.M. Revenue & Customs (HMRC), (formerly H.M. Customs and Excise), are major employers in the town, and the central offices for the collection of VAT are located at Alexander House on Victoria Avenue.}

^{An annual seafront airshow, started in 1986 when it featured a flypast by Concorde whilst on a passenger charter flight, used to take place each May and became one of Europe's largest free airshows. The aircraft flew parallel to the seafront, offset over the sea. The RAF Falcons parachute display team and RAF Red Arrows aerobatics team were regular visitors to the show. The show has not been held since 2012 due to a lack of sponsorship. An attempt to revive the show for September 2015, as the Southend Airshow and Military Festival, failed.[7]}

^{Sopot, Poland, has been Southend-on-Sea's twin town since October 1999.[8]}