History of Maldon
Much like its current population, the town of Maldon is old and with a long history. Some form of humans has been found living here since at least 400 BC. Its strategic location, on high ground and at the mouth of the River Blackwater, has seen many succumb to its temptations.
The Romans invaded the town as part of their larger conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD. However, it wasn't until after the Roman desertion and the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons that Maldon began to lay its deep roots.
It was these Anglo-Saxons, lead by the calamitous Byrhtnoth, who put up worthless resistance to the invading Vikings in the now famous Battle of Maldon in 991. In fact, this scuffle can be seen as a precursor to the much-loved British tradition of a spirited defeat.
If the Norman invasion in the following century brought nothing else to the town or country, it did bring a census. The Domesday Book records 1,000 inhabitants of Maldon in 1085/86.
With no more foreign incursions to worry about, things settled down and Maldon became an important port, making ships and, later, shuttling all kinds of goods around the country, including London.
It was during this period of maritime dominance, and before the Industrial Revolution really kicked in, that two of Maldon's best known residents prospered: the cerebral Thomas Plume and the larger than life Edward Bright, better known by his moniker - the Fat Man of Maldon.
Industry, like the town's railways, came and went - most of it based down the hill in Fullbridge and into Heybridge.
Post-war life has seen relatively little change which is perhaps the reason why those same people continue to live here, boosting the charity shop trade and clogging up public transportation.
The Romans invaded the town as part of their larger conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD. However, it wasn't until after the Roman desertion and the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons that Maldon began to lay its deep roots.
It was these Anglo-Saxons, lead by the calamitous Byrhtnoth, who put up worthless resistance to the invading Vikings in the now famous Battle of Maldon in 991. In fact, this scuffle can be seen as a precursor to the much-loved British tradition of a spirited defeat.
If the Norman invasion in the following century brought nothing else to the town or country, it did bring a census. The Domesday Book records 1,000 inhabitants of Maldon in 1085/86.
With no more foreign incursions to worry about, things settled down and Maldon became an important port, making ships and, later, shuttling all kinds of goods around the country, including London.
It was during this period of maritime dominance, and before the Industrial Revolution really kicked in, that two of Maldon's best known residents prospered: the cerebral Thomas Plume and the larger than life Edward Bright, better known by his moniker - the Fat Man of Maldon.
Industry, like the town's railways, came and went - most of it based down the hill in Fullbridge and into Heybridge.
Post-war life has seen relatively little change which is perhaps the reason why those same people continue to live here, boosting the charity shop trade and clogging up public transportation.