St Osyth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For more on the saint herself, see Osyth
| St Osyth | |
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| Population | 4119 (2001 census) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Tendring |
| Shire county | Essex |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | CO16 |
| Dial code | 01255 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Essex North |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Essex | |
St Osyth is a village and civil parish in northeast Essex. It is about five miles west of Clacton-on-Sea, and about twelve miles southeast of Colchester. It is located on the B1027 road. It is named after Saint Osyth, a saint and Anglian princess.
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[edit] Point Clear
Point Clear is a separate village within the parish, located at grid reference TM091151 southwest of St Osyth and on the other side of St Osyth Creek, a branch of the Colne Estuary. It first appears on a map in 1880.
[edit] Landmarks
The most notable building in the village is undoubtedly its medieval Priory, a Grade I listed building. The village church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. The Martello tower at Point Clear has been converted into a war museum.
[edit] History
Before being renamed to commemorate Saint Osyth, the village was called Chich (alternate spellings include Chiche and Chick).
St Osyth was the subject of an episode of Channel 4's Time Team programme, first broadcast on 27 February 2005. This programme sought to uncover the early origins of the village, which was presumed to have grown up at around the same time as the Priory, in the twelfth century. Many of the investigations around the current village centre found little evidence of settlement earlier than the fourteenth century; it appeared that the early village centre lay some way off, between the Priory and the river.
[edit] Facts
- St Osyth is known to the locals as "Toosey", which is apparently formed from a contraction of the village name.
- In terms of annual average rainfall, St Osyth is the driest recorded place in the UK, with just 513 mm per year. [1]. By some definitions, this is low enough to classify St Osyth as a desert.
- Although a significant part of the parish boundary is coast which does not need to be "beaten", St Osyth is one parish which maintains the tradition of beating the bounds. [2]
[edit] The Legend of Saint Osyth
Legend has it that Saint Osyth (or Ositha) was a young lady who was involved in various fantastical events during her lifetime. Tales include:
- A young Osyth drowned in a stream, but was revived by nuns from the local convent praying for her for three days.
- St Osyth was executed by beheading; where she fell a spring issued forth from the ground; she picked up her head and walked to the door of the nunnery where she knocked three times on the door before collapsing.
- To this day, Osyth's ghost walks along the priory walls carrying her head one night each year.
