Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet

Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet
Civil parish
St Margaret's Church, Bowers Gifford
Interactive map of Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet
Coordinates: 51°33′36″N 0°31′43″E / 51.559944°N 0.52873616°E / 51.559944; 0.52873616
CountryEngland
Primary councilBasildon
CountyEssex
RegionEast of England
Created2010
StatusCivil parish
Main settlementsBowers Gifford and North Benfleet
Government
 • TypeParish council
 • BodyBowers Gifford and North Benfleet Parish Council
Area
 • Total
9.81 km2 (3.79 sq mi)
Population
 (2021[1])
 • Total
2,055
 • Density209/km2 (543/sq mi)
Websitehttps://e-voice.org.uk/bgnb-parishcouncil/

Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet is a civil parish in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. The parish includes the villages of Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 2,055.

There are seven listed buildings in Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet.[2] The local council is Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet Parish Council.

History

North Benfleet and Bowers Gifford had each been ancient parishes in the Barstable Hundred of Essex. Both parishes included exclaves on Canvey Island until 1880 when the island was made its own civil parish.[3][4]

The two parishes were included in the Billericay poor law union in 1835.[5] They therefore became part of the Billericay rural sanitary district in 1872, which was reconstituted as the Billericay Rural District when elected parish and district councils were created in 1894.[6][7]

In 1934 most of the rural district, including the two parishes of Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet, was converted into the Billericay Urban District. The parishes within it were then classed as urban parishes and so became ineligible to have their own parish councils. All the civil parishes within the urban district were merged into a single parish called Billericay in 1937. The urban district was renamed Basildon in 1955 and was reformed to become the modern Basildon district in 1974, at which point the district also became an unparished area.[8]

The modern civil parish of Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet was created on 1 April 2010 from part of the unparished area following a community governance review.[9]

Geography

The northern boundary is the A127 road. In the east it follows the A1245 road, the A130 road and East Haven Creek. The southern boundary, also formed by East Haven Creek, is with the civil parish of Canvey Island.[10] The western boundary is Vange Creek, Pitseahall Fleet and an irregular boundary mostly aligned to fields.

Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet, at parish, district, and county level: Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet Parish Council, Basildon Borough Council, and Essex County Council. The parish council meets at the Benbow Club at 77 Pound Lane in Bowers Gifford.[11]

Listed buildings

There are seven listed buildings recorded in the National Heritage List for England for Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet. Of these two are grade II* and five are grade II. [12][13]

NameGrade Location Type Completed [note 1]Date designated Grid ref.[note 2]
Geo-coordinates
Notes Entry number [note 3]ImageWikidata
Bradfield's Farmhouse
II
Burnt Mills Road, North Benfleet farmhouse 6 January 1975 TQ7530590394
51°35′06″N 0°31′44″E / 51.585133°N 0.52897891°E / 51.585133; 0.52897891 (Bradfield's Farmhouse)
1121460 Q26414628
Tiffayne's Farmhouse
II
Burnt Mills Road, North Benfleet 6 January 1975 TQ7551790337
51°35′04″N 0°31′55″E / 51.584555°N 0.53200725°E / 51.584555; 0.53200725 (Tiffayne's Farmhouse)
1169926
Upload Photo
Q26463122
Church of St Margaret
II*
Church Road, Bowers Gifford church building 4 July 1955 TQ7559287252
51°33′25″N 0°31′54″E / 51.55682°N 0.5315482°E / 51.55682; 0.5315482 (Church of St Margaret)
1338379 Q17557079
Horseshoe Cottage
II
Harrow Road, North Benfleet 6 January 1975 TQ7587390720
51°35′16″N 0°32′14″E / 51.587884°N 0.53733205°E / 51.587884; 0.53733205 (Horseshoe Cottage)
1122260
Upload Photo
Q26415402
Saddlers' Hall Farmhouse
II
London Road, Bowers Gifford 6 January 1975 TQ7616888459
51°34′03″N 0°32′26″E / 51.567483°N 0.5404527°E / 51.567483; 0.5404527 (Saddlers' Hall Farmhouse)
1122233
Upload Photo
Q26415377
Church of All Saints
II*
North Benfleet Hall Road, North Benfleet church building 4 July 1955 TQ7611989997
51°34′53″N 0°32′26″E / 51.581313°N 0.5405169°E / 51.581313; 0.5405169 (Church of All Saints)
1170845 Q17557070
Cottage at Junction with Burnt Mill Road
II
Pound Lane, North Benfleet 6 January 1975 TQ7575590458
51°35′08″N 0°32′08″E / 51.585568°N 0.53549944°E / 51.585568; 0.53549944 (Cottage at Junction with Burnt Mill Road)
1338412
Upload Photo
Q26622733

Notes

  1. ^ The date given is the date used by Historic England as significant for the initial building or that of an important part in the structure's description.
  2. ^ The grid reference is based on the British national grid reference system, sometimes known as OSGB36, used by the Ordnance Survey.
  3. ^ The "List Entry Number" is a unique number assigned to each listed building and scheduled monument by Historic England.

References

  1. ^ "2021 Census Parish Profiles". NOMIS. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 March 2025. (To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.)
  2. ^ "Listed buildings in Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet, Basildon, Essex". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Bowers Gifford". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Relationships and changes Bowers Gifford AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  5. ^ Higginbotham, Peter. "Billericay, Essex". The Workhouse. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Guardians' minutes (1835-1915, 1920-30); Ledgers (1835-1930)". Essex Record Office. G/Bi Title BILLERICAY UNION.
  7. ^ "Billericay Rural District". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Billericay Urban District". Vision of Britain. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  9. ^ "The Basildon (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Order 2010" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for England. The National Archives. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Minutes and Agendas". Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet Parish Council. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Historic England search link for listed buildings in Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet". Search the National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  13. ^ "Listed Building Points". National Heritage List for England, NHLE. Historic England. 15 January 2026. Retrieved 31 January 2026.