Maldon, Essex, England with St Mary the Virgin C of E parish on waterfront

Maldon, Essex, England

with St. Mary the Virgin C of E parish 

on waterfront

In our Christmas box from England some years ago Kate & Kevin included a box of Maldon Sea Salt. It is so perfect and we enjoyed it so much that before it was gone I ordered more online. Until recently though I had no idea that Maldon, Essex has a fascinating history, and that in fact it is a quaint, lovely seaside town on the Blackwater Estuary. They visited there one day recently, Kevin took pictures, and the photo album they sent is perfectly beautiful. I’ve included one photo on this posting.

Maldon's name comes from Mael meaning 'meeting place' and Dun meaning 'hill', so translated as "meeting place on the hill". East Saxons settled the area in the fifth century and it became a significant Saxon port with a hythe or Quayside and artisan quarters. From 958 there was a royal mint issuing coins for the late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman kings. It was one of the only two towns in Essex County (Colchester being the other, and I have eaten delicious oysters in Colchester, better even than Apalachicola Oysters or Sydney Rock Oysters!!). King Edward the Elder lived here while combating Danes who had overrun North Essex and parts of East Anglia. A Viking raid was beaten off in 924, but in another raid in 991 the Saxon defenders were defeated in the battle commemorated in the famous poem The Battle of Maldon.

Immediately catching my eye in Kevin’s album was the church on the waterfront. It’s the Church of England parish St. Mary the Virgin, where a church has stood since Saxon times. Obviously, as one can tell by the name, the Anglo-Catholic church in town, the parish has a fascinating website, easily found online by searching for “St. Mary’s Maldon.” A companion C of E parish, presumably the evangelical or low church in town, is All Saints with St. Peter, Maldon, which also has a wonderful website that includes an explanation of the historic difference between a vicar and a rector in the Church of England (not the same difference as ours in the Episcopal Church) and a list of vicars dating back to 1244. Maldon looks to be a wonderful, quaint place to visit and stroll and have a bite to eat while looking out on the waterfront. 

I am thoroughly enjoying the pictures that Kate and Kevin sent along. Maldon will be on my list for my next visit to England!

Tom+

This afternoon we are watching the fourth film, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," with Tass, Jeremy and the girls.