KIlworth Estate History

Frances Laetitia Phillipa Kelso inherited the estate of Porters, Essex from her father Barrington Oadham Purvis, the modern  building opposite Porters Civic House appears to bear Barrington’s name. He was the final owner, in this family of Porters estate in Essex; in the earliest record found to date it belonged to his great-great-great grandfather John Child.  Barrington inherited the Porters estate from his father Richard Purvis. Richard Purvis inherited Porters estate from his mother Mary Oadham. The Oadham's inherited the estate of Porters in Essex from a cousin Lady Clifton who was the third wife of Sir Robert Clifton, as the 6th baronet, he inherited from Gervase Clifton (1587 - 1666) 1st Baronet.  Gervase Clifton 2nd was the child of Hon. Penelope Rich, who was the daughter of Walter Devereux  1st Earl of Essex, she married Robert Rich who in turn was  a son of Richard Rich. (We think)

 The Killworth Estate was built on fields and orchards between Porters Civic House & Southchurch Hall. The Estate land ownership was transferred in 1868 by Francis Letitia Philippa Kelso, widow of the 2nd past the said Edward Killworth of Southchurch Hall and covered the area between the Manor referred to as Porters Situate and the messuage & fields of Southchurch Hall which had been previously run as a farm by the wealthy Killworth family.  Pear trees from the orchards still are alive today in some rear gardens on the Estate.

St. Erkenwald’s Church was built to be Southend-on-Sea's Cathedral, should the town become a city, construction took place during the period 1905 -1934 to a design by Sir Walter Tapper, one of this country’s foremost twentieth century ecclesiastical architects. The church was located on the north east corner of York Road and Southchurch Avenue. The top left image shows the church as it stood, the right image shows the intended final build of the church, the bottom left image shows the demolition of the church in 1995, Cllr David Garston cast the deciding vote, as chairman, to demolish St Erkenwald at a Southend council meeting.