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Essex is a county in the East of England. It borders Greater London to the south west, Hertfordshire by the River Stort to the west, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk by the River Stour to the north and Kent by the River Thames to the south. The county town is Chelmsford and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley near the Hertfordshire border, which reaches 147m/482ft. The name Essex derives from the Kingdom of Essex or Kingdom of the East Seaxe which was founded around 500 AD, occupying territory to the north of the River Thames, incorporating much of what would later become Middlesex and Hertfordshire, though its territory was later restricted to lands east of the River Lee. The boundaries of the ceremonial county cover a larger area than the present shire county, including the unitary authorities of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea; the historic county boundaries additionally include parts of East London. Because of its proximity to London and the economic magnetism which that city exerts, many of Essex's settlements function as dormitory towns or villages where London workers raise their families. Essex is known for being the origin of the political term Essex man, and of the Essex girl joke. Essex has recently overtaken Lancashire as England's most populous county. The pattern of settlement in the county is diverse. The London Green Belt has effectively prevented of the further sprawl of the metropolis into the County, although it contains the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, originally developed to resettle Londoners following the destruction of London housing in World War II but since much expanded. Part of the south east of the county, already containing the major population centres of Southend and Thurrock, is within the Thames Gateway and designated for further development. To the north of the Green Belt, with the exception of major towns such as Chelmsford, the county is rural, with many small towns, villages and hamlets largely built in the traditional materials of timber and brick, with clay tile or thatched roofs. Colchester in the north east of the county is Britain's oldest recorded town, dating back to Roman times, and has a rich history. A book has been recently published called '350 miles: An Essex Journey' by photographer Jason Orton and writer Ken Worpole, detailing a journey by foot and bicycle along the full length of the distinctive Essex coastline (ExDRA 2005). In 1998 the districts of Southend-on-Sea (pop. 160,300) and Thurrock (pop. 143,000) separated from the county of Essex becoming unitary authority areas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex