Things you didn't know about... Essex

Humpty Dumpty comes from Essex

The nursery rhyme was inspired by an incident that happened in Essex during the English Civil War. The Royalists had a huge cannon known as Humpty Dumpty, mounted on St Mary's Church in Colchester, Essex.

You can probably guess the rest. When the church was hit by the Roundheads, Humpty Dumpty fell to the ground and was so badly damaged that all the Kings men (Royalists) couldn't put it together again...

Essex is a place for radio pioneers

Guglielmo Marconi set up the first radio factory in Chelmsford, at the end of the 19th century. And in 1920 Britain's first official radio broadcast was made from the county.

Dick Turpin was an Essex man

The highwayman was originally a member of the "Essex gang", whose poaching and robberies terrorised the residents of Essex and London in the first half of the 18th century.

Britain's first capital city was here

Forget London—Colchester was Britain's first capital. The Romans called the town Camulodunum and made it the capital of their Britannia until around 100 AD.

Essex is full of bookworms

Southend-on-Sea lends more books per head of population than anywhere else in the country.

Happy marriage is the route to a full stomach in Essex

The Flitch Trials, held in Great Dunmow in Essex, is a competition which dates back nearly a thousand years.

To win, couples have to prove that they have been blissfully married for a year and a day, and do not wish to be unmarried. If they convince the judges they win a flitch (a side) of bacon and are paraded through the town.

Essex helped Britain win the Spanish Armada

Queen Elizabeth I rallied the troops with a speech at Tilbury in Essex.

Our pier is bigger than yours!

At over two kilometres in length, Southend Pier is the longest pleasure pier in the world. Construction started in 1829, and by 1848 it had reached its present length. The pier was a major attraction for Victorian holidaymakers and still gets a huge number of visitors. It's so long it even has a railway running along it.

Should that be David Plaistow?

David Essex was actually born in Plaistow, 15 miles away from Essex.