Canewdon is a village in the Rochford District of Essex in England.

The name Canewdon is derived from the Saxon name ‘Caningadon’, roughly translated to ‘hill of the Can people’. ‘don’ means hill and the ‘ing’ implies a personal name and probably indicates a pre-existing settlement. The name predates Canute the Great by about 400 years but Canewdon is claimed to be the site of an ancient camp used by Canute, during a battle during his invasion of Essex in 1013.

The village is on a hill that has a commanding view over the surrounding area and it is thought that the Romans had a hill fort and settlement here to watch over the river Crouch. Many Roman urns were found in the village in the 1700’s and there is much Roman material built into the walls of the church. Christianity came to Canewdon at an early date, probably in Roman times. Some 200 years after the Romans during St. Cedd’s mission from Lindisfarne to Essex in about 653AD, after he had established ministers at Bradwell-on-Sea and Tilbury, the Gospel was then carried from Bradwell to Canewdon and by this time Canewdon was already a fortified site.

There is much unsubstantiated superstition surrounding the village. Some even believed it to be a centre of witchcraft. However these references appear to be Victorian in origin at the earliest and then fuelled and embellished by later publications.Many costal settlements have stories of witches, ghosts or other strange happenings, these often have more to do with concealing the nocturnal work of smugglers bringing contraband ashore in years gone bye than anything supernatural.

One legend has it that while the church tower stands, there will always remain six witches in Canewdon. Another states that if you walk around the church seven times (anticlockwise) on Halloween you will see a witch, and thirteen times you will disappear, of course none of these tales has any truth in them but these stories can make the village a popular destination on Halloween, to the extent that the police have been known to seal off the village to non-residents.

Whilst the church of St Nicholas stands full on Beacon Hill, Canewdon, it is said that there will be as many witches in silk as in cotton.

A lot of the folklore probably came from George Pickingill who, living in the village during the late 19th century, still apparently practised pagan rituals in the church grounds. The idea that something magical can happen from running about the church is probably an exaggeration of what scared locals saw the witch master and his nymphs doing 'walking the circle' as it is known in paganism.Most of the village was built in the mid-Sixties.

There are many ghost stories within the village, most again central to the church. The most famous ghost is the grey lady who reportedly floats down from the church's west gate towards the river Crouch.

During World War II there was a radar station which has now fallen into ruin. It stands on a private property, where the remnant is now used as a stable.

In 1987, a group of youths burst into the village chruchyard on halloween and caused a riot in the churchyard. Every year police officers patrol the village on halloween.

In 1989 a serious car crash happened down anchor lane, which is believed to be haunted to this very day.

The village is about 1 mile from the River Crouch.

Church

The 14th century church of St Nicholas, with its 15th century tower and porch, stands on a hill 128 feet above the marshes. The oldest part of the church is the outside wall of the north aisle which contains many Roman bricks, presumably from an earlier building.