A Study of the Strood by W.E. Duane. Chapter 3. Page 10.

The Development of the Strood from Early Maps.

To try and establish the site of the Strood a study of the oldest maps available was made to establish when the Strood , as a road, was first recorded. There is at the Essex Records Office [Note 1] a large selection, so it seemed, that it was just a matter of finding where the Strood was first shown as a proper thoroughfare and then turning up the documents for that particular period to back up the discovery of its' origin.

The earliest map was made by Christopher Saxton in 1576 [Note 2]. Here, Mersea Island is shown situated in the Estuary of the Colne, with positively no connection with the Blackwater! Some familiar names are marked, East Mersey, West Mersey, Bowre (Bower Hall), but no road, pathway or ford to the mainland is shown.

Hans Wontneel made the next map in 1602 (2) scale 1"- 21/4m. This is very similar to Saxton's with the Island still in the estuary of the Colne, but turned a little so that its' length lies from East to West across the Colne. No path or road to the mainland is shown. On this map the villages are named East Marsey and West Marsey.

John Speed's map 1610 [Note 2] scale 1" - 3m shows the Island

Note 1 1st Supplement Catalogue of maps E.R.O.
Note 2 County Maps E.R.O.

Date: 1965