A Study of the Strood by W.E. Duane. Chapter 4. Page 18.

The Early Settlement of Mersea Island contd.

... gave it it's descriptive name and following from this, the inhabitants must have needed some means of connecting with the mainland, so perhaps the Strood was first constructed by strewing a pathway of faggots of brushwood across the muddy floor of the Channel at low tide.

To find out who did need a pathway across the Channel the text of Essex Domesday by J.Horace Round was consulted. Here we find a detailed inventory of everything that could be listed. The island then, as now was divided into two parishes, East and West Mersea and the boundaries of each were occasioned by the manor holdings. The boundary of West Mersea is fully described as follows:-

"There is still a 'Deramy Stone' [Note 1] in Mersea, a boundary mark of the manor of Peet. The bounds given in a Charter of 1046 start from the bank above 'Pone streme' and extend to a ditch formerly called 'Deramy's Diche' between Est-Mersey and West-Mersey, (Broad Fleet) and from 'Deramy's Flete' to a street formerly called 'Deramy's Strete', and from there extends as far as 'le Peete' called 'Deramay's Peete' in the vill of Fyngerynho at 'Deramy's Stone', and from 'Deramy's Stone' to 'Brigflete' on the East and from 'Deramy's Stone' to 'Weldon-Downes Neowte'.

Round [Note 2] says:-

"Hundret of Winisistreu (Winstree) MERESAI (East Mersea), which was held in King Edwards time by Robert Fity Winarc (Winarcae) as a manor and as 6 hides, is held by Suen in Demense" and there follows a census of all things of value to the manor.

Note 1 Vol.XII The Place Names of Essex
Note 2 Page 488 V.C.H. Page IX.

Date: 1965