St Osyth
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St Osyth is a village in North East Essex in the south east of the United Kingdom. It is about five miles from Clacton-on-Sea, and about twelve miles from Colchester. It is located on the B1027.
Point Clear is an area of the village, located to west of the village centre.
St Osyth is a parish of Tendring District.
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The Legend of Saint Osyth
Legend has it that Saint Osyth (or Ositha) was a young lady who was involved in various fantastic events during her lifetime. Tales include:
- A young Osyth drowned in a stream, but was revived by nuns from the local convent praying for her for three days.
- St Osyth was executed by beheading; where she fell a spring issued forth from the ground; she picked up her head and walked to the door of the nunnery where she knocked three times on the door before collapsing.
- To this day, Osyth's ghost walks along the priory walls carrying her head one night each year.
Local Sights
The most notable building in the village is undoubtedly its medieval Priory. The village church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul.
History
Prior to being renamed to commemorate Saint Osyth, the village was called Chich (alternate spellings include Chiche and Chick).
St Osyth was the subject of an episode of Channel 4's Time Team programme, originally broadcast on 27 February 2005. This programme sought to uncover the early origins of the village, which was presumed to have grown up at around the same time as the Priory, in the twelfth century. Many of the investigations around the current village centre found little evidence of settlement prior to the fourteenth century; it appeared that the early village centre lay some way off, between the Priory and the river.
Facts
- St Osyth is known to the locals as "Toosey", which is apparently formed from a contraction of the village name.
- In terms of annual average rainfall, St Osyth is the driest recorded place in the UK, with just 513 mm per year. (source - http://www.metoffice.com/education/curriculum/didyouknow.html). By some definitions, this is low enough to classify St Osyth as a desert!
External links
- http://www.stosyth.gov.uk/ - St Osyth Parish Council website
- http://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/ - Tendring District Council website