deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

Essex (/ˈɛsɪks/^ⓘESS-iks) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. It is borderedby Cambridgeshire 

and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the south, Greater London to the south-west, and Hertfordshire to the west.

Essex is a low-lying county with a flat coastline. It contains pockets of ancient woodland, including Epping Forest in the south-west, and in the north-east shares Dedham Valearea of outstanding natural beauty with Suffolk. The coast is one of the longest of any English county, at 562 miles (905 km).

With a rich history, Essex began as The Kingdom of the East Saxon’s. It was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the Anglo-SaxonHeptarchy (The Heptarchy was the division of Anglo-Saxon England between the sixth and eighth centuries into petty kingdoms, conventionally the seven kingdoms of East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, and Wessex.) It was founded in the 6th century and covered the territory later occupied by the counties of Essex, Middlesex, much of Hertfordshire and (for a short while) west Kent.

Essex was an early location of the conversion to Christianity in England.

Modern Essex is home to many professional football clubs. The best known club being the Premier League member:

Back to the flag. Both the flag and the coat of arms feature three white Saxon sea knives (although they look rather more like scimitars) pointing to the right (from the point of view of the observer), arranged vertically one above another on a red background. The three-seax device is also used as the official logo of Essex County Council; this was granted in 1932.

In John Speed’s history, (1611) he wrote about Æscwine or Erkenwine (died 587) in  Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies he is listed as the first king of Essex and father of Sledd. Most sources list Sledd as the first king and Æscwine’s existence is uncertain.

In 1889 the County Council adopted the basic three knives design as the official emblem of Essex.