Eastwood took its name from its situation on the eastern side of the woods and parkland of
Rayleigh and
Thundersley which were part of the Great Forest of Essex. The village is mentioned in the
Domesday Book of 1086 as "Estwa", and was held by Swain of Essex, whose father Robert had held it during the reign of
Edward the Confessor. Suen's son, Robert of Essex, founded
Prittlewell Priory in the year 1100, but his grandson
Henry of Essex forfeited all his estates to the Crown in 1163, because of alleged cowardice in battle. After this date the manor was generally held by the Crown. In the 13th century, the English Kings would often visit the district for hunting, making
Hadleigh Castle their residence.
Henry VIII was the last king known to have hunted here and Eastwood Lodge was the centre of the last reserved portion of hunting land. In 1536, during the
Reformation, the Manor was given by
Edward VI to
Lord Rich whose descendants became
Earls of Warwick, then by marriage it passed to the
Earl of Nottingham. In 1931 the parish had a population of 3887. The parish of Eastwood formerly included a detached area on
Wallasea Island, some north-east from the main part of the parish. After the main part of the parish was absorbed into Southend in 1933 the former detached area persisted as a parish called Eastwood until 1946, when it was added to the parish of
Canewdon. ==References==