This tour around Rochford and the River Roach will pass Rochford Hall, once owned by oft-maligned Tudor courtier Richard Rich​. It’s now part of a golf course​, as is the old parish church. ​But Rochford was a hotbed of Protestantism, and we’ll talk about how Nonconformists and Dissenters differed, from Congregationalists to Puritans, Methodists and the Peculiar People.

After a tour around the town looking at weatherboard houses there will be a short pub stop. The second part of the walk goes along the River Roach, past a derelict flour mill and live saltmarshes into the estuary to hear about the perils of riverside mud, with the aid of Susan Hill’s Woman in Black. Birds abound, and the marshes are beautiful as we head towards the North Sea.

The walk is about five miles and could involve muddy paths, so boots or high trainers with good soles are needed. Rochford is about one hour by train from Liverpool Street Station.

Below are your hosts, Rob Smith and Laura Agustín, in a Maldon pub after a recce.

The Naked Anthropologist is Laura’s longtime blog, now dedicated to historical walks that highlight issues of Gender, Sex and Class.