Experience the
Beauty of Brightlingsea with
Brett & Lucas

Brightlingsea, an Essex Town that was an island until the 16th century, possesses a maritime heritage defined by its unique status as being the only Cinque Port Limb outside Kent and Sussex. 

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Brightlingsea's Maritime story stretches back to the Roman era. By the early medieval era, its position on the Colne Estuary supported a small but growing coastal settlement, noted in the Domesday Book, and later shaped by seafaring communities through the Viking-age period in Essex.

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Centuries later, Brightlingsea evolved into a thriving fishing and boating port.

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The Town was particularly busy during the 19th century, when fishing smacks were being built to cater for the oyster trade; at the time, there were more advertised oyster merchants than anywhere else in England!