The commuter towns locals argue is the 'most cockney' parts of Essex

Which towns count as being part of Essex and which towns fall into London has been a long debated argument. The blur has been made even more blurred by the fact that Essex has a close connection to parts of the capital as Londoners moved out of the city, particularly after the Second World War, to call Essex their new home.

New towns like Harlow and Stevenage, were even built with Londoners in mind, as people looked out from the heavily bombed East End for a new calmer way of life. Now, many of us might have cockney relatives who once grew up in East London, and set up new lives in Essex. But what makes a cockney, and what is the most cockney town in Essex?

The word cockney was actually used as far back as 1362, when poet, William Langsford, used it. In his poem Piers Plowman, the word, then spelt “cockeneye”, was used when referring to a rooster’s egg, or something that could not actually exist. It was meant as an insult to all people living in the city as ‘weaklings’. More recently, the word was used to refer to someone who was born wherever the bells from the church in Bow, East London, could be heard. Some of us though think that it’s more to do with the accent, or the famous rhyming slang.

READ MORE: Son was 'wrenched' from mum after Lakeside Shopping Centre murder
READ MORE: Locals slam plan to demolish Essex garden centre to build mobile homes

Commenters on Reddit debated whether ‘true’ Cockneys even still exist. Some users went so far as to say that the cockney accent is now more “mockney”, and is mixed with an estuary accent. Sadly, many agreed that rhyming slang is nowhere to be found among younger generations.

Users of the forum questioned which areas of Essex were the most cockney, and some places kept cropping up. Basildon and Brentwood were both places that commenters agreed were popular among original cockneys, and their children, and their children’s children.

JealousAd2873 shared: “I'm from Basildon and I've always assumed it to be within the cockneysphere because it's a new town built after WWII and most of its residents left East London after the Blitz flattened it, my grandparents being one example.”

Another user, DenseAd7115, wrote: “Originally from Brentwood and both sets of grandparents were formerly from the East End. I'd say this was the case for most people I knew in the area. The accent varied though, more common to see it in people that were born in the 70s and backwards.

READ MORE: Only a true Essex person will know all these slang words