Brightlingsea was for many years twinned with French oyster fishery port Marennes, Charente-Maritime, but the relationship fell into disuse.

[4] Brightlingsea sits on a promontory surrounded by the River Colne and its associated marshes and creeks (it was an island until the 16th century), and was settled from an early date.

[11] During the wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France Brightlingsea was a base for the men and boats of the Essex Sea Fencibles (1798-1810), though in 1809 they disgraced themselves by pirating oysters from the River Crouch [citation needed].

Several local oyster merchants and shopkeepers were early members of the New Church, but the most unusual among them was the former naval lieutenant George Beazeley, an illegitimate son of the Russian ambassador.

He lived with his first wife, the daughter of the church's joint founder, Dr. Moses Fletcher, in Anchor Cottage also in Queen Street.

In desperation, three of the four shipwrecked crew killed and ate the sickest member, the seventeen-year-old cabin boy named Richard Parker.

The subsequent trial, R. v. Dudley and Stephens, established the common law principle that necessity is not a valid defence against a charge of murder.

Many Brightlingsea fishermen were drowned, especially on the Dutch coast, their names are recorded in the frieze of tiles inside All Saints' Church [citation needed].

A combination of wars, changing dietary tastes, shellfish health scares, and easier employment caused the local industry to go into sharp decline.

In addition many local men skippered famous racing sailing yachts, such as Captains Wringe, French, and Sycamore[citation needed].

(J Leather: The Northseamen: Brightlingsea Museum Collection: census data: Essex County Standard) On 8 August 1903 tragedy struck the area when 8 crew of the SY Lorena plus one local man lost their lives, drowning whilst rowing a tiny stolen rowing boat back to the yacht at 11pm after an evening of heavy drinking.

The Aldous site now houses boat-hire and other businesses, while James & Stone has been turned into flats and boat marina [citation needed].

The anchorage was periodically used by a squadron of battleships, including HMS Dreadnought, and served as the launchpad for the raid on Zeebrugge and Ostend in 1918 [citation needed].

Local shipyards concurrently built small craft for the Royal Navy and RAF, and thousands of pontoons for the British Army [citation needed].

[21] On 22 March 1941 a raid by Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter-bombers killed two men working on the minesweeping drifter Jeannie Leask in the Aldous yard [citation needed].

Local war heroes included the Merchant Navy officer Leslie Frost and the fighter pilot Roy Whitehead, who both lost their lives.

[22] In 1984 Brightlingsea Wharf was used to import coal during the Miners' Strike, and up to a dozen ships could be seen out in the river waiting to unload at Wivenhoe [citation needed].

Dubbed the "Battle of Brightlingsea" it comprised a series of protests against the live export of animals from the town for slaughter in mainland Europe.

The earliest surviving parts of the building, the chancel, the north and south chapels, and the eastern end of the nave and aisles, date from the 13th century.

The service fell victim to the Beeching cuts in the 1960s and was eventually axed in 1964 supposedly prompted by the high maintenance costs of the swing bridge over Alresford Creek, which was necessary to allow boat traffic to the many sand and gravel pits in the area.

Brightlingsea railway station was located on the southern side of Lower Park Road where the town's community centre now sits.

This could give an alternative crossing over the waters around Brightlingsea but by December 2020 no further plans or funding were apparent, whilst Alresford Creek is mooring for fifty pleasure yachts.

Ex-principal Terry Creissen, who now resides in Qatar with his family, was honoured (whilst still in the position of headmaster at the Colne) with an OBE.

[citation needed] Brightlingsea Regent Football Club plays its matches at North Road in the Isthmian League.