MacBean and Johnson, 18th-century historians, contend that Counus Island would have existed much further out to sea (or may even have been the Isle of Sheppey[13]), so any similarity between the names is mere coincidence.

[7] The existence of several place names on modern Canvey using the wick suffix (denoting the sheds in which the cheese was made) shows the influence of the early Saxon culture.

[15] The period of transition from Old to Early Middle English often give rise to confusions of orthography,[16] leading, in this instance, to such variant spellings as Canefe, Kaneweye, Kaneveye and Koneveye.

A boundary point, Counus, would then in tribal terms be placed at the southern border of the Trinovantes on the eastern extent of the loose tribes also seen as the Tames (Thames).

[18] During Edward II's reign (1307–1327) the land was under the possession of John de Apeton[8] and the first attempts were made at managing the effects of the sea with rudimentary defences,[7][8] but periodical flooding continued to blight the small population of mostly shepherds and their fat-tailed variety of sheep for a further 300 years.

In 1622, Sir Henry Appleton (a descendant of John de Apeton) and Canvey's other landowners[20] instigated a project to reclaim the land and wall the island from the Thames.

[8] The presence of the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden, a relation of Croppenburg's, in England at the time of the project on a commission to drain the Fens and involved in repairing the seawall at Dagenham, has led to speculation that Vermuyden oversaw the project, but proof appears to be vague;[7] nevertheless, the work was completed by around 300 Dutch workers skilled in the construction of dykes and other sea defences.

The engineers successfully reclaimed 3,600 acres (15 km2)[7] by walling the island with local chalk, limestone and the heavy clay of the marshes, with the main length along the Thames faced with Kentish ragstone.

[21] It is believed that the peril of the mudflats below such shallow waters off the Canvey Island coast prompted the Romans to devise some form of beacon as a warning in the area.

[28] Hester marketed Canvey as "Ye Old Dutch Island", giving many of the new roads Dutch-sounding names and enticing potential buyers with free rail tickets.

The project started well with thousands of plots sold, but by 1905 had fallen apart due to materials not being delivered and issues with land ownership with the laying of the monorail.

[30] Along with the Coalhouse Fort at nearby East Tilbury, Thorney Bay on the southern coast of the island was the site of a degaussing station built to monitor the effectiveness of the equipment on board the allied ships passing along the Thames.

[36] The southern area of the Canvey Island West ward at Hole Haven has predominantly existed as petrochemical site since the first construction of an oil terminal there in 1936.

The first delivery of 2,020 tonnes arrived on 20 February 1959 from Lake Charles, Louisiana, by a specially modified liberty ship Normarti renamed the Methane Pioneer.

From the Canvey Report (1978) the following hazardous installations were identified: In 1978 the HSE concluded that the residents of the island faced a risk more than five times higher than those in neighbouring South Benfleet.

[41] On 27 July 1978 Castle Point District Council asked the Secretary of State "to revoke the planning permission granted to United Refineries Ltd in accordance with his Inspector's recommendation at the exploratory inquiry in 1975".

In September 1997, the celebrity steeplejack Fred Dibnah was hired by Safeway supermarkets to demolish the unused 450-foot (140 m) concrete chimney that was part of the abandoned oil refinery.

However the chimney unexpectedly collapsed the previous day whilst Dibnah and his team were making the final preparations for the controlled demolition, fortunately without injury.

The Occidental site was demolished and the tanks removed, though the former river jetty is still extant, and was nominated for the Design Museum's "Lesser Known Architecture" display in 2013.

The drainage system consists of sewers, culverts, natural and artificial dykes and lakes which feed seven pumping stations and gravity sluices that discharge the water into the Thames and creeks.

The foundations of the 100-hectare (0.4 sq mile) site were prepared in the 1970s by laying thousands of tonnes of silt dredged from the Thames; the abandoned and undisturbed area has flourished as a haven for around 1,300 species of wildlife, some of which are endangered or were thought to be extinct in the UK, including the Shrill carder bee, the Beewolf wasp and the Bombardier beetle.

[80] A Marks & Spencer's opened next to Morrisons in 2019 and was later accompanied by a Costa Coffee, Sports Direct, and B&M Bargains Store later followed by a Food Warehouse taking over two of the last remaining units.

[82][83] Landmarks from the era of Canvey's development as a seaside resort in the 20th century include the International style Labworth Café built 1932–33 and designed by Ove Arup.

[85][86] Some of Canvey's lost landmarks include the Goldmine club on Western Esplanade,[87] the original Oysterfleet public house and lighthouse[88] and Cherry Stores.

[55] Since the late 1970s, residents and local politicians have campaigned for the construction of a third access route (or "third road") to ease the island's congestion at rush hour and as a viable means of evacuation from flooding or industrial accidents at the petrochemical facilities.

The museum currently houses a collection of buses, commercial, military and emergency vehicles, and general items related to public road transport.

[100] Organised by volunteers, the museum's annual show and open days coincide with a classic vehicle cruise that convenes at the car parks of the seafront.

Though the stories about her are inconsistent, some even saying that it was a man who drowned, the majority speak of a female ghost who has wandered the area since her horse-drawn carriage plummeted into the lake.

[citation needed] The story of 'The Black Man' and 'The White Lady' is believed to be a mythical tale conjured up by smugglers to stop people wandering onto the 'saltings' and finding their smuggled goods.

The community hall, The Paddocks, was host to a number of big name gigs during the 1970s including Queen in March 1974, Elvis Costello, Clive Langer and Nick Lowe along with jazz and blues singer George Melly.