It has historically been a primarily agricultural community situated at the southern edge of the old ice age flood plain traversed by the river Mardyke.

[2] On the gravel terrace, there is a neolithic causewayed enclosure discovered as a result of crop marks which showed on aerial photographs taken by St Joseph of Cambridge University.

Petty criminals were held for a short time before being released or sent to a larger town for trial.

Orsett has a variety of listed and interesting buildings, including the almost perfectly preserved Victorian workmen's cottages on Maltings Lane[9] as well as several Grade Two listed timber-framed and thatched houses, and grand houses dating from the reign of Charles II.

Apart from some small-scale Council housing in Ridgewell Avenue to the North of the High Street, there was no significant growth in residential development until 1954–55 when new properties were erected in School Lane.

The historic Orsett Hall on Prince Charles's Avenue, the home of the Whitmore family until their estate was sold in the late-1960s, was destroyed by fire in May 2007 but was rebuilt during 2008–09.

It has a well-equipped village hall at its western end and a centre for the churches in the High Street.