[1] The town is the main settlement in the Rochford district, and takes its name from Rochefort, Old English for "Ford of the Hunting Dogs".

[3] In 1837 James Banyard (14 November 1800 – 1863)[4] (a reformed drunk and Wesleyan preacher) and William Bridges (1802–1874) took a lease on the old workhouse at Rochford, which became the first chapel of the Peculiar People, a name taken from Deuteronomy 14:2 and 1 Peter 2:9.

The Peculiar People practised a lively form of worship bound by the literal interpretation of the King James Bible, banning both frivolity and medicine.

[5] Nearby Southend Airport started life as a grass fighter station in World War I.

[6] The site was founded in the autumn of 1914 when farmland between Westbarrow Hall and the Great Eastern Railway line at Warners Bridge 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) north of Southend Pier was acquired for RFC training purposes.

Training continued until May 1915 when the site, known also as Eastwood, was taken over by the RNAS to become a Station (night) in the fight against intruding Zeppelins.

As World War II approached it was requisitioned by the Air Ministry in August 1939[9] for use as a fighter airfield by No.11 Group RAF.

[14] Clements Hall Leisure Centre is managed by Fusion Lifestyle, for Rochford District Council.

It was here, in 1956, that Sister J Ward made observations that led to the development of phototherapy for newborns suffering from jaundice.

[31] There is a Roman Catholic church in Ashington Road, Rochford, dedicated to St Teresa of the child Jesus.