The landscape surrounding the town, and elsewhere on the peninsula, is characterized by a pattern of strictly rectangular field boundaries, with evidence of a unit of measurement having been applied to the scheme as a whole.

These features are consistent with John Blair's formulation of an Anglo-Saxon minster, in contrast to a private oratory in its origins, and the place-name would perhaps suggest Cedd's mission at the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall near Bradwell (to the north) as its parent.

[2] Several well-known clergymen are associated with the church, including naturalist Walter Henry Hill, curate from 1832 to 1839, and Alexander John Scott, rector 1805 to 1840 but previously personal chaplain to Horatio Nelson.

The town has an infant and a primary school, a small library, a handful of pubs, a swimming pool, a brewery and cidery and one holiday park.

Southminster railway station is the northern terminus of the Crouch Valley line, which provides generally hourly stopping services to Wickford.