Southend Standard

It was founded in 1873 as The Southend Standard, and Essex Weekly Advertiser. In 1954 it split into four editions:

• Southend
• Billericay, Wickford, Laindon, Pitsea and Brentwood
• Canvey, Benfleet, Rayleigh, Rochford and Hadleigh
• Maldon district (ceased publication in 1955)

In 1964 the three surviving editions were renamed simply the Southend Standard. A minor reshuffle in 1971 saw the editions renamed for:

• Town
• Billericay, Wickford
• Rayleigh, Rochford, Benfleet then Rayleigh, Rochford, Canvey, Benfleet

In 1974 the Town edition became the Southend & District Standard, while the other two editions were simply called Standard.

The Rayleigh, Rochford, Canvey, Benfleet edition split into two in 1976; one edition served Rochford, Rayleigh, Hockley and Hullbridge, while the other covered Canvey, Benfleet, Hadleigh and Thundersley (and initially had a supplement called the Castle Point Standard for about six months).

In 1980 all the editions reverted to the Southend Standard name in the first half of the year, but were relaunched under separate titles in September. The Billericay/Wickford edition split off altogether and was absorbed into the Basildon Recorder; the Rayleigh/Rochford edition became the Rochford Standard.

In the following year the Basildon Recorder and the Southend Standard amalgamated as a group in which the Standard became the Southend Standard Recorder; the Rochford Standard merged with a newly created Rayleigh Standard Recorder to become the Rayleigh/Rochford Standard Recorder, with a separate Castle Point Standard Recorder sub-edition. They were further amalgamated as separate editions of a single Standard Recorder in 1986, only to partially re-emerge in 1995 as Southend Borough and Rochford/Rayleigh/Castle Point editions of the Southend Standard Recorder. The Recorder was dropped from the title in 1997.

The Standard‘s published by Echo Newspapers Ltd, a branch of Newsquest (Essex). The editorial offices are in Basildon, but there’s also an office in Southend itself.

It comes out on Fridays. An e-edition’s also available free via the website.