Home > England > Basildon
Car Hire Basildon
About Basildon, England
Basildon is the biggest town in the borough of Basildon in the county of Essex, England. It is situated 40km east of London city centre and 18km south of Chelmsford. Basildon was established as a new town in the wake of World War II in 1948, to ease some of the pressure on London's population. It was formed by merging the villages of Pitsea, Laindon, Basildon and Vange, with Basildon earning naming rights as the most central of the four.
Rent a car in Basildon, and you will have direct access to the City via an excellent road network - the A127 and A13. You are also within easy reach of the coast, at Southend-on-Sea, just 21km away, or you could head to the popular seaside resort of Clacton-on-Sea, 89km away. In fact, Basildon is a good base for any travels in south-east England.
Basildon can trace its roots 1086, when it was referred to in the Domesday Book as Belesduna. The name 'Basildon' is believed to have derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name 'Boerthal' and the Anglo-Saxon word 'dun', which means hill. Down through history, the town has been called everything from Berdlesdon to Batlesdon and Belesduna.