Zoom back in time 50 years to when the world’s first mini-roundabout was being installed – right here in south Essex.

The St Mary’s Church mini-roundabout in Benfleet was the first intersection of its kind in the world and was set up in the spring of 1970.

It stands at the junction of High Road, High Street and Essex Way outside the Anchor Inn and St Mary the Virgin Church.

The concept of a mini-roundabout was developed by traffic engineer Frank Blackmore in the late 1960s. First he developed a smaller roundabout that could be used in restricted urban areas. This was installed in Peterborough in October 1968 but was replaced by traffic lights in 2008.

However Blackmore went on to develop a roundabout which had no central island and was just a painted white circle. This was defined as a mini-roundabout by the government in 1975.

As the first of this design was installed in Benfleet in May 1970 it makes it the first in the UK and the world – and is still in operation.

Blackmore grew up in Switzerland but came to Britain in 1936 to work in the engineer’s department at Colchester Borough Council and it was here that his interest in roundabouts emerged.

He wanted to solve the problem of junctions locking up with massive queues of cars and free-for- all jams clogging up towns.

He didn’t stop there. Blackmore was also responsible for the ‘magic roundabout’ design used at nearby Sadlers Farm.

The oldest standard-sized roundabout in the UK today is Sollershott roundabout in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, which was built in 1909.

These photos, from the Benfleet Community Archive show the mini-roundabout being installed in 1970. Blackmore is pictured in some of the shots, hard at work surveying the area.

For more details, articles and photos charting Benfleet’s history visit www.benfleethistory.org.uk