Stan Hollands 1922 - 1992.

Stan Hollands

Remembering Stan Hollands – It was very much down to Stan Hollands that Willow Park, Marks Hill Wood, Hoppit Shaw and the Dunton Slopes – all of which now constitute the Langdon Nature Reserve – were not built upon. In 1965, the Basildon Development Corporation published its Master Plan, envisaging such development. Stan opposed this steadfastly – despite the fact that he stood to gain hugely financially, in that he owned a substantial area of land off The Chase (within what is now called Willow Park).

The Chase

His dogged opposition was a major factor in the Planning Inspector calling a rethink of the South–West Area of the proposed New Town. Stan followed all the twists and turns of the planners, politicians and bureaucrats, ultimately presenting much detailed evidence at the South-West Area public enquiry in 1975. He was not alone: there were other protesters and presenters of evidence, including the Basildon Natural History Society.

A Government Inspector and Basildon Development Corporation Officials along with Stan Hollands, Roland Partridge and others during the South West area enquiry. Stan third from right in the hat.

Nevertheless, it was Stan’s detailed submission that went far in convincing the Planning Inspector that these lovely areas of Langdon Hills and Dunton should not be built upon and they were duly dropped from the Development Corporation’s plans, despite the fact that the Corporation had spent a lot of public money in buying up land at very generous prices.

Stan’s land centred upon the family bungalow ‘Tu Wong’ (an Australian name: his father was Australian), which is now at the heart of Willow Park but very hard to locate. Stan’s love of Langdon Hills was greater than his love of money.

Young Stan with his mother

Dry Street Memorial Church was his and his wife Dorothy’s church, along with Langdon Hills Methodist. Stan’s mother was the regular organist at Dry Street. 

Photo taken at an unknown event at Langdon Hills Methodist Church. Stan, sitting on the far right.

Subsequently, the Development Corporation wished to name something after Stan, but he demurred. They got their way post-mortem and Hollands’ Walk on the Glenmere Estate at Vange commemorates him.

Dr. Rodney Cole

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  • I lived in Gulmarg as a young girl with my mum and dad
    Hazel and Bill Ward 1960s it would have been.

    By Carol Wade (27/08/2022)
  • I’m trying to find out more history on what is now known as Gulmarg, 7 Butlers Grove, is this the same house that Stan and Dorothy lived in?

    Editor: No, Stan and Dorothy Hollands didn’t live in Gulmarg, their bungalow in Butler’s Grove was called Ashdene.

    By Yolande Stokes (19/05/2019)
  • Dorothy was indeed a dental nurse at the clinic.  I remember climbing down the steps that led from Laindon Station bridge into the Bristow Road clinic where I attended often between 1954 and 1956.  I was fitted with a dental brace which needed regular adjustments. I hated wearing it and I remember Dorothy being very kind to me.

    Colin and I knew Stan and Dorothy well in later years and in the late 70s, they invited us and our children to their bungalow in Butler’s Grove to see the badgers which visited their garden in the late evenings.  Dorothy would feed them with a stew that she made especially for them. Stan and Dorothy were a lovely couple.   

    By Nina Humphrey(née Burton) (28/09/2017)
  • Stan and Dorothy lived at the back of what was Butlers Grove backing onto the woods. As stated he was a thorn in the side to Basildon Development Corporation as a staunch campaigner for preserving as much of Langdon Hills as he could. Douglas Galloway who was at one time General Manager at the BDC told me that Stan Hollands was responsible for many of the new road names for the area as they could rely on his knowledge on the history of this part of Essex.  Stan was a regular visitor to my shop in the Laindon Centre spending many hours using the photocopier in pursuit of justice for the local area. If my memory serves me right I believe that his wife Dorothy was the Dental Nurse at the NHS clinic in Bristow Road in the 1950s. 

    By Paul Gibson (27/09/2017)
  • I was aware, in the 1940’s of a family whose surname I thought was Holland but it could well have been Hollands. They lived in a bungalow, set back from the road, in Berry Lane, west of New Avenue, on the south side of the road. There was a son, Johnny Holland who was a pal of mine. I realise this was a lot earlier than Ken Porter’s story on Stan Hollands but I wonder if there was a family connection?

    Editor:  The family resident in ‘The Brambles’,  Berry Lane, 1951 were Cyril and Doris Holland plus William J Holland.   In 1970 Cyril and Doris Holland plus Susan A Holland were in residence.

    By Alan Davies (26/09/2017)

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