Billericay Evangelical Free Church

The red-brick Victorian building on Laindon Road is easy to miss if you're just driving through Billericay, but it's worth stopping for if you're the sort who likes to peek inside the town's less obvious corners. The Evangelical Free Church dates back to the 1800s and still functions as an active place of worship, which means visiting hours depend entirely on services and events rather than tourist schedules.

Inside, it's all high ceilings, wooden pews, and the kind of peaceful atmosphere you get in churches that haven't been turned into flats or craft beer venues. The architecture tells you something about Victorian nonconformism and the town's religious history - straightforward, unadorned, built by people who meant business. There's no gift shop, no audio guide, and no particular ceremony about it, which somehow makes it more genuine.

This isn't a destination in itself, frankly. But if you're based at Barleylands Campsite or Stuarts Wood, both within a few miles, and you've got an afternoon in town waiting out bad weather or killing time between activities, it's worth ten minutes of your time. Best approach is to ring ahead and ask about visiting hours - churches run on their own timetable, and you'll waste a trip otherwise. History buffs and anyone interested in how ordinary communities organised themselves religiously will get more from it than most. Everyone else? Walk past, maybe peer through the windows, then head to the High Street for lunch.