Essex is a county lying to the north east of Greater London.
In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, the south western area of the county was transferred to Greater London, forming the London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.
Part of the remaining county contains commuter towns and forms part of the Greater London Urban Area. There are also a number of new towns developed to house "overspill" population from London.
The Essex County Council website is [1].