The Railway public house was built during the 1920s and open
for business in 1927. It was the first building in local landowner and businessman Harold George
Howard's 'Vision of Pitsea'. The land on which it was built was sold by Mr. Howard to brewers Ind Coope who respected his wishes
its appearance be along mock Tudor lines. An earlier Railway Hotel had been built around 1858-59 not long
after Pitsea railway station opened. This closed when the new Railway Hotel was built and was transformed into
three shops, one of which was the post office before being demolished. It stood further along the High Road
opposite the former market car park, and now the site of McDonald's, Lidl and KFC. From its earliest days it was
known as the Railway Hotel, but by the mid 1970s had become simply
The Railway. For much of its existence brewers Ind Coope (from 1934 Ind Coope & Allsopp) provided their Romford Ales in surroundings that
included a spacious banquet hall. An off licence was also incorporated within the building. The grounds included a bowls green, which was laid out in expensive
Cumberland turf. Pitsea Bowling Club had use of this when it opened for use on 1st August 1928. Live entertainment in
the form of musical groups have also been a past feature that in the 1960s also included a Thursday evening of 'All Star
Wrestling'. Its location and mock Tudor facade made it an important feature of Pitsea but the pub, which
had acquired something of a sullied reputation often being referred to as "the flying bottle",
fell on hard times and closed for good in September 2006. There was hope that it could become part of a planned
Pitsea regeneration programme but its fate was sealed when Basildon Council allowed a planning
application on behalf of Morrison's supermarket chain and the site owners that also saw the closure
and later demolition of Pitsea Swimming Pool and the eventual resiting of Pitsea Market to the site of
the former pub, which had also been scheduled for eventual demolition. The demolition and clearance
of the Railway site began in April 2013 and continued throughout May and June. The site was then
prepared for the market which opened on 8th January 2014. In the years following closure the Railway's forecourt
had been in use by a car cleaning company. | 
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