Pitsea was connected by the new London, Tilbury and Southend railway line in 1855. Next to the station is Cromwell Manor, previously Pitsea Hall, which dates from the 15th century. The arrival of the railway saw land around Pitsea bought and sold off piecemeal by companies like Protheroe and Morris of London who used tactics of free rail tickets and champagne auctions to convince East Londoners of the plotland dream. It was not until 1925 that planned development took place, when local entrepreneur Harold George Howard built The Railway Hotel (now demolished). He continued the development with The Broadway Cinema (closed in 1970 and re-opened as a bingo hall which itself closed 2009 - currently empty) in 1930, along with Tudor Chambers and Anne Boleyn Mansions (home to TSB Bank). He also built Howard Crescent and Park which still exist to this day. Also in 1925, the locally famous Pitsea market first opened.