A Brief History

The Labworth Cafe is located on Canvey Island seafront and is one of the most iconic buildings on the island. The name is taken from Labworth farm that stood on the site prior to the redevelopment of the area. The Labworth is located a few metres from the waters edge with views across the Thames Estuary.

The Labworth is a grade 2 listed building and was designed by Ove Arup, the famous design engineer who worked on projects including Kingsgate Bridge, Sydney Opera House and the Gorilla House at London Zoo. Building commenced in 1932 as Canvey Island became a booming seaside resort due to it's close proximity to London. The Labworth cafe first opened it's doors to tourists in 1933.

As traditional British summer holidays slowly fell out of fashion, the building became neglected and was almost demolished in the 1970's during the construction of Canvey's sea defences. Luckily it was saved and incorporated into the sea wall defences by altering the building and creating an earth barrier behind it. Today the building houses The Labworth Cafe on the lower floor and the Labworth Restaurant above it.