Lee Chapel is an old place-name recorded long before Basildon New Town. During New Town development, the railway became the practical dividing line: the former Lee Chapel land north of the railway became Lee Chapel North, while the area south became Lee Chapel South.
Before redevelopment, much of this area was associated with the Wootton Park Estate, a plotland landscape containing roads such as Almada Avenue, Brentford Avenue, Church Avenue, Fleet Avenue, Markhams Chase and Woottens Lane. Some names disappeared or changed as the New Town street pattern was imposed.
Lee Chapel North developed as a substantial planned residential neighbourhood with its own local centre. Its position between Laindon and central Basildon made it an important part of the western New Town expansion.
Much of pre-New Town Lee Chapel South was the Primrose Hill Estate, an area of plotland roads, unmade routes and individually developed plots. Access could involve an occupation crossing over the railway, demonstrating how different the landscape was before modern bridges and roads.
The first tenants began occupying Development Corporation housing in Lee Chapel South in 1959. The programme eventually comprised several housing phases, including private housing. New streets included The Knares, Great Gregorie, Ingaway, Cross Green and Wetherland.
Staneway bridge, constructed in the early 1960s, replaced the old railway crossing and improved north-south movement. The former Primrose Hill plotland estate was effectively erased by redevelopment, although the older history remains important for understanding how Lee Chapel changed.