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West Mersea (formerly spelt Mersey) is a small town in the Colchester borough of Essex, England. It is the larger of two settlements on Mersea Island, located south of Colchester. The smaller settlement on the island is the village of East Mersea.
The island measures five miles by two and is joined to the mainland by a causeway called The Strood. Twice a day, at Spring Tides, Mersea becomes a real island. West Mersea, a town of close to 7,000 people, lies at the western end of the Island; a seaside resort, sailing centre and working harbour - a bustling riverside town with a strong sense of community.

The West Mersea Yacht Club is a notable centre for sailing on the East coast of England. The town also boasts an RNLI lifeboat station. The town hosts an annual regatta, usually in August each year, known as Mersea Week.

Roman buildings and tessalated pavements located close to the current quayside have led to suggestions that a small Roman settlement and port existed on the site of the modern town, with a road linking it to the nearby town of Camulodunum (modern Colchester).
The nearby burial mound to the north of the town is also of Roman date
Edward the Confessor granted the island to the abbey of St. Ouen in Rouen, France in 1046, and the Priory of West Mersea was established. In July 1963, the lifeboat station was established next to the West Mersea Yacht Club, one of the first ten inshore lifeboat stations in the British Isles. In 1954, a tragedy happened, Ian Hude decided to drive along the causeway when the tide was in. He drove down the road and his car stopped. He got out and slipped on the road as the water was coming in at a fast speed and was swept away and drowned