Thurrock

Thurrock (/ˈθʌrək/) is a unitary authority area with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council.

This article is about the English borough. For the Parliament constituency, see Thurrock (UK Parliament constituency).

Thurrock

Borough of Thurrock
Borough & Unitary authority area
Lakeside Shopping Centre
Shown within Essex
Coordinates: 51°30′00″N 0°25′00″E
CountryUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionEast
Ceremonial countyEssex
Admin HQGrays
Government
 • BodyThurrock Council
 • LeadershipLeader & Cabinet[1]
 • ExecutiveConservative administration
(Council NOC)
 • MPsJackie Doyle-Price (C)
Stephen Metcalfe (C)
 • Leader of the CouncilCllr Robert Gledhill (C)
 • Mayor of ThurrockCllr Terry Piccolo (C)
Area
 • Total163.38 km2 (63.08 sq mi)
Population
 • TotalRanked 112th
174,341
 • Density1,055/km2 (2,730/sq mi)
 • Ethnicity[2]
80.9% White British
4.9% Other White
3.8% Asian
7.8% Black
2.0% Mixed Race
0.6% other
Time zoneGMT
 • Summer (DST)British Summer Time
ONS code00KG (ONS)
E06000034 (GSS)
Websitewww.thurrock.gov.uk

The borough

It lies on the River Thames just to the east of London. With over 18 miles (29 km) of riverfront it covers an area of 64 square miles (170 km2), with more than half defined as Green Belt. With Greater London to the west and the river to the south, the county of Essex abuts the Borough to the north and east, and across the river lies Kent.

Politics

The local authority is Thurrock Council. Elections are held 3 out of every 5 years. In 2016, the Conservative Party took control of the council, albeit as a minority-party administration.

Thurrock is covered by two parliamentary constituencies. Thurrock includes most of the borough while South Basildon and East Thurrock includes some wards in the east of the borough. Both seats were Conservative gains from Labour at the 2010 general election.

The Council is led by Cllr Rob Gledhill (C) as of May 2016. The Mayor is Cllr Terry Piccolo (c).

Land use

Thurrock has a population of 157,500[3] people living in 90,500 homes. The Metropolitan Green Belt covers 70% of the borough. There are 494 acres (200 ha) of land available for industrial use.[4] There are seven conservation areas, 19 scheduled ancient monuments, including the dovecote at High House Purfleet, and 239 listed buildings.

The borough contains ten sites of special scientific interest:

  • Globe Pit, Grays
  • Grays Chalk Pit
  • Lion Pit, Grays
  • Purfleet Chalk Pits
  • West Thurrock Lagoon and Marshes
  • Inner Thames Marshes
  • Vange and Fobbing Marshes
  • Basildon Meadows
  • Mucking Flats and Marshes
  • Hangman's Wood and Deneholes

Despite much of the borough being protected Green Belt land, Thurrock provides localised opportunities for further industrial and commercial development. The borough forms part of the Thames Gateway regeneration area, a corridor of opportunity that has been identified by central government as the area with greatest development and commercial potential in the country. Thurrock Development Corporation took over much of the borough's planning functions from its creation in 2005 until its demise in March 2011.

Much of the population and commercial activity is centred along the riverfront. This includes many large and important industrial sites, including two large oil refineries, manufacturing industries, a container port, cruise liner terminal, distribution warehousing and one of Britain's largest refuse disposal sites at the appropriately named settlement of Mucking. Thurrock is also home to the Lakeside Shopping Centre.

Attractions
The Dovecote at High House

There is one multiplex cinema attached to the Lakeside Shopping Centre, and the Thameside Theatre in Grays. Live shows are held at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet. Open space includes Chafford Gorges Nature Park, Langdon Hills Country Park and Grove House Wood, managed by Essex Wildlife Trust. Museums and historic buildings include Coalhouse Fort at East Tilbury, Tilbury Fort in Tilbury, Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre, High House, Purfleet with its historic farm buildings, the Royal Opera House's Bob and Tamar Manoukian Production Workshop, The Backstage Centre and ACME artists' studios, Thurrock Museum and Walton Hall Farm Museum.

Next to Lakeside Shopping Centre is Arena Essex, a former motor sports complex, where speedway, banger and stock car racing took place. This site is now to be redeveloped for housing.

Thurrock in Bloom

Thurrock in Bloom is a voluntary group that works in partnership with Thurrock Council and co-sponsors such as Sandown Nursery and Elm Horticulture to promote floral displays. It is part of a more general "in bloom" initiative organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.[5] The Thurrock initiative includes an annual competition[6] and sponsorship of roundabouts.[7] Award winners include Woodside Primary School which has received silver and gold awards for its wildlife garden.

History

Mammoths once grazed in the Thurrock area[8] and archaeologists recently unearthed the remains of a jungle cat. Man has been in the area since prehistoric times[8] and the land has been farmed by the Romans[8] and Anglo-Saxons[8] Thurrock has numerous archaeological sites including the major excavation at Mucking.

The Woolmarket

Horndon-on-the-Hill was the site of an 11th century mint as well as the 15th century woolmarket which gives an indication of the area's wealth in the 15th century. The narrowing of the river where Tilbury now stands meant it was important in the defence of London, and Henry VIII built three blockhouses, two on the Tilbury side and another on the Gravesend side of the river, following the end of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

In 1381, villagers from Fobbing, Mucking and Stanford-le-Hope instigated the Peasant's Revolt when they were called to Brentwood to pay the poll tax. When they refused to pay, a riot ensued which was the catalyst for a mass protest across Essex and Kent.

Later, in 1588 Elizabeth I addressed her troops not far from the Tilbury blockhouse as the Spanish Armada sailed up the English Channel. Between 1670 and 1682, the Tilbury blockhouse was substantially rebuilt into a much larger fortification (Tilbury Fort) and Coalhouse Fort was built further down river, close to the second blockhouse. The importance of the forts in defending the country continued through Napoleonic times and into the two world wars. The land where Tilbury Town now stands was farmland and marsh grazing until the building of the docks in the 1890s. Thurrock includes the Bata village, built for workers of the shoe company in 1933. Eight homes and the factory are listed.

Historically, the area was renowned for mineral extraction, including clay, aggregates and notably the digging of huge amounts of chalk from the West Thurrock area for use in the now defunct cement industries. When chalk extraction ceased one of the disused pits was redeveloped as Lakeside Shopping Centre. A number of former pits have been used to form the Chafford Gorges Nature Reserve, managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.[9]

The present-day borough of Thurrock was created in 1974 from the former area of Thurrock Urban District. The Local Government Act 1972 left the boundaries mostly untouched, although part of it, in Basildon New Town, was ceded to the Basildon district and the district gained borough status.[10]

It was given administrative independence from Essex County Council on 1 April 1998 by The Essex (Boroughs of Colchester, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock and District of Tendring) (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996. It remains part of Essex for ceremonial purposes such as lord-lieutenancy.

Captain Kidd

The body of Captain Kidd was displayed in Thurrock. He had been convicted of piracy and hanged on 23 May 1701, at 'Execution Dock', Wapping. His body was gibbeted — left to hang in an iron cage over the Thames at Tilbury Point[11] — as a warning to future would-be pirates for twenty years. Some sources give the location where his body was exhibited as Tilbury Ness, but this may be an alternative name for the same place. There is some uncertainty as to whether his body was displayed at what is now called Coalhouse Point or at a site a few hundred yards up stream, close to the present Tilbury Docks.[12]

1953 Floods

On 31 January 1953, the low-lying areas of Thurrock were inundated by the North Sea flood of 1953. The Van den Berghs and Jurgens margarine factory, which manufactured Stork margarine, was forced to stop production for many months. Since the output of this factory constituted one third of the country's ration allocation, this led to a severe strain on the supply of margarine in the UK.[13] Most schools in Thurrock were closed, either as a direct result of the flooding or in order to use them to help the relief effort. More than 1300 people in Tilbury and other low-lying areas were evacuated to schools on the higher ground.[14] Chadwell St Mary Primary school was used as the main welfare centre for the homeless.[15] By 15 February, most schools had returned to normal. The last to resume were the Landsdowne school in Tilbury and the newly opened Woodside Primary School - then called Tyrell Heath School.[16] On Friday 13 February, the flooded areas were visited by the young Queen Elizabeth II[14] Despite severe loss of life in nearby Canvey Island, only one person in Thurrock died as a result of the floods.[17]

Heritage plaques

In 2002, a partnership between Thurrock Council, Thurrock Heritage Forum and the Thurrock Local History Society began an initiative to place heritage plaques marking the famous people, events and organisations associated with Thurrock.[18] By June 2013 there were plaques to:

Culture and film

Thurrock has been the scene of several major films.[21] St Clement's Church and street scenes at West Thurrock were used in the making of the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. Thurrock can also be seen in 28 Days Later. Scenes from the films Alfie (2004), and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were shot at Tilbury docks. The opening scenes from Batman Begins (2005) were shot at Coalhouse Fort in East Tilbury. Some filming also took place for the film Essex Boys in and around the Bata estate at East Tilbury. The State Cinema, where Eddie met Roger in the classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit, can be found in Grays.

Art Deco architecture in Thurrock
The State Cinema in 2007

There are a number of examples of Art Deco architecture in Thurrock. The baggage hall at Tilbury was opened in 1930. It has an art deco interior, designed by Sir Edwin Cooper and is a grade II listed building.[22] The State cinema is also a listed building and dates from 1938. It is one of the few surviving examples of 1930s cinema architecture. It has the original cinema organ which can still be played. However, in the early 21st century the building became disused and faced dereliction. In September 2015 it was announced that J D Wetherspoon had bought the property for conversion to a public house.[23] Building of the Bata Shoes estate in East Tilbury was begun in 1933, and this is now a conservation area.

Chadwell St Mary has one of the few examples of a "Sunspan" house designed by the architect Wells Coates. Although built in the 1950s, Woodside Primary School's architecture has been described as the slightly earlier "ocean liner" style of Art Deco. The building features a number of bricked curves and circular windows, while the wrought-iron banisters on the stairs are deliberately set to lean out at an angle.

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1911 2,500—    
1951 82,100+3184.0%
1961 114,300+39.2%
1971 125,000+9.4%
1981 127,400+1.9%
1985 124,600−2.2%
1991 128,700+3.3%
1995 133,400+3.7%
2001 143,300+7.4%
2005 148,900+3.9%
2007 152,200+2.2%
2011 158,300+4.0%
All totals rounded to nearest hundred
Source: Populstat & NOMIS

At the census of 2011, there were 157,705 people, 62,353 households and 45,985 families residing in the borough. The population density was 9.7 people per hectare. There were 63,869 housing units. The racial makeup of the borough was 86% White, 3.8% Asian, 7.8% Black, 2% Mixed Race, 0.6% other.

There were 62,353 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.7% were married couples living together, 52.5% of all households were made up of individuals, 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[24]

The median age in the borough was 42. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% of residents were between the ages of 19 and 24; 30.3% were from 25 to 44; 24.2% were from 45 to 64; and 38.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.6% female.[24]

Education
See also: List of schools in Thurrock

Schools in Thurrock include the Ockendon Academy, Harris Academy Chafford Hundred, Gable Hall School, Gateway Academy, Grays Convent High School, William Edwards School, Hathaway Academy, Deneholm Primary, Little Thurrock Primary, Quarry Hill Infant and Junior, St Thomas Of Canterbury Catholic Primary, Stifford Clays Infant and Junior, Stifford Primary, Thameside Infant and Junior School, Tudor Court Primary School, Warren Primary School, Chafford Hundred Primary School, Woodside Primary School (which was opened in 1952 as Tyrell's Infant and Junior Schools, the names being changed to avoid confusion with the neighbouring Torell's Secondary School; the schools were later amalgamated into one primary school) and Treetops School.

The local sixth form college is Palmer's College, whilst other colleges in Thurrock include South Essex College (Thurrock Campus) and Thurrock Adult Community College, and recently the Stanford and Corringham Sixth Form Centre was opened, as a joint sixth form college between Gable Hall School, Hassenbrook Specialist Technology College and St Clere's School.

Partnerships

The Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary Excellence Cluster.[25] brings together Chadwell St Mary Primary School, Corringham Primary School, Grays Convent High School, Hassenbrook Academy, Herringham Primary School, Landsdowne Primary School, Manor Infant School, Manor Junior School, St Mary's RC Primary School, Woodside Primary School and The Gateway Academy. Senior members of the schools councils also sit on the cluster's student council.

Gable Hall School has had a long partnership with Pro Arte Alphen Park School in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa for almost 10 years - the two schools have held exchange programmes with each other and the students sampling life in each other's respective countries.

Woodside Primary is linked with a school in Nepal, through the charity Gorkha Learning for Life, which was founded by a member of school staff.[26]

Transport
National Rail in Thurrock
Stanford-le-Hope
East Tilbury
Tilbury Town
Grays
West Horndon
Chafford Hundred Lakeside
Ockendon
Purfleet

Being both on the river and close to London, Thurrock is served with good communication links. The M25 London Orbital Motorway, the railway line between Southend and London Fenchurch Street which provides direct access to Central London and, eventually, Stratford International Station, the Port of Tilbury and the nearby London City Airport make Thurrock an important international trade centre. There is a grass airstrip south of Bulphan village. A ferry for passengers on foot connects Tilbury with Gravesend on the southern bank of the River Thames.

Rail transport in the borough is provided by c2c with stations at:

Bus services within the Thurrock urban area are mostly provided by Ensignbus.

  • Arriva has a depot at West Thurrock, but all of its work is Transport for London contracts and has only one route running into Thurrock, the 370.

Other operators are First Essex, Stagecoach London and NIBS Buses.

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Thurrock at current basic prices published[27] (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

YearRegional gross value added[28]Agriculture[29]Industry[30]Services[31]
19951,4068657741
20001,73746771,056
20031,99556641,327

Sport and leisure

Thurrock has several Non-League football clubs in the area:

Thurrock Yacht Club is based in the centre of Grays on the Thames foreshore. It offers a range of competitive and recreational boating opportunities.[32]

List of places in the borough

Historic buildings

Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).[33]

Climate data for Thurrock
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 8
(46)		 8
(46)		 11
(52)		 12
(54)		 16
(61)		 18
(64)		 21
(70)		 22
(72)		 18
(64)		 14
(57)		 10
(50)		 8
(46)		 14
(57)
Average low °C (°F) 5
(41)		 4
(39)		 6
(43)		 6
(43)		 10
(50)		 12
(54)		 15
(59)		 15
(59)		 12
(54)		 10
(50)		 6
(43)		 5
(41)		 9
(48)
Average precipitation days 13 11 10 11 8 10 9 5 11 10 9 10 117
Source: Weatherbase[34]

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Thurrock.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Individuals
  • Mrs. Dorothy Coker: 26 September 2001.[35]
  • Reverend John Guest: 23 May 2020.
  • Canon Brian O’Shea: 23 May 2020.
  • Father Paul Dynan: 23 May 2020.

[36]

Military Units

[35]

References
  1. "The Cabinet and its members | Cabinet | Thurrock Council". www.thurrock.gov.uk.
  2. Services, Good Stuff IT. "Thurrock - UK Census Data 2011". UK Census Data.
  3. Neighbourhood Statistics. "Check Browser Settings". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  4. Archived 29 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Britain in Bloom". Archived from the original on 17 April 2010.
  6. "Overview - Thurrock in Bloom - Thurrock Council". Archived from the original on 23 January 2010.
  7. Roundabout sponsorship
  8. Catton, Jonathan, A Short History of Thurrock in Christopher Harrold, ed. (2008). Exploring Thurrock. Thurrock Local History Society.
  9. "The Geology of Essex".
  10. Archived 5 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Captain Kidd - the Tilbury connection". Archived from the original on 8 June 2011.
  13. Grieve, Hilda (1959). The Great Tide. Essex County Council. p. 466.
  14. "1953 Floods". Archived from the original on 5 March 2010.
  15. Grieve, 1959, page 600
  16. Grieve, 1959, page 616
  17. Grieve, 1959, page 568
  18. "Thurrock Council".
  19. Thurrock Yellow Advertiser, 26 April 2012
  20. Staff Reporter (14 June 2013). "Commemorating the Norman knight, Henry de Grey".
  21. "Thurrock Heritage Fact File". Archived from the original on 8 June 2011.
  22. Good Stuff. "Riverside Station (Including Floating Landing Stage) - Tilbury - Thurrock - England - British Listed Buildings".
  23. "Pub chain JD Wetherspoon confirm purchase of State Cinema". Thurrock Gazette.
  24. Neighbourhood Statistics. "Check Browser Settings". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  25. "Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary Excellence Cluster". Archived from the original on 30 April 2010.
  26. "Gorkha Learning for Life". Archived from the original on 11 March 2010.
  27. Archived 28 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  28. Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
  29. includes hunting and forestry
  30. includes energy and construction
  31. includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
  32. "Thurrock Yacht Club in Essex". www.thurrockyachtclub.org.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  33. "Thurrock, England Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase.
  34. "Weatherbase.com". Weatherbase. 2013. Retrieved on 5 July 2013.
  35. Editor, The. "Posthumous honour for Father Paul as council recognises service to borough community by three priests". thurrock.nub.news. Retrieved 19 October 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  36. "Council awards highest honour to Thurrock clergymen". Thurrock Gazette. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  37. "Burma Star Association honoured with freedom of the borough". Thurrock Gazette.

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