52-735: The Mardyke (sometimes, but less frequently, Mar Dyke , occasionally Mardike ) is a small river, mainly in Thurrock , that flows into the River Thames at Purfleet , close to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge . In part, it forms the boundary between the Essex hundreds of Barstable and Chafford . The river gives its name to the Mardyke Valley—a project aimed at increasing appreciation and usage of recreational land around
104-709: A PoW camp was sited close to where the Mardyke enters the Thames. The river gives its name to the Mardyke Valley—a project aimed at increasing the appreciation and usage of recreational land around the Mardyke—which is a part of the Thames Chase Community Forest . The project includes a seven-mile riverside walk known as the Mardyke Way, running from Ship Lane, Aveley to Orsett Fen. In 2005,
156-587: 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
208-453: A public house January 2023 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. There
260-638: A sluice gate that could be opened to allow the water to flow over an artificial waterfall – the sort of water feature popular with landscape gardeners such as Lancelot "Capability" Brown who landscaped the grounds of Thorndon Hall in the 18th century, although the pond itself dates from the 13th century. Another tributary flows west from Dunton Plotlands section of the Langdon Nature Reserve in Langdon Hills and another flows east from Upminster . The name means "boundary ditch". It
312-441: 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. On 31 January 1953, the low-lying areas of Thurrock were inundated by
364-457: Is a Saxon name meaning "the bottom of a ship". 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
416-522: Is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb " (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). 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
468-491: Is mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon charter dated 1062 ( S 1036 ) as part of the boundary for Upminster, although this charter is probably a post-conquest forgery. It has also been called "the Flete" (flete is derived from flēot , an Old English word for "small estuary") and more simply "the brook". One of the Mardyke's tributaries flows from Childerditch . This name appears as "celta" in a 7th-century charter ( S 1246 ). Celta may be
520-866: 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,
572-455: Is present. The flow of the Mardyke is very sluggish at this point, allowing the growth of bur reed and common reed. The river itself has been designated a wild life corridor, allowing flora and fauna to move from one site to another. To the north of the Mardyke Way close to Stifford, the river also gives its name to Mardyke Woods, although these are actually a combination of three ancient woods—Brannet's Wood, Millard's Wood and Low Well Wood. To
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#1732764745898624-467: 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, 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
676-541: The Dartford Crossing . The local authority is Thurrock Council , based in Grays . The borough also includes Purfleet-on-Thames , South Ockendon , Stanford-le-Hope and Tilbury , as well as other villages and surrounding areas. More than half of the borough is designated as Green Belt . The neighbouring districts are the London Borough of Havering , Brentwood , Basildon and Castle Point . On
728-732: The Harris Federation and Ormiston Trust and the country's first cooperative academy trust. Since 2007, all secondary schools in Thurrock have had specialist school status. Some schools, such as William Edwards School and Orsett Heath Academy , utilise their right as specialist schools to select 10% of their pupils in specialist subject aptitude every year. Thurrock has no grammar schools , although Thurrock Council has tried to introduce them. Historically Thurrock had three grammar schools, Grays Thurrock School, Palmer's School for Boys and Palmer's School for Girls. In 1931,
780-539: 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. Most schools in Thurrock were closed, either as a direct result of the flooding or in order to use them to help
832-690: The Orsett Poor Law Union , which had been created in 1835 covering a group of 18 parishes in southern Essex. Poor Law Unions subsequently formed the basis for later local government structures, with the Orsett Rural Sanitary District created in 1872 covering the same area. The parish of Grays Thurrock was made its own urban sanitary district in 1886. Urban and rural sanitary districts were converted into urban districts and rural districts in 1894. Two further urban districts were later created from parts of
884-663: The Orsett Rural District : the Tilbury Urban District in 1912 covering the parish of Chadwell St Mary , and the Purfleet Urban District in 1929 covering the three parishes of Aveley , South Ockendon and West Thurrock . After 1929 the area therefore comprised four district-level authorities: one rural district, containing 13 civil parishes, and three urban districts: In 1936 the four districts were all abolished to create
936-516: 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
988-586: The Thurrock Adult Community College , Osborne Sixth Form and Ortu Sixth Form Centre Stanford & Corringham . The Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary Excellence Cluster brought together Chadwell St Mary Primary School, ORTU 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
1040-564: The Thurrock Urban District (subject to some minor boundary changes with surrounding areas, notably at North Ockendon). All the civil parishes within the area were merged at the same time to become a single parish called Thurrock. The present-day borough of Thurrock was created in on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering almost the same area as the former Thurrock Urban District, which
1092-503: The ceremonial county of Essex , England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames immediately east of London and has over 18 miles (29 km) of riverfront including the Port of Tilbury , the principal port for London. Thurrock is within the London commuter belt and is an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The borough includes the northern ends of
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#17327647458981144-542: 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 Peasants' 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
1196-472: The Mardyke close to Stifford Bridge. These include a hammerstone , a small sword and a Pilgrim badge . There was a water mill on the Mardyke at Purfleet in the 14th century, that was owned by the Knights Templar . From about 1760, sluice gates protected the lowlying land through which the Mardyke flows from the tidal and saline Thames. The Mardyke was an important communication corridor connecting
1248-521: The Mardyke. The main source of the Mardyke is in Holden's Wood between Great Warley and Little Warley . It flows roughly 11 miles (18 km) from the source to the Tideway of the Thames at Purfleet , close to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge . There are two tributaries flowing south from Thorndon Country Park, in the grounds of Thorndon Hall . One of these flows south from Old Hall Pond. The pond has
1300-488: The Palmer's schools became public schools with boarding , reverting back to grammar school status in 1944 under voluntary control . Grays Convent High School was an independent day school from its formation until 1969. There were also two selective secondary technical schools , Grays County Technical High School which is now an academy status comprehensive and Aveley County Technical High School , which merged with
1352-480: The Palmer's schools in 1971 to form Palmer's College . Palmer's College, now one half of USP College , is Thurrock's local sixth form college for generalised further education , whilst the Thurrock Campus of South Essex College is the local sixth form college for vocational education . Palmer's also offers courses at higher education . Other institutions of further education in Thurrock include
1404-467: The River Thames to the inland fen landscape to the northeast. In the 19th century and earlier, the Mardyke was navigable to Bulphan. Using a network of drainage ditches, manure from London was brought to local farms and agricultural produce taken to market. In the 18th century, when the river was still tidal, it may have been navigable as far as Orsett Hall at high tide. During the first world war,
1456-470: 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. Being on the river and close to London, Thurrock
1508-535: The Thames. There is ancient woodland on the valley slopes and the land close to the river was used for grazing. Pollen evidence from the Mardyke valley shows that there was woodland regeneration at the end of the Roman period and into the early Anglo-Saxon period. There is a substantial bridge over the Mardyke at Stifford . A medieval stone bridge was built in 1487, although this has subsequently been replaced more than once. Various archaeological objects have been found in
1560-567: 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
1612-449: 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. 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
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1664-578: 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. The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Thurrock. Thames Chase The Thames Chase Community Forest is a community forest of 9842 hectares (24,320 acres/38 square miles) located in 47 sites in London and Essex , England. Established in 1990,
1716-466: The borough, with the whole borough being an unparished area . The local authority is Thurrock Council . Elections are held in three years out of every four. 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. Thurrock has a population of 175,500 people living in 90,500 homes. The Metropolitan Green Belt covers 70% of
1768-478: The borough. There are 494 acres (200 ha) of land available for industrial use. There are seven conservation areas , 19 scheduled monuments , including the dovecote at High House Purfleet , and 239 listed buildings . The borough contains ten Sites of Special Scientific Interest : 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
1820-463: The charity Gorkha Learning for Life, which was founded by a member of school staff. Thurrock is served by BBC London and ITV London with television signals are received from Crystal Palace TV transmitter, BBC South East and ITV Meridian can also be received from Bluebell Hill TV transmitter. Radio stations that broadcast to the area are: The area is served by these local newspapers: Thurrock has several Non-League football clubs in
1872-479: The city was 49.3% male and 50.6% female. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Thurrock at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling . Thurrock has been the scene of several major films. St Clement's Church and street scenes at West Thurrock were used in the making of the film Four Weddings and
1924-527: The classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit , can be found in Grays. 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. 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
1976-490: The community forest is administered by the Thames Chase Trust, with a stated aim "to renew and regenerate the landscape at the edge of East London and South Essex by creating a varied wooded landscape for local people to influence, create, use, enjoy and cherish". The Thames Chase Forest Centre is located near Upminster . Forestry England manage the 56 hectares (140 acres) of new woodlands, meadows and ponds at
2028-635: 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. 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 — as
2080-574: The flooded areas were visited by the young Queen Elizabeth II Despite severe loss of life in nearby Canvey Island , only one person in Thurrock died as a result of the floods. 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. By September 2021 plaques included: The borough has its origins in
2132-678: The north of the river at Stifford is the Mardyke Valley Golf Club, an 18-hole course set in the grounds of Ford Place and opened in 2002. In 2010, Andrew Mackinlay MP opened a new bridge over the Mardyke at Purfleet. This bridge – named the Veolia Mardyke Bridge – links Purfleet to the Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve . Thurrock Thurrock ( / ˈ θ ʌr ə k / ) is a unitary authority area with borough status in
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2184-514: The opposite side of the Thames are Gravesham and Dartford in Kent . Mammoths once grazed in the Thurrock area and archaeologists unearthed the remains of a jungle cat. Humans have lived in the area since prehistoric times and the land has been farmed by the Romans and Anglo-Saxons . Thurrock has numerous archaeological sites including the major excavation at Mucking . The name "Thurrock"
2236-608: 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.( Building of the Bata Shoes estate in East Tilbury was begun in 1933, and this is now a conservation area.JD Wetherspoon have since put the State Cinema building up for sale after announcing they would no longer be converting it to
2288-499: The pre-Saxon name for the ditch which flows into the Mardyke and may also be an early name for the Mardyke itself. For most of its course, the river acts as a parish boundary and in part, the river forms the boundary between the Essex hundreds of Barstable and Chafford . Between Stifford and the Rainham marshes where the Mardyke enters the Thames, the river flows through a relatively steep sided valley formed by an earlier position of
2340-547: The project received a grant of over £600,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) . The Mardyke Way passes through Davy Down, a 32 acres (13 ha) riverside park between Lakeside Shopping Centre and South Ockendon that was opened in 1993. The park includes the Victorian Stifford viaduct and the pumping station which is open to the public on Thursday afternoons and at other times when the warden
2392-488: The relief effort. More than 1300 people in Tilbury and other low-lying areas were evacuated to schools on the higher ground. Chadwell St Mary Primary school was used as the main welfare centre for the homeless. 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. On Friday 13 February,
2444-512: 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 . Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there
2496-534: The schools' councils also sat on the cluster's student council before its dissolution. ORTU 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
2548-782: 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 . Other operators are First Essex, Stagecoach London and NIBS Buses. Thurrock has 55 schools; 39 of them are primary schools , 13 are secondary , two are special and one is alternative . All but one have free school or academy status , with Grays Convent High School instead having voluntary aided status. Five schools, including Grays Convent High School and four primary schools, are Catholic faith schools while two primary schools are Anglican faith schools. 44 schools in Thurrock are operated by one of 13 multi-academy trusts , which include major chains such as
2600-434: Was a lower-tier district authority, with Essex County Council providing county-level services. Thurrock was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998, taking over the county-level services. Thurrock remains part of the ceremonial county of Essex for the purposes of lieutenancy . There is only one tier of local government in Thurrock, being the unitary authority of Thurrock Council . There are no civil parishes in
2652-422: Was abolished, with just a minor change on the border with Basildon to place the whole designated area for Basildon new town in that district. The civil parish of Thurrock was also abolished as part of the reforms and the area became an unparished area . The reformed Thurrock district was given borough status at the same time, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. Until 1998 Thurrock
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#17327647458982704-562: 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
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