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137-539: West Tilbury is a village and former civil parish in the Thurrock district, in the ceremonial county of Essex , England. It is on the top of and on the sides of a 30 metres (98 ft) tall river terrace overlooking the River Thames . Part of the modern town of Tilbury (including part of Tilbury Fort ) is within the traditional parish of West Tilbury. In 1931 the parish had a population of 444. On 1 April 1936

274-522: A London borough . (Since the new county was beforehand a mixture of metropolitan boroughs , municipal boroughs and urban districts, no extant parish councils were abolished.) In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 retained rural parishes, but abolished most urban parishes, as well as the urban districts and boroughs which had administered them. Provision was made for smaller urban districts and boroughs to become successor parishes , with

411-417: A civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government . It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes , which for centuries were the principal unit of secular and religious administration in most of England and Wales. Civil and religious parishes were formally split into two types in

548-480: A 17th-century building of elongate form. This is shown upon Charles Sloane's map of 1742. In 1794 it was described in the Sun Fire Assurance ledgers as 'Lath and Plaister and tyled', serving at that period as the rectory house for parson David Evans. About 50 years later, its frontage would be cased in with local brick. Its origins are possibly very ancient, for in the deeds of Merton College, Oxford

685-515: A Special Expense, to residents of the unparished area to fund those activities. If the district council does not opt to make a Special Expenses charge, there is an element of double taxation of residents of parished areas, because services provided to residents of the unparished area are funded by council tax paid by residents of the whole district, rather than only by residents of the unparished area. Parish councils comprise volunteer councillors who are elected to serve for four years. Decisions of

822-576: A boundary coterminous with an existing urban district or borough or, if divided by a new district boundary, as much as was comprised in a single district. There were 300 such successor parishes established. In urban areas that were considered too large to be single parishes, the parishes were simply abolished, and they became unparished areas . The distinction between types of parish was no longer made; whether parishes continued by virtue of being retained rural parishes or were created as successor parishes, they were all simply termed parishes. The 1972 act allowed

959-477: A city council (though most cities are not parishes but principal areas, or in England specifically metropolitan boroughs or non-metropolitan districts ). The chairman of a town council will have the title "town mayor" and that of a parish council which is a city will usually have the title of mayor . When a city or town has been abolished as a borough, and it is considered desirable to maintain continuity of

1096-462: A city council. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government , in England in 2011 there were 9,946 parishes. Since 1997 around 100 new civil parishes have been created, in some cases by splitting existing civil parishes, but mostly by creating new ones from unparished areas. Parish or town councils have very few statutory duties (things they are required to do by law) but have

1233-559: A city was Hereford , whose city council was merged in 1998 to form a unitary Herefordshire . The area of the city of Hereford remained unparished until 2000 when a parish council was created for the city. As another example, the charter trustees for the City of Bath make up the majority of the councillors on Bath and North East Somerset Council. Civil parishes cover 35% of England's population, with one in Greater London and few in

1370-481: A civil parish which has no parish council, the parish meeting may levy a council tax precept for expenditure relating to specific functions, powers and rights which have been conferred on it by legislation. In places where there is no civil parish ( unparished areas ), the administration of the activities normally undertaken by the parish becomes the responsibility of the district or borough council. The district council may make an additional council tax charge, known as

1507-445: A considerable depth of chalk. A post-glacial stream valley transects the gravel ridge along the north parish edge, revealing slight surface yellow sands (Thanets), over a generally gravely agricultural surface. Some large nodules of flint, and erratic Bunter pebbles surface on the valley bottom. The rich soils of the southward Thames alluvium have been reclaimed from a former natural (tidal) saltmarsh state, being gradually embanked from

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1644-495: A considerable gipsy camp had arrived on the West Tilbury common and the presence of this population together with new docks overspill led to the extension of the schoolhouse in 1894. In 1913, it was described in the local newspaper as a 'comprehensive' and as late as the 1930s, under the charge of a headmistress and 2 teachers, as many as 118 children were on its register. Closure came with Friday, 22 July 1960 when transfer to

1781-519: A decade later, the Rev. Adam Gordon purchased the 'Bell Inn' public house at the Gun Hill corner, converting it into a handsome parsonage house. This gave its name to Rectory Road, and served as the home of West Tilbury's future rectors from about 1799 until the mid 20th century, when it was sold off and demolished. Some elements of its old garden remain amongst wooded scrubland on the site. During much of

1918-569: A few to greater than twenty meters. A common design featured a central hole in the roof that provided ladder access and ventilation, including for the smoke of an interior fire. In the northwestern Great Plains and the Plateau region located nearby, climate changes and extreme temperature and weather conditions made it difficult to live year-round. Hot summers led to the building of simple tent-like structures that were portable and could be packed up to move. For cold winter months, pit-houses provided

2055-536: A memorial tablet in St. James's Church, in the village hall and on the village hall website. Located in Rectory Road and on the southern edge of the great common field, the hall was built using funds raised within the village and by donations from local landowners. The hall is available for hire and thereby continues to serve the wider community to the present day as the hub of village activity. West Tilbury Village Hall

2192-474: A new Thames bridging scheme and motorway link within the next decade. Bede 's History of the English Church talks of a minster church established by St Cedd at Tilaburg . A case has been made that this was West Tilbury, however, majority opinion favours East Tilbury . The West Tilbury parish church was dedicated to St James (The Great) whose saint's day is 25 July, upon which the West Tilbury fair

2329-529: A new code. In either case the code must comply with the Nolan Principles of Public Life . A parish can be granted city status by the Crown . As of 2020 , eight parishes in England have city status, each having a long-established Anglican cathedral: Chichester , Ely , Hereford , Lichfield , Ripon , Salisbury , Truro and Wells . The council of an ungrouped parish may pass a resolution giving

2466-431: A new smaller manor, there was a means of making a chapel which, if generating or endowed with enough funds, would generally justify foundation of a parish, with its own parish priest (and in latter centuries vestry ). This consistency was a result of canon law which prized the status quo in issues between local churches and so made boundary changes and sub-division difficult. The consistency of these boundaries until

2603-687: A parish (a "detached part") was in a different county . In other cases, counties surrounded a whole parish meaning it was in an unconnected, "alien" county. These anomalies resulted in a highly localised difference in applicable representatives on the national level , justices of the peace , sheriffs, bailiffs with inconvenience to the inhabitants. If a parish was split then churchwardens, highway wardens and constables would also spend more time or money travelling large distances. Some parishes straddled two or more counties, such as Todmorden in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Grubenhaus In archaeology ,

2740-416: A parish council, and instead will only have a parish meeting : an example of direct democracy . Alternatively several small parishes can be grouped together and share a common parish council, or even a common parish meeting. A parish council may decide to call itself a town council, village council, community council, neighbourhood council, or if the parish has city status, the parish council may call itself

2877-776: A pit-house is frequently called a sunken-featured building and occasionally ( grub- ) hut or grubhouse , after the German name Grubenhaus . They are found in numerous cultures around the world, including the people of the Southwestern United States , the ancestral Pueblo , the ancient Fremont and Mogollon cultures, the Cherokee , the Inuit , the people of the Plateau, and archaic residents of Wyoming (Smith 2003) in North America; Archaic residents of

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3014-553: A pleasant shopfront bow, have been atrociously replaced in the late 20th century. The Old Bakery on the Green is therefore the best example to seek – a compact yellow stockbrick home of small scale and with appropriate windows, built in the 1830s. A little outside the village, at Gunhill Farm and the Mill House Farm, are two characteristic early Victorian villa-type residences, erected for prosperous farming and milling families,

3151-431: A population in excess of 100,000 . This scope is similar to that of municipalities in continental Europe, such as the communes of France . However, unlike their continental European counterparts, parish councils are not principal authorities , and in most cases have a relatively minor role in local government. As of September 2023 , there are 10,464 parishes in England, and in 2020 they covered approximately 40% of

3288-503: A population of between 100 and 300 could request their county council to establish a parish council. Provision was also made for a grouped parish council to be established covering two or more rural parishes. In such groups, each parish retained its own parish meeting which could vote to leave the group, but otherwise the grouped parish council acted across the combined area of the parishes included. Urban civil parishes were not given their own parish councils, but were directly administered by

3425-519: A range of 18th and 19th century headstones, many in imported limestone. A few are of military interest, and several notable village farming names occur: COLE, TALMASH, ASPLIN etc. The burial area was extended downslope upon a piece of agricultural land given by George Burness, of the Hall, consecrated in December 1921 and partly planted round its perimeter with cherry-plum saplings. The churchyard contains

3562-1079: A range of discretionary powers which they may exercise voluntarily. These powers have been defined by various pieces of legislation. The role they play can vary significantly depending on the size, resources and ability of the council, but their activities can include any of the following: Parish councils have powers to provide and manage various local facilities; these can include allotments , cemeteries, parks, playgrounds, playing fields and village greens , village halls or community centres , bus shelters, street lighting, roadside verges, car parks, footpaths, litter bins and war memorials. Larger parish councils may also be involved in running markets , public toilets and public clocks, museums and leisure centres . Parish councils may spend money on various things they deem to be beneficial to their communities, such as providing grants to local community groups or local projects, or fund things such as public events, crime prevention measures, community transport schemes, traffic calming or tourism promotion. Parish councils have

3699-504: A re-enactment of the historic scenes somewhere in the village surrounds and the local museum undertook to finally answer the locational question. The project ranged between archival research at the British Museum, where two important maps by the military surveyor Robert Adams were examined, and fieldwork around the parish (1986). The project resulted in certifying that Holman had been correct. 'The place of assemblie at armes', where

3836-541: A regional basis. In Western Europe their small size and the fact that they can be found near other buildings and associated finds of loom weights has led to theories that they had a specialised purpose such as for weaving sheds. In the Slavonic regions of Eastern Europe, Grubenhäuser are larger and often have a fireplace. In most settlements there have been no features of buildings at ground level. There are reconstructions of pit-houses in several open-air museums, e.g. in

3973-409: A role in the planning system; they have a statutory right to be consulted on any planning applications in their areas. They may also produce a neighbourhood plan to influence local development. The Localism Act 2011 allowed eligible parish councils to be granted a " general power of competence " which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it

4110-598: A set number of guardians for each parish, hence a final purpose of urban civil parishes. With the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1930, urban parishes became a geographical division only with no administrative power; that was exercised at the urban district or borough council level. In 1965 civil parishes in London were formally abolished when Greater London was created, as the legislative framework for Greater London did not make provision for any local government body below

4247-473: A shallow sub-rectangular pit and vary in depth (often relating to the preservation of the site). Some may measure 0.25m by around 2m by 1.5m, whilst examples from excavations from the 1950s onwards at West Stow in the United Kingdom are 3.7m-4.44m long x 2.72m-3.5m wide x 0.58m-0.97m deep. Within this pit were placed two (but sometimes 0, 4, or 6) substantial wooden posts in postholes at either end of

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4384-475: A small tree-crowned valley, across which, perhaps, a mock skirmish, 'of two battalions' described by the ballad maker Thomas Deloney: 'such a battaile pitcht in England many a day had not been seene'. Spanish captives, destined for confinement at Richard Drake's house near Esher , were brought into the queen's presence. Among them was Pedro de Valdez, General of the Andalusian squadron, which had sailed with

4521-943: A small village or town ward to a large tract of mostly uninhabited moorland in the Cheviots, Pennines or Dartmoor. The two largest as at December 2023 are Stanhope (County Durham) at 98.6 square miles (255 km ), and Dartmoor Forest (Devon) at 79.07 square miles (204.8 km ). The two smallest are parcels of shared rural land: Lands Common to Axminster and Kilmington (Devon) at 0.012 square miles (0.031 km ; 3.1 ha; 7.7 acres), and Lands Common to Brancepeth and Brandon and Byshottles (County Durham) at 0.0165 square miles (0.043 km ; 4.3 ha; 10.6 acres). The next two smallest are parishes in built up areas: Chester Castle (Cheshire) at 0.0168 square miles (0.044 km ; 4.4 ha; 10.8 acres) (no recorded population) and Hamilton Lea (Leicestershire) at 0.07 square miles (0.18 km ; 18 ha; 45 acres) (1,021 residents at

4658-521: A spur to the creation of new parishes in some larger towns which were previously unparished, in order to retain a local tier of government; examples include Shrewsbury (2009), Salisbury (2009), Crewe (2013) and Weymouth (2019). In 2003 seven new parish councils were set up for Burton upon Trent , and in 2001 the Milton Keynes urban area became entirely parished, with ten new parishes being created. Parishes can also be abolished where there

4795-436: A typical example of late Victorian 'board-school' architecture. Currently it stands empty, its final use having been a council depot for storing and repairing grasscutting equipment. The iron railed and tarmaced playground looks onto Rectory Road. It opened in 1876 with capacity to take 66 children from infant stage through to school-leaver age, an average attendance in the mid-1880s being 55 scholars. The 1891 census indicated

4932-570: Is Coopers Shaw – the latter an Elm thicket of more recent origin. The local word 'shaw' derives from a medieval term for woodland which was usually managed as coppice. The field enclosures are recorded over the past 400 years or more, beginning with John Walker's manor survey of 1584, to more modern maps Additionally a 'terrier' notebook (an account of land details) dating from the 1780s describes every West Tilbury farm and field with its crops; tallies of livestock etc. The present day field systems have developed as farming needs require from those which

5069-580: Is a document of 1272 relating to West Tilbury, to which several local landholders were witness, including 'John of the Well' (de fonte). The Saxon word 'well' meant a spring of water, or natural fountain. The pond adjacent to Well House is fed by a gravel spring, which is dammed at its south-western end above the small valley. Situated to one side of the Memorial Hall, The Schoolhouse is a gabled slate-roofed building of yellow stock brick with red courses,

5206-483: Is a registered charity supported by local residents and their fund raising activities. West Tilbury lies in the extreme south of Essex, fronting the Thames. About half of its land surface is Thames alluvium (clay), the inland portion rising as a dramatic gravel ridge (about 30 metres OD). Upon its northward border with Mucking parish there are limited sandy loams. The substratum is of Thanet Sands , which in turn overlie

5343-507: Is at present the only part of England where civil parishes cannot be created. If enough electors in the area of a proposed new parish (ranging from 50% in an area with less than 500 electors to 10% in one with more than 2,500) sign a petition demanding its creation, then the local district council or unitary authority must consider the proposal. Since the beginning of the 21st century, numerous parish councils have been created, including some relatively large urban ones. The main driver has been

5480-539: Is evidence that this is in response to "justified, clear and sustained local support" from the area's inhabitants. Examples are Birtley , which was abolished in 2006, and Southsea , abolished in 2010. Every civil parish has a parish meeting, which all the electors of the parish are entitled to attend. Generally a meeting is held once a year. A civil parish may have a parish council which exercises various local responsibilities prescribed by statute. Parishes with fewer than 200 electors are usually deemed too small to have

5617-467: Is evident in places, one of the 19th-century quarries being now overgrown and serving as a pleasant scouting camp-ground. The alluvial marshgrounds were transected by a railway line (London, Tilbury and Southend Railway) in 1854–55, with a small station being erected at Low Street a half dozen years later. It was demolished under the Beeching cuts in 1969. West Tilbury is one of the three proposed sites for

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5754-651: Is from the Yami who occupied a small island south of Taiwan. Three conditions were always present among groups in the sample: 1) non-tropical climate during the season of pit structure habitation; 2) minimally a biseasonal settlement pattern; 3) reliance on stored food during the period of pit structure occupation. These conditions may be related to other factors of society and the presence of any or all of these three elements in society does not pre-condition occupation of pit structures. Nonetheless, these three conditions were present in all cases of pit structure occupation present in

5891-482: Is largely due to the influence of the (now) major landowner, the C. H. Cole and Sons farming estate, which is based at the Mill House Farm. Present in the parish since the mid Victorian years, previous family representatives resisted the influences which saw surrounding areas urbanised. A minimal piece of the parish near Tilbury Town was developed for housing with the arrival of the East and West India Co. docks, c.1883, and

6028-497: Is less accentuated. Public access is year-round and there are useful exhibitions within. Other heritage buildings are either central or peripheral to the inland village itself and, taken as a group, demonstrate admirably the local vernacular, plan and style of the late 15th to mid 19th centuries within the locality. West Tilbury Hall, Condovers (now Walnut Tree Cottage) and Marshalls are all early Tudor timber framed (oak and elm) hall-houses with crosswings. Of these, West Tilbury Hall

6165-405: Is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this, a parish council must meet certain conditions such as having a clerk with suitable qualifications. Parish councils receive funding by levying a " precept " on the council tax paid by the residents of the parish (or parishes) served by the parish council. In

6302-445: Is now decimated, but a continuously reviving (cloning) scrub prevails within hedgerows of more mixed character. In places, very ancient fragments of hedgeline survive, giving beautiful ranges of hazel, spindle, field maple, oak, ash and with representative ground flora such as red campion, stitchwort and bluebell. Regrettably, the introduced herb called 'Alexanders' ( Smyrnium olusatrum ) is now colonising most of West Tilbury's lanes, to

6439-583: Is of the late 17th century, being essentially one pile or houseframe of double length to the previous. It reflects foreign softwood timbers coming in from Scandinavia (Norwegian Fir) and is largely weatherboard clad. The move to brick which became a village feature from the 18th century is represented in The King's Head (c.1770s with additions) but this, like the Post Office of c.1810 has been stucco faced. The upper windows of this important building above

6576-460: Is the largest, with fine Tudor brick cellars under its rear projection. This is the only moated site within the parish, one fragment only of the wide dry ditch remaining at the south garden edge, next to the churchyard. Polwicks at Low Street represents the newer Renaissance house of the early 17th century (about 1620), again timber framed but of double-pile arrangement (two houseframes side by side), while Manor Farm (currently called The White House),

6713-504: The 'Standards Board regime' with local monitoring by district, unitary or equivalent authorities. Under new regulations which came into effect in 2012 all parish councils in England are required to adopt a code of conduct with which parish councillors must comply, and to promote and maintain high standards. A new criminal offence of failing to comply with statutory requirements was introduced. More than one 'model code' has been published, and councils are free to modify an existing code or adopt

6850-534: The Ethnographic Atlas . Other cultural patterns were common, but not universal across the sample. These commonalities include: cold season of occupation, low population estimates, and simple political and economic systems. The ethnographic sample is based almost entirely on case studies from societies located in northern latitudes. The period of pit structure occupation is generally during the cold season, probably due to their thermal efficiency . Dug into

6987-816: The Hitzacker Archaeological Centre , the Kalkriese Museum and Park, the Oerlinghausen Archaeological Open Air Museum, and the Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave . To compare with the Swedish Backstuga that were very poor peoples homes until the middle of the 20th century. Throughout the inland Pacific Northwest , indigenous people were nomadic during the summer and gathered resources at different spots according to

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7124-1010: The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) to become the smallest geographical area for local government in rural areas. The act abolished the civil (non-ecclesiastical) duties of vestries . Parishes which straddled county boundaries or sanitary districts had to be split so that the part in each urban or rural sanitary district became a separate parish (see List of county exclaves in England and Wales 1844–1974 ). The sanitary districts were then reconstituted as urban districts and rural districts , with parishes that fell within urban districts classed as urban parishes, and parishes that fell within rural districts were classed as rural parishes. The 1894 act established elected civil parish councils as to all rural parishes with more than 300 electors, and established annual parish meetings in all rural parishes. Civil parishes were grouped to form either rural or urban districts which are thereafter classified as either type. The parish meetings for parishes with

7261-472: The break with Rome , parishes managed ecclesiastical matters, while the manor was the principal unit of local administration and justice. Later, the church replaced the manor court as the rural administrative centre, and levied a local tax on produce known as a tithe . In the medieval period, responsibilities such as relief of the poor passed increasingly from the lord of the manor to the parish's rector , who in practice would delegate tasks among his vestry or

7398-595: The lord of the manor , but not all were willing and able to provide, so residents would be expected to attend the church of the nearest manor with a church. Later, the churches and priests became to a greater extent the responsibility of the Catholic Church thus this was formalised; the grouping of manors into one parish was recorded, as was a manor-parish existing in its own right. Boundaries changed little, and for centuries after 1180 'froze', despite changes to manors' extents. However, by subinfeudation , making

7535-403: The monarch ). A civil parish may be equally known as and confirmed as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council, a right not conferred on other units of English local government. The governing body of a civil parish is usually an elected parish council (which can decide to call itself a town, village, community or neighbourhood council, or a city council if

7672-526: The 'Fayer Green'. The larger areas of common grazing lay farther off: Hall Common (south of the manor house) 13 acres; Parsonage Common (near the medieval parsonage house) 15 acres; Tilbury Fort Common 16 acres and 20 acres; Walton Common (close to the Tilbury Power Station) 24 acres; fringes of Fort Road 15 acres. Remarkably, within an area of past industrialisation, West Tilbury has remained more or less intact as an agricultural parish. This

7809-424: The 'upland' gravel heights, where, before present demands upon the water table, numerous surface springs, brooks and ponds existed, and intensive marshland sheep husbandry (producing ewes' milk and cheeses for the local and wider markets). Also survivals of medieval manor farming practice, these are the zones of grassland reserved for the commoners of the township – those who held the copyholds (or later freeholds) of

7946-470: The (often well-endowed) monasteries. After the dissolution of the monasteries , the power to levy a rate to fund relief of the poor was conferred on the parish authorities by the Poor Relief Act 1601 . Both before and after this optional social change, local (vestry-administered) charities are well-documented. The parish authorities were known as vestries and consisted of all the ratepayers of

8083-422: The 1883 period oakslat fence survive upon the east and north and there is a Victorian timber lych gate, recently retiled with red terracotta dragon finials. The burial yard in that period was enclosed by a stone wall, referred to in the parochial returns of 1565 as somewhat 'broken down' and to be repaired. Its flint base has recently been revealed during clearing operations. The ground is the traditional acre, with

8220-540: The 18th century, the village was noted for its medicinal springwaters; the most famous of which was pumped from under the Hall Farm kitchen area. The water was soon observed to cure various cattle complaints and was eventually sent for testing by some notable London chemists, (1736). One of these was Dr. John Andree, one of the founders of the London Hospital. Among his several publications is a pamphlet outlining

8357-423: The 1970s found preserved evidence of charred planks, suggestive of suspended floors. Hearths were also found, which sat partially over the edge of the sunken pits and appeared to have collapsed downwards when the structure supporting their overhanging sections (possibly a suspended floor) was removed. Grubenhäuser are often understood to have been domestic dwellings. However, their use may have varied, especially on

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8494-403: The 19th century and are now entirely separate. Civil parishes in their modern form came into being through the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), which established elected parish councils to take on the secular functions of the parish vestry . A civil parish can range in size from a sparsely populated rural area with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, to a large town with

8631-564: The 19th century is useful to historians, and is also of cultural significance in terms of shaping local identities; reinforced by the use of grouped parish boundaries, often, by successive local authority areas; and in a very rough, operations-geared way by most postcode districts. There was (and is) wide disparity in parish size. Writtle , Essex traditionally measures 13,568 acres (21 sq mi) – two parishes neighbouring are Shellow Bowells at 469 acres (0.7 sq mi), and Chignall Smealy at 476 acres (0.7 sq mi) Until

8768-504: The 19th century. Although they were in the open field, individual holdings were freehold. There were occasional disputes as to the location of these holdings. In due course, the two institutional land owners – the Sir John Cass Foundation and the town of Henley on Thames – erected markers to define their holdings. Earlier agricultural regimes over the parish embraced mixed farming (cattle, grasses, cereals, beans) upon

8905-591: The 2011 census, Newland with Woodhouse Moor and Beaumont Chase reported inhabitants, and there were no new deserted parishes recorded. Nearly all instances of detached parts of civil parishes (areas not contiguous with the main part of the parish) and of those straddling counties have been ended. 14 examples remain in England as at 2022, including Barnby Moor and Wallingwells , both in Nottinghamshire. Direct predecessors of civil parishes are most often known as "ancient parishes", although many date only from

9042-511: The 2021 census). The 2001 census recorded several parishes with no inhabitants. These were Chester Castle (in the middle of Chester city centre), Newland with Woodhouse Moor , Beaumont Chase , Martinsthorpe , Meering , Stanground North (subsequently abolished), Sturston , Tottington , and Tyneham (subsequently merged). The lands of the last three were taken over by the Armed Forces during World War II and remain deserted. In

9179-401: The 21st century, the agricultural picture is one of interesting variety within a wholly arable framework, with rotations which include oilseed rapes, barley, potatoes, springreens, salad onions and some maize corn across the high, lighter soils, and rape, potatoes and wheat upon the low lying clays. A few runner beans and small herbs such as coriander are cultivated on suitable loamy patches near

9316-517: The Armada from Lisbon. Interrogated by the Privy Council as to why Philip's armies had put forth, Don Pedro answered; 'Why, but to subdue your nation, and root you all out'. All, he said, meant both Catholic and Protestant alike – to send the former 'good men' to heaven, and 'all you that are heretics, to hell'. The drift of this bloody message was ordered to be read out to the trained bands by

9453-502: The Bronze and Iron Ages is apparent. During 2010, excavations north of Mill House uncovered a Later Bronze Age burial mound (barrow) and other pre-Roman features. A Claudian period rectangular defensive enclosure on Gun Hill was excavated in the late 1960s (finds at Thurrock Museum). A most important migration period (c.600 AD) grubenhaus – a sunken floored hut – was examined, also in the late 1960s during gravel extraction. It indicates

9590-523: The Camp Royal was discontinued, its warriors, ill-fed and wanting wages despite royal promises, were drifting homeward. The Surrey contingent's records reveal dreadful confusion over equipment and misplacement of 'furniture'; as the camp dispersed. William Virtell of Croydon claimed that his morion helmet of iron had been taken by Lieutenant Pavett who 'gave him a worste for it'. Numerous men were pressed into sea-service before they could officially leave

9727-570: The English population. For historical reasons, civil parishes predominantly cover rural areas and smaller urban areas, with most larger urban areas being wholly or partly unparished ; but since 1997 it has been possible for civil parishes to be created within unparished areas if demanded by local residents . In 2007 the right to create civil parishes was extended to London boroughs , although only one, Queen's Park , has so far been created. Eight parishes also have city status (a status granted by

9864-758: The Lake Titicaca Basin (Craig 2005) in South America; Anglo-Saxons in Europe; and the Jōmon people in Japan. Some Anglo-Saxon pit-houses may have not been dwellings, but served other purposes. Usually, all that remains of the ancient pit-house is a dug-out hollow in the ground and any postholes used to support the roof. In the nineteenth century, it was believed that most prehistoric peoples lived in pit-houses, although it has since been proved that many of

10001-472: The Marsh Farm (near Tilbury Fort) to within living memory. Earlier agricultural regimes over the parish embraced mixed farming (cattle, grasses, cereals, beans) upon the 'upland' gravel heights, where, before present demands upon the water table, numerous surface springs, brooks and ponds existed, and intensive marshland sheep husbandry (producing ewes' milk and cheeses for the local and wider markets). In

10138-539: The Rev. David Evans, began to market a springwater from his rectory house yard (which stood upon the same hill as the Hall). This was sold from Owen's warehouse in Saville Row near Temple Bar. The attempt to impose this 'inferior' substitute on the public probably lasted less than a decade (the Rev. D. Evans died early 1795), by which time the West Tilbury springs were in any case falling from public awareness. In 1803 it

10275-474: The above earlier maps describe, and, apart from hedge removal and general enlargement of the plots, show no marked difference (in some cases, the enclosure shapes of 1584 are still evident). Unique to this part of Essex, West Tilbury still has a large expanse of unenclosed (unhedged) land known as 'Great Common'. This was one of the three medieval areas of strip field, on which the manorial farmers worked their individual copyhold ribbons of ground. It lies backing

10412-738: The administration of the poor laws was the main civil function of parishes, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 , which received royal assent on 10 August 1866, declared all areas that levied a separate rate or had their own overseer of the poor to be parishes. This included the Church of England parishes (until then simply known as "parishes"), extra-parochial areas , townships and chapelries . To have collected rates this means these beforehand had their own vestries, boards or equivalent bodies. Parishes using this definition subsequently became known as "civil parishes" to distinguish them from

10549-438: The ancient Marsh Farm (Meroys) was utilised for the nearby town's sewage works. To east of Tilbury Fort (which stands partly on the W. Tilbury marsh and partly in the next-door parish of Chadwell) the 1950s saw the building of the first of two giant power stations, the later of which still dominates the parish foreshore. Random surface destruction in the form of scattered gravel workings ('ballast-holes') either open or infilled,

10686-568: The camp's chaplain next sermon. Reaching the queen whilst at dinner, came the earliest dispatches from Francis Drake aboard Revenge , reporting the Spanish fleet already hastening in the eastern channel; less joyous was other news that the Duke of Parma's squadrons lying in the Netherlands, were immediately to sail for the invasion of the south of England. It was a false alarm. By mid August,

10823-453: The chancel to Lady Gordon and to her husband, the reverend Sir Adam Gordon (3rd Baronet) who was rector from 1796 to 1817. The apsidal form of the eastern churchyard, upon a considerable lynchet edge, may suggest that originally the church was positioned upon an oval mound of earlier (perhaps religious) importance. On the west it abuts the manor hall grounds. The soil here is deep gravel, which quickly disposes of organic remains. Fragments of

10960-482: The characteristic tranchet axes, adzes and flint picks ('Thames Picks') of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Occupation continued through the Neolithic , doubtless closely associated with the nearby Orsett causewayed enclosure. These early farmers appear to have been more prevalent upon the upper slopes (gravels) above the aforesaid valley than their Middle Stone Age predecessors. A continuity of field systems throughout

11097-399: The charter, the charter may be transferred to a parish council for its area. Where there is no such parish council, the district council may appoint charter trustees to whom the charter and the arms of the former borough will belong. The charter trustees (who consist of the councillor or councillors for the area of the former borough) maintain traditions such as mayoralty . An example of such

11234-522: The church and Tilbury Hill. Robert Adam's detailed 'second' map depicts the route of her coach over the raised marshland – 'the causey from the forte to ye Campe' – where he shows the positions of groups of guards, with no less than 34 fluttering ensigns (banners) along the way: The drums do sound, the phifes do yield their notes And ensigns are displayed ... They couch their pikes and bowe their ensigns downe When as their sacred royal Queene past by ... So tells James Aske in his contemporary verse-picture of

11371-537: The council are carried out by a paid officer, typically known as a parish clerk. Councils may employ additional people (including bodies corporate, provided where necessary, by tender) to carry out specific tasks dictated by the council. Some councils have chosen to pay their elected members an allowance, as permitted under part 5 of the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003. The number of councillors varies roughly in proportion to

11508-464: The council of the urban district or borough in which they were contained. Many urban parishes were coterminous (geographically identical) with the urban district or municipal borough in which they lay. Towns which included multiple urban parishes often consolidated the urban parishes into one. The urban parishes continued to be used as an electoral area for electing guardians to the poor law unions . The unions took in areas in multiple parishes and had

11645-466: The council will an election be held. However, sometimes there are fewer candidates than seats. When this happens, the vacant seats have to be filled by co-option by the council. If a vacancy arises for a seat mid-term, an election is only held if a certain number (usually ten) of parish residents request an election. Otherwise the council will co-opt someone to be the replacement councillor. The Localism Act 2011 introduced new arrangements which replaced

11782-525: The creation of town and parish councils is encouraged in unparished areas . The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 created a procedure which gave residents in unparished areas the right to demand that a new parish and parish council be created. This right was extended to London boroughs by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – with this, the City of London

11919-463: The desire to have a more local tier of government when new larger authorities have been created, which are felt to be remote from local concerns and identity. A number of parishes have been created in places which used to have their own borough or district council; examples include Daventry (2003), Folkestone (2004), Kidderminster (2015) and Sutton Coldfield (2016). The trend towards the creation of geographically large unitary authorities has been

12056-407: The detriment of the richer mosaic of small plants. Several notable but very small and vulnerable areas of ancient woodland can still be seen. Known as Ashen Shaw, Rainbow Shaw and Shrove Hill, each adheres to the parish boundary, a noticeable feature of many ancient woodlands in the district. The former takes its name from its outline, being set on the northern edge of West Tilbury in a curve around

12193-521: The dozen or more farms within the parish. Each was allowed to graze a certain number of bullocks, cows or sheep upon the commons between spring and late autumn. By the 18th century, this regulation of the manor court was being abused, and various unauthorised villagers let their animals onto the grounds to feed. In 1895 an Act of Parliament finally set up a regulatory body known as the West Tilbury Common Conservators, allows

12330-456: The early Anglo-Saxonisation of the area from c. 450 AD onward and is similar to the numerous other grubenhauser 2 kilometres away on the Mucking hilltop. In 2000, a twisted gold wire torc with decorated buffer finials, probably of 1st century B.C. date, was discovered by an agricultural worker here. It was illegally disposed of and is now lost to the archaeological record, but photos taken at

12467-439: The ecclesiastical parishes. The Church of England parishes, which cover more than 99% of England, have become officially (and to avoid ambiguity) termed ecclesiastical parishes . The limits of many of these have diverged; most greatly through changes in population and church attendance (these factors can cause churches to be opened or closed). Since 1921, each has been the responsibility of its own parochial church council . In

12604-403: The efficacy of the 'Tilbury Water'. Numerous testimonials were made to its value, especially in the relief of 'bloody fluxes' and various enteric disorders. It was sold both at the village and from the London warehouse of John Ellison, whose initials appear upon the only known complete surviving quart glass bottle (Thurrock Museum). With the 1780s, competition arose when the rector of St. James',

12741-534: The established English Church, which for a few years after Henry VIII alternated between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England , before settling on the latter on the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558. By the 18th century, religious membership was becoming more fractured in some places, due in part to the progress of Methodism . The legitimacy of the parish vestry came into question, and

12878-555: The features thought of as houses were in fact food prehistoric storage pits or served another purpose. The oldest pit dwellings were discovered in Mezhyrich , Central Ukraine . Dating back 15,000 years to the Upper Paleolithic age, the houses were made of mammoth bones. The base is circular or oval in shape, 12 to 14 feet (3.7 to 4.3 metres) in diameter, with limb bones used for walls and lighter, flat bones used for

13015-488: The first in 1839 and the latter in 1850. They reflect the comfortable style of town-influenced architecture which replaced outdated farmstead homes throughout the district over much of the 19th century. Well House, which overlooks the Green, gives the impression of being an early Victorian residence of yellow stock brick. Its interior however, reveals late 15th century timber framing. A probable crosswinged hall-house of that period seems subsequently to have been remodelled to

13152-400: The foot of what is now Cooper Shaw Road. Pottery of the 13th century onwards has been recorded on the site together with roofing tile from the house and buildings. It was here also that the 18th century 'Rectors' Well' for medicinal water was pumped. For a short while under the incumbency Rev. David Evans in the 1780s, a house on the Green (Well House) was used as the parson's home, and about

13289-455: The government at the time of the Local Government Act 1972 discouraged their creation for large towns or their suburbs, but there is generally nothing to stop their establishment. For example, Birmingham has two parishes ( New Frankley and Sutton Coldfield ), Oxford has four, and the Milton Keynes urban area has 24. Parishes could not however be established in London until the law was changed in 2007. A civil parish can range in area from

13426-569: The ground, pit structures take advantage to the insulating properties of soil, as well as having a low profile, protecting them from exposure to wind-induced heat loss. Since less heat is lost by transmission than is in above ground structures, less energy is required to maintain stable temperatures inside the structure. Out of the 82 ethnographic cases in the Ethnographic Atlas , 50 societies had population estimates. Of these, 64% had fewer than 100 people per settlement. In only 6% of cases were there more than 400 persons per settlement. The cases with

13563-526: The high ground surrounding St James' church, or the plateau top of Gun Hill. Early in the 18th century, an accurate county historian, William Holman, had concluded that the field of parade on that historic occasion, had been just outside the village centre near the windmill and this location was offered again in Philip Morant's 'History and Antiquities ...', 1768. As 1988 approached, the local council (Thurrock Borough) became involved in preparations for

13700-753: The highest population densities were the Arikara and Hidatsa of the North American Great Plains and the Konso of Ethiopia. Gilman attributes high population densities among the Arikara to the availability of buffalo. Pit structure occupations are generally associated with simple political and economic systems. For 86% of the sample, class stratification or social distinctions based on non-hereditary wealth were reported as absent. However, some pit-dwelling societies are characterized by chiefdom level complexity. In terms of economic organization, 77% of

13837-476: The late 19th century, most of the "ancient" (a legal term equivalent to time immemorial ) irregularities inherited by the civil parish system were cleaned up, and the majority of exclaves were abolished. The census of 1911 noted that 8,322 (58%) of "parishes" in England and Wales were not geographically identical when comparing the civil to the ecclesiastical form. In 1894, civil parishes were reformed by

13974-429: The long axis. Some archaeologists have suggested that a suspended wooden floor lay over the pit and that the cavity beneath was used for storage or to control dampness, although others have disputed this, suggesting that grubenhäuser did not have suspended floors at all. A gabled roof supported by the timber posts covered the hut, which likely had no windows and had a single entrance at one end. Excavations at West Stow in

14111-481: The medieval onward. An Inquisition of 1362 refers to one marsh on the manor as already within a 'wall'. The last major 'inning' or reclamation for agricultural land came in the 1720s. A significant creek once ran inland to near the Domesday manor centre at Hall Hill, but this was blocked off, apparently in the mid 16th century. Its inlet, known to rivermen as Bill Meroy Creek , allowed the access of small vessels to

14248-465: The mid 19th century. Using a longer historical lens the better terms are "pre-separation (civil and ecclesiastical) parish", "original medieval parishes" and "new parishes". The Victoria County History , a landmark collaborative work mostly written in the 20th century (although incomplete), summarises the history of each English "parish", roughly meaning late medieval parish. A minority of these had exclaves , which could be: In some cases an exclave of

14385-629: The military zone. Thus Edward Upchurch of Surrey lost his equipment (a firearm, powder flask and 'tuch box') aboard a ship called the Rose or the Lion. Another soldier called Merce 'lefte his musket in pawne', while Anthonie Clarke's complaint was that he had served his country at Tilbury 'one whole week with a calliver and had no paie'. [REDACTED] Media related to West Tilbury at Wikimedia Commons For more details about St James visit St James, West Tilbury web site Civil parish In England,

14522-465: The new district councils (outside London) to review their parishes, and many areas left unparished in 1972 have since been made parishes, either in whole or part. For example, Hinckley , whilst entirely unparished in 1974, now has four civil parishes, which together cover part of its area, whilst the central part of the town remains unparished. Some parishes were sub-divided into smaller territories known as hamlets , tithings or townships . Nowadays

14659-450: The newly formed Torrells School, some distance off at Little Thurrock, commenced for seniors, the younger children moving mainly to Chadwell. The headteachers' log books are not present in any known public archive – a significant loss to the social story of the village. Confusion has arisen as to exactly where the royal review took place. Various locations became favoured, especially that of Tilbury Fort itself. Other authorities decided for

14796-488: The other conurbations. Civil parishes vary greatly in population: some have populations below 100 and have no settlement larger than a hamlet , while others cover towns with populations of tens of thousands. Weston-super-Mare , with a population of 71,758, is the most populous civil parish. In many cases small settlements, today popularly termed villages , localities or suburbs, are in a single parish which originally had one church. Large urban areas are mostly unparished, as

14933-466: The parade. Such images of spectacular ceremonial and royal glamour all apply to the two days of Elizabeth's visit – 8 and 9 August 1588. The Camp Royal itself had been in preparation for several weeks beforehand. On the river, just downstream of the Tudor blockhouse (fort), a defensive boom made of ships' masts and anchors was being constructed at a cost of over £2,000. The numbers of soldiers present at

15070-448: The parish has city status). Alternatively, in parishes with small populations (typically fewer than 150 electors) governance may be by a parish meeting which all electors may attend; alternatively, parishes with small populations may be grouped with one or more neighbours under a common parish council. Wales was also divided into civil parishes until 1974, when they were replaced by communities , which are similar to English parishes in

15207-401: The parish the status of a town, at which point the council becomes a town council . Around 400 parish councils are called town councils. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 , a civil parish may be given one of the following alternative styles: As a result, a parish council can be called a town council, a community council, a village council or occasionally

15344-628: The parish was abolished to form Thurrock. West Tilbury is a former Church of England parish . West Tilbury is one of seven conservation areas in Thurrock. The modern town of Tilbury is partly in its traditional area (including Tilbury Fort ) but is buffered from it and mainly in the traditional parish of Chadwell St Mary . The Village Hall (Memorial Hall), was opened in 1924 by Captain E. A. Loftus, in remembrance of those local men who gave their lives in World War I. The names are recorded on

15481-404: The parish. As the number of ratepayers of some parishes grew, it became increasingly difficult to convene meetings as an open vestry. In some, mostly built-up, areas the select vestry took over responsibility from the entire body of ratepayers. This innovation improved efficiency, but allowed governance by a self-perpetuating elite. The administration of the parish system relied on the monopoly of

15618-562: The parish; the church rate ceased to be levied in many parishes and became voluntary from 1868. During the 17th century it was found that the 1601 Poor Law did not work well for very large parishes, which were particularly common in northern England. Such parishes were typically subdivided into multiple townships , which levied their rates separately. The Poor Relief Act 1662 therefore directed that for poor law purposes 'parish' meant any place which maintained its own poor, thereby converting many townships into separate 'poor law parishes'. As

15755-499: The perceived inefficiency and corruption inherent in the system became a source for concern in some places. For this reason, during the early 19th century the parish progressively lost its powers to ad hoc boards and other organisations, such as the boards of guardians given responsibility for poor relief through the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 . Sanitary districts covered England in 1875 and Ireland three years later. The replacement boards were each entitled to levy their own rate in

15892-411: The population of the parish. Most rural parish councillors are elected to represent the entire parish, though in parishes with larger populations or those that cover larger areas, the parish can be divided into wards. Each of these wards then returns councillors to the parish council (the numbers depending on their population). Only if there are more candidates standing for election than there are seats on

16029-532: The ports of the Downs, (exploiting the Kentish hilltops). Eastward, it looked far beyond Sheppey, where the uppermost turrets of Queenborough held a beacon facility. Ranging the Thames during the invasion scare were two specially appointed watch vessels, the 'Victory' and 'Lion', while the fishermen of Leigh – a small seaport visible with moderate eyesight from the West Tilbury fields – were primed to give warning of

16166-483: The presence of any hostile galley to speedy English pinnaces patrolling the estuary. Leigh-on-Sea 's pale 15th-century tower still carried its masonry beacon turret, as does that of nearer church of St. Michael's, Fobbing . On the day of her arrival by royal barge from London (8 August), the queen's progress, (after being received by the Earl of Leicester at the blockhouse fort), was across the mile or so of marshland below

16303-625: The proper use of the several parts of the Commons. The West Tilbury Commons at present cover above 100 acres of the parish, the smallest portion being the central area of village Green. This was originally (from about 1257) the market square (held each Wednesday) set up by Richard de Tilbury, the manor lord. Adjacent to it, was the manor pond, doubtless an important feature in an age when rural markets were supplied by pack-horses coming from considerable distances. The annual St. James' fair also took place here, and Walker's mapping of 1584 refers to it as

16440-528: The roof. Presumably, animal hide was stretched around the exterior for insulation. Each dwelling had a hearth . Groups of houses were arranged around a base camp layout, occupied by families or relatives for weeks or months. Pit-houses were built in many parts of northern Europe between the 5th and 12th centuries AD. In Germany they are known as Grubenhäuser , and in the United Kingdom, they are also known as grubhuts, grubhouses or sunken featured buildings. Archaeological evidence indicates they were built in

16577-474: The royal visit, called 'Elizabetha Triumphans'. After an initial visit to the camp, the queen continued on through the narrow lane which led northwards out of West Tilbury, onto Mucking hilltop and thence toward Horndon on the Hill , where she was to stay the night at the manor house called 'Cantis', the home of 'Master Edward Rich'. Upon the morning of 9 August, a return journey through the valley of 'Howe ford'

16714-571: The season and tradition, but overwintered in permanent semi-subterranean pit houses at lower elevations. The winter was often the only time families saw others—even if they were from the same village and tribe—and congregated in any numbers before the arrival of trading posts . Often these houses were located along major rivers and tributaries like the Columbia and Fraser . The houses could vary in shape but were typically round, with wooden frames roofed over with thatch and earth, and ranged in size from

16851-407: The societies who occupy pit structures had a hunting and gathering economy. This is a large fraction of the sample, but is not considered a universally consistent feature like biseasonal settlement and a reliance on stored foods during pit structure occupation. During the part of the year when people are not living in pit structures, activities should be focused on acquiring foods to store. Based on

16988-537: The speech had been given was certainly in fields beside the manorial post mill, but there was another important site a little to the south-west, on the present Gun Hill summit. Here, overlooking the fort and Gravesend, had stood the Lord General's pavilion, doubtless with the other richly adorned tents of the Earl of Leicester 's staff officers close by. The queen had moved to this site to dine among her captains after

17125-442: The stony hill summit. In spring its canopy of wild cherries in blossom is a continuing delight. Its ancient coppice stools include Field Maple, Ash, Crab Apple, Hornbeam and Oak ( Q.robur ), while the woodland floor is prolific with violets, native bluebell and wild arum. Pignut is also present. Shrove Hill, upon the west boundary with Chadwell, is so called from 'shrough', an old word for rough woodland. Another tiny parcel of wood

17262-583: The time of finding indicate it was similar to torc-types from the Waldalgesheim chariot burial in the Rhineland. Upon the reclaimed marshland, the traditional division of fields (called 'hopes') was by drainage ditches ('water-fences'). These soon develop effusions of phragmites reed, bramble, and wild sloe but are periodically redug and so do not grow into lasting hedges. The upland fields were formerly criss-crossed by lofty columns of elm. This tree

17399-417: The time of the queen's visit is not clear. Over the month or so of the great army's presence at West Tilbury, between 17,000 and 22,000 men are said to have lain in camp, but certainly not all served throughout. The high stone tower of St. James' is the most likely visual communications station to have served the Armada camp, conveying signals via all waterfront blockhouses, Leicester's pavilion, Gravesend and

17536-537: The village Green and public house. There was another comparable area off Low Street Lane, known as the 'Little Common', where similarly the individual strips (called 'dayworks' here in the medieval period) were marked out by posts or other distinguishing features. The last of these posts – of cast iron – were re-erected in 1868 and bear the name of Sir John Cass, whose charity school at Aldgate owned an estate and strip plots here. Unusually for south Essex, West Tilbury continued to operate some open field farming well into

17673-518: The village centre. The 30-metre gravel terrace within the parish produces numerous examples of pointed handaxes of the Lower Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age); some evidence of Mousterian ( Neanderthal ) tools has been found close to the village centre. A massive presence of post-glacial peoples Maglemosian along the northern stream valley abutting Mucking parish is indicated by the finding of flint production-cores and blades, together with

17810-483: The war graves of two British Army soldiers of World War II . The identities of the earliest (Norman period) rectors are not known. A parson of Tilbury called Richard is named in a property transaction of 1223–4 and in 1228 William, rector of Little (West) Tilbury is recorded. The first rector for whom we have a surname is William de Hareworth who was presented by the King ( Edward I ). The scholastic author Simon Alcock

17947-527: The warm, protected shelter necessary for survival. A cross-cultural middle range model of pit-house architecture using George Murdock 's 1967 Ethnographic Atlas found that 82 of the 862 societies in the sample occupy pit structures as either their primary or secondary dwellings. All but six of the 82 societies live above 32° north latitude, and four of the six cases in this sample that are below 32° north latitude are from "high mountain" regions in east Africa, Paraguay, and eastern Brazil. The last example

18084-613: The way they operate. Civil parishes in Scotland were abolished for local government purposes by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ; the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are the community council areas established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which have fewer powers than their English and Welsh counterparts. There are no equivalent units in Northern Ireland . The parish system in Europe

18221-434: Was described as 'occasionally resorted to' and the parish rate records do not refer to the main well-site after 1807. Most notable is Tilbury Fort (English Heritage), a mid-late 17th century star-fort commanding the narrow (900 metres wide) passage of Thames. It is well documented in available guide books, though these concentrate largely on the fort's strategic concept, layout and architecture. The military men's social life

18358-498: Was established between the 8th and 12th centuries, and an early form was long established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest . These areas were originally based on the territory of manors , which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes. Initially, churches and their priests were the gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of

18495-402: Was held annually. Most of the windows appear to be 14th century. It is now a private dwelling. William Laud , later Archbishop of Canterbury, was appointed rector of West Tilbury in 1609. The parish church was St James, a grade II* listed building. It is constructed from flint and rubble and was restored by W Benton. It contains remnants of Early Norman windows. There is an elaborate memorial in

18632-418: Was made, climbing finally to the 'place of assemblie at armes', where the great review was to be enacted and Elizabeth's historic speech delivered. West Tilbury's highest unwooded ground provided the queen's parade area – some 17 acres of common strip field, lying eastward from the windmill and with clear views of the distant Thames, beyond (modern) Southend. From this dry gravely hilltop, the landscape fell to

18769-513: Was rector from before 1422 until 1428. The last rector of the separate parish of West Tilbury was the Rev. Dudley A. Whitwham, who held office between 1954 and 1971. Thereafter a priest-in-charge, Leonard James Middleton officiated at St. James' until 1977, when the parishes were united. Otherwise known in recent centuries as 'The Rectory', the medieval priests' dwelling was situated in the Glebe field area, to S. East of St. James' churchyard, close to

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