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32-592: Thundersley is a town in the Castle Point borough of southeast Essex , England. It sits on a clay ridge shared with Basildon and Hadleigh , 31 miles (50 km) east of Charing Cross , London . In 2011 it had a population of 24,800. The ecclesiastical parish of Thundersley St Peter takes in Daws Heath to the east which is also part of the current Victoria local government electoral ward . The two areas have Anglican churches. A third Anglican church

64-483: A half in breadth, and comprises 2100 acres, of which 100 are common or waste; the village is on elevated ground, and the surrounding scenery is pleasingly diversified. The [parish priest] living...[was] valued in the king's books at £14. 13. 4., and in the gift [ appointment of the Rev. G. Hemming: the tithes have been commuted [near-eliminated] for £570; there is a parsonage-house, and the glebe comprises 40 acres. The church

96-403: A six-day-a-week service to Chelmsford . Waterside Farm Sports Centre, on Canvey Island is set in 88 acres (36 ha) of parkland and has a range of indoor and outdoor facilities, including a 25-metre swimming pool, a learner pool and facilities for badminton, squash, netball, basketball, trampolining and gymnastics. The centre also includes an outdoor 6 lane, 400-metre athletics track. Opposite

128-845: A wooden hut on Bread and Cheese Hill in July 1947. A new building opened at the same site in 1998. Castle Point The borough borders the City of Southend-on-Sea to the east, Rochford District to the north, the Borough of Basildon to the west, and the Thurrock unitary authority area to the south-west, across Holehaven Creek . Castle Point was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 , as one of 14 non-metropolitan districts within Essex. The new district covered

160-441: Is " Cfb " (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). The median age of Castle Point's residents at the 2011 census was 45, compared to a regional average of 39 and national average of 40. Castle Point has several estates laid out as seaside resorts for retirement, which is reflected in 7% of its population at the time of the 2011 census being aged 75 to 84, compared to 5.5% nationally. The A13 crosses Castle Point and

192-506: Is a secondary academy school with a sixth form in South Benfleet , Essex, England. It is named after King John of England (1166–1216). The main school building was opened in 1949. As of November 2023, the school has an enrolment of 2052 students, operating over its recommended capacity of 2000 students. Construction of the school was started in 1938, but suspended for the duration of the war and restarted in 1948. The south wing

224-460: Is a venerable structure in the later Norman and early English styles, with a tower and spire. In 1951 the parish had a population of 6 482. Greeves motorcycles were produced in a purpose-built factory at Thundersley from 1953 to 1976. Initially the bikes were an offshoot of the Invacar company, which produced invalid cars and needed to diversify its products. There are three secondary schools in

256-468: Is in the secular ward of St John's , which is commonly conflated on maps with South Benfleet which it adjoins and it is separated from Thundersley by a narrow green buffer . Between the two wards is the main ward of St Peter's , which loosely resembles the very longstanding church parish. One ward is partially in Thundersley, Boyce which includes Thundersley Green and various short streets next to

288-408: Is relatively hilly for Essex, a typical height for the central and eastern part of (old) Thundersley is about 200 feet (60 m) above sea level. The town is partly rural, with large woods and commons; including Thundersley Common (a Site of Special Scientific Interest ), Shipwrights Wood (12 hectares) and Thundersley Glen all owned and managed by the council; West Wood (22½ hectares acres) owned by

320-433: Is slightly higher than the national average. The wards have a high rate of owner-occupation. In the 2011 census tenure is stated for all 8570 wards of England and Wales , all of Thundersley's wards ranked between 236th and 341st as to this statistic (the degree to which the census returnees stated they owned their homes either outright or with a mortgage). Specifically these varied in owner-occupation between 87.5% and 88.6%,

352-558: The 2024 election , a majority of the seats on the council were held by local party the People's Independent Party , which won all the seats on the mainland part of the borough, but did not contest any seats on Canvey Island. All the seats on Canvey Island were won by another local party, the Canvey Island Independent Party . The two parties had been running the council as coalition since the 2022 election , when

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384-760: The A127 skirts it to the north, providing direct links to both Southend and London. The only station in the borough is Benfleet railway station on the London, Tilbury and Southend line from London Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness , operated by c2c . Castle Point has an extensive bus network operated by the First Essex and Arriva Shires & Essex , with services across the borough and to Southend , Basildon , Lakeside Shopping Centre and Rayleigh . Weekday services by Stephensons of Essex also travel to London, Southend and Thurrock College and Regal Busways offers

416-772: The Liberal Democrats or the Green Party . The next election is due in May 2028. The council is based at the Council Offices on Kiln Road in Thundersley. The building was built in 1962 as the headquarters of the former Benfleet Urban District Council. Since the last boundary changes in 2024, the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 13 wards , with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The national land use tables published by MHCLG show that in 2017, 56.6% of

448-597: The Local Government Act 1972 , becoming part of the new district of Castle Point. No successor parish was created for the former urban district. Thundersley elects one councillor to Essex County Council . Within Castle Point Borough Council, Thundersley is represented by 12 councillors, all Conservative, elected from the wards (from west to east) of St George, St Peter and Cedar Hall. The Parish of Thundersley included Daws Heath . The western part of Thundersley (approximately St George's parish or

480-582: The 13th century, forming the most important historic site in the borough and the most important late medieval castle in Essex. The Dutch Cottage Museum contains a variety of exhibits that illustrate the history of Canvey Island, and the Castle Point Transport Museum, also situated on Canvey in the retired District bus depot, features a display of over thirty old buses, coaches and commercial vehicles. The King John School The King John School , often abbreviated to King John ,

512-968: The St George ward) is known as New Thundersley. Thundersley is within the SS7 Postcode Area.. Thundersley is bounded by the A127 road to the north, where it borders the Borough of Rayleigh , the A130 road to the west where it borders the villages of North Benfleet and Bowers Gifford . The A13 road to the south and eastwards beyond the A129 road bordering through Daws Heath , Belfairs Park in Leigh-on-Sea and Hadleigh . The nearest railway stations are Benfleet railway station and Rayleigh railway station . The London Tilbury and Southend LT&SR 79 Class 4-4-2T No. 80 locomotive Thundersley

544-466: The areas of the former urban districts of Benfleet and Canvey Island , both of which were abolished at the same time. The district was named "Castle Point", combining references to landmarks in both of the former urban districts: Hadleigh Castle in Benfleet and Canvey Point at the eastern tip of Canvey Island. The district was granted borough status with effect from 1 February 1992, allowing

576-409: The average in the jurisdiction being 67.8%. Samuel Lewis 's major work, a Topographical Dictionary of England in 1848 gives this account: THUNDERSLEY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Billericay [...] S.[outh] division of Essex, 2¼ miles (S. W. by W.) from Rayleigh; containing 596 inhabitants, of whom 120 are in the hamlet. This parish is about two miles in length [east-west], and a mile and

608-459: The borough was covered by green spaces including agriculture, forest and open land, water and outdoor recreation spaces. Close to one-fifth (18.2%) was accounted for by residential gardens. Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, but despite adequate rainfall all year-round it is on average the driest part of the UK. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate

640-418: The chair of the council to take the title of mayor. Castle Point Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Essex County Council . Canvey Island is a civil parish with a town council, forming a third tier of local government in that part of the borough. The mainland part of the borough (the former Benfleet Urban District) is an unparished area . Following

672-612: The council and managed by Castle Point Wildlife Group; Tile Wood (6½ hectares) and Pound Wood (22¼ hectares) are owned by the Essex Wildlife Trust ; Starvelarks Wood and Wyburns Wood are both part of Little Haven Nature Reserve (37¼ hectares) which is owned by Havens Hospice Trust and leased to Essex Wildlife Trust; Coombe Wood is under mixed ownership and much of it has Village Green status. A clear majority of households in all wards are economically employed (or in self-employment). The proportion of people who are retired

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704-412: The council had been under no overall control . Despite holding all the council's seats between them following the 2024 election, the two parties agreed to continue to form a joint administration. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of

736-651: The council since 1974 has been as follows: The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Castle Point. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 2014 have been: Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was: Notably, Castle Point is currently the only council in England where no seat is held by the Labour Party , the Conservatives ,

768-616: The district – The King John School and Sixth Form , The Deanes and The Appleton School and Sixth Form College. Five primary schools are Thundersley, Westwood, Kingston, Montgomerie, and Robert Drake. The main campus of SEEVIC Further Education College is also in the district, now part of USP College . There are two tiers of local government covering Thundersley, at district and non-metropolitan county level: Castle Point Borough Council , based on Kiln Road in Thundersley, and Essex County Council , based in Chelmsford . Thundersley

800-529: The headmaster, Albert Evans , who was also the district emergency meals officer at the time of the emergency, being awarded the MBE in the new Queen's coronation honours. The official name of the school had still not been settled, but the association of the area with King John had seen the eventual name mooted, and during the flood it was thus referred to as the Palace . The new name became official in 1957, when it

832-546: The original of which has been replaced by an enhanced timber church, consecrated by the Bishop of Bradwell on 1 December 2012.) Fully reformed Christian churches include Thundersley Congregational Church which runs as its mission The Beacon, Thundersley Gospel Hall, Daws Heath Evangelical Church and Thundersley Community Church at Cedar Hall School. Thundersley Christian Spiritualist Church was formed in October 1933 and moved to

864-541: The sports centre is the Castle Point Golf Course, an 18-hole par 71 public pay-and-play course with a 17-bay floodlit driving range. Runnymede Pool is situated behind the Council Offices in Kiln Road. It has a 25-metre pool and a learner pool and is home to Runnymede Swimming Club. Castle Point is twinned with three towns and counties: Hadleigh Castle is preserved as an ancient monument from

896-550: The town itself. Thundersley derives from the Old English Þunres lēah = "grove or meadow [perhaps sacred] belonging to the god Thunor or Thor ". It has also historically been known as Thunresleam . The place-name is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Thunreslea . The place-name is historically significant as a survival from England's pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon paganism . The area

928-401: Was an ancient parish . In 1929 the parish was merged with the neighbouring parishes of Hadleigh and South Benfleet to become Benfleet Urban District . The three parishes were thereafter classed as urban parishes and so no longer had separate parish councils, instead being directly administered by Benfleet Urban District Council. Benfleet Urban District was abolished on 1 April 1974 under

960-676: Was named after this area, and it is on exhibition at Bressingham Steam and Gardens in Norfolk, on loan from the National Railway Museum . Football club Thundersley Rovers Sports Club was formed in 1963 and currently has a senior mens team along with junior teams for boys and girls. Since 1980 it has been based at Thundersley Common. Air Training Corps Squadron - (1341) is based in Thundersley. The Parish of Thundersley has three Anglican churches: St Peter's, Thundersley, St George's, New Thundersley and St Michael's, Daws Heath

992-538: Was opened in May 1949 as Benfleet Secondary Modern, and a new wing with laboratory, art room, classrooms as well as a canteen was opened in 1951. The school took pupils from primary schools in Hadleigh , Thundersley , South Benfleet and New Thundersley. Two days before the school was to be officially opened in 1953, it was used as a shelter station after the Canvey Island flood tragedy, a gesture that led to

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1024-531: Was renamed as King John Secondary modern school . There were 1100 pupils and it became a comprehensive school and began to offer GCE 'O' levels from 1967 with a sixth form established from 1995. In April 2011 it converted to a secondary academy school specialising in mathematics and computing. At the end of 2017 it became part of the Zenith Multi Academy Trust. This United Kingdom school or sixth form college related article

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