Corringham is a town and former

civil parish In England, 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, located directly next to the town of

Stanford-le-Hope Stanford-le-Hope is a town, former civil parish and Church of England parish situated in the county of Essex, England. Often known locally simply as Stanford, the town is within the unitary authority of Thurrock and located 23.8 miles (38.4&nb ...

, about east of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and south of

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

. Corringham lies on a hill overlooking the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

between

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics ...

and

Tilbury Fort Tilbury Fort, also known historically as the Thermitage Bulwark and the West Tilbury Blockhouse, is an artillery fort on the north bank of the River Thames in England. The earliest version of the fort, comprising a small blockhouse with artil ...

. It is in the unitary authority of

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

, north-east of the administrative centre, Grays. Corringham is also a

Church of England parish The parish with its parish church(es) is the basic territorial unit of the Church of England. The parish has its roots in the Roman Catholic Church and survived the English Reformation largely untouched. Each is within one of 42 dioceses: divide ...

stretching from Horseshoe Bay in the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

to Dry Street, south of Langdon Hills. St Mary the Virgin Church is the first of its two parish churches, and originated in the Saxon period from the time of St Cedd in the 7th century. Corringham was formerly served by the Corringham Light Railway which connected the

Kynoch Kynoch was a manufacturer of ammunition, later incorporated into ICI but remaining as a brand name for sporting cartridges. History The firm of Pursall and Phillips operated a ' percussion cap manufactory' at Whittall Street, in Birmingham, ...

munitions factory with the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway. The small historic heart is one of the seven

conservation areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the borough, which is for local government matters a unitary authority. Today, the town is located close to the A13.

History

Early History of Corringham

In 1970 excavations took place at the site of the old railway terminus, south of

Fobbing Fobbing is a small village and former civil parish in Thurrock, Essex, England and one of Thurrock's traditional (Church of England) parishes. It is located between Basildon and Corringham, and is also close to Stanford-le-Hope. In 1931 the pa ...

Road, revealing the remains of

Mesolithic The Mesolithic ( Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...

(Middle Stone Age) tools.

Saxon Period

It is likely that where the Church stands today, Curra the Tribal Chief of the Saxons came with mercenaries following and replacing Roman soldiers of the 1st and 2nd centuries, who then over the following centuries settled as permanent residents of Corringham. By the 7th century Corringham would have had a Saxon community, and it is thought that St Cedd, who established Tilbury Monastery in 653 AD, established a church here. The last

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Lord of Corringham was known as Sigar in 1066, and is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as holding 1 Manor, 4 Hides and 10 acres.

Origin of the name

The place-name 'Corringham' is first attested in the

of 1086, where it appears as ''Currincham''. It appears as ''Curingeham'' in the Feet of Fines for 1204. The name means 'the village of Curra's people'.

Parish church, St Mary the Virgin.

St Mary the Virgin Church is of

origin, exterior herringbone stonework in both the nave and the chancel. can be seen. There are other Saxon features inside the church. The tower is also likely to be Saxon. From the 7th century a wooden structure was erected here where the Nave is situated today, this would have been similar in construction to that of Greensted Church near Ongar in Essex, around the 9th Century Viking raids on Corringham meant that the church was reinforced by building 3' thick walls around the structure,

Normans, Bishop Odo, & the Baud Family.

With the Norman invasion of England in 1066, Corringham came under Norman rule, and was owned and administered by Bishop Odo who was bishop of London. The church underwent a building programme around the year 1100, with the west tower being built around this time. Inside St Mary the Virgin Church, at the arched entrance to the west tower, a Norman carving of a Norman complete with moustache can be seen; it is possible this depicts Bishop Odo. The Baud Family originally from Germany came over with

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

in 1066, and became landowners in Corringham, mentioned in 1210, soon after gaining hunting rights.

Mariners & Smugglers

Corringham, being situated in close proximity to the marshes and the Thames, has always had a connection to the movement of goods and shipping. One ancient pathway which still exists passes from the coast, through the cemetery and to the side of the Bull Inn, and then continues on to

Hadleigh Castle Hadleigh Castle is a ruined fortification in the English county of Essex, overlooking the Thames Estuary from south of the town of Hadleigh. Built after 1215 during the reign of Henry III by Hubert de Burgh, the castle was surrounded by park ...

and

South Benfleet South Benfleet is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Benfleet, in the Castle Point district of Essex, England, 30 miles east of London. It is adjacent to the village of North Benfleet. The Benfleet SS7 post town includ ...

Governance

In terms of electoral wards (areas of boroughs drawn to contain equal-sized electorates), the town is part of Stanford East and Corringham Town. On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished to form Thurrock; part also went to

Bowers Gifford Bowers Gifford is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet, in southern Essex, England. It is located east of Basildon, between Pitsea and Thundersley. Pillboxes in the surrounding fields t ...

Demography

In 1931 the parish had a population of 1897.

Schools

*Ortu Corringham Primary School, Herd Lane *Giffards Primary School, Queen Elizabeth Drive *Graham James Primary School, The Sorrells *

Ortu Gable Hall School Ortu Gable Hall School (formerly Gable Hall School) is an oversubscribed coeducational secondary school academy and sixth form located in Corringham (near Stanford-Le-Hope) in Thurrock, Essex, England. Previously a foundation school administer ...

, Southend Road. A specialist performing arts and applied learning college.

Sport and leisure

Corringham has a

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

club, East Thurrock United F.C. who play at Rookery Hill and currently play in the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 t ...

Notable people

Mark-Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage CBE (born 10 June 1960) is a British composer of classical music. Biography Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex. He began composing at age nine and at fourteen began studying at the junior section of the Royal College of ...

– composer *

Michael Stanley Michael Stanley (born Michael Stanley Gee; March 25, 1948 – March 5, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, radio and television personality. Both as a solo artist and with the Michael Stanley Band (MSB), his brand of heartland r ...

– Samoan international rugby player, educated at Gable Hall School * Denise Van Outen – actress, singer and television presenter *

Rylan Clark-Neal Ross Richard Clark (born 25 October 1988), known professionally as Rylan, is an English broadcaster and model. He finished in fifth place on the ninth series of '' The X Factor'' in 2012, and the following year, he won the eleventh series of ...

– television presenter,

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

star, singer,

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

advocate, model

References

{{Authority control Towns in Essex Populated places on the River Thames Former civil parishes in Essex Thurrock