Thorpe Bay is an area of the city of

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

, in the

City of Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

, in the ceremonial county of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. located on 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 salinit ...

. Thorpe Bay is situated within the Thorpe

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Southend-on-Sea. It is around 4 miles to the east of Southend. Originally the area was called Thorpe, but it was renamed Thorpe Bay, after the railway station. The station had been given the name to indicate that it was a seaside settlement. The majority of Thorpe Bay consists of residential properties, mainly built in the 1920s, arranged in a grid pattern.

Location

Thorpe Bay can be defined as the area between the eastern side of Thorpe Hall Avenue to the west (beyond which is

Southchurch Southchurch is a suburb and former civil parish in the city of Southend-on-Sea in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. England. In 2011 the ward had a population of 9,710. History In 824 AD, a Saxon thegn, Leofstan presented the manor o ...

), Thorpe Bay beach to the south, Maplin Way to the east, (beyond which is

Shoeburyness Shoeburyness ( ), or simply Shoebury, is a coastal town in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England; it lies east of the city centre. It was formerly a separate town until it was absorbed into Southend in 1933. I ...

), up to Station Road (beyond which is Bournes Green).

Shopping

The main shopping area, named 'The Broadway' – after the road on which it lies – is a parade of retail shops and restaurants, as well as medical and professional practices.

Transport

Thorpe Bay railway station is the penultimate station on the

London, Tilbury and Southend line The London, Tilbury and Southend line, also known as Essex Thameside, is a commuter railway line on the Rail transport in Great Britain, British railway system. It connects Fenchurch Street railway station, Fenchurch Street station, in central ...

served by

c2c Trenitalia c2c, trading as c2c, is a British train operating company that operates commuter services from its London terminus at to parts of East London and south Essex along the London, Tilbury and Southend line, as part of the Essex Thame ...

from London Fenchurch Street (the last being Shoeburyness railway station). Consequently, a large number of London commuters choose to live in Thorpe Bay. Thorpe Bay enjoys good access by bus, provided by

Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Herts & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Arriva Colchester, Col ...

including the number 1, 4(a), 7, 8 and 9. In 1914, Southend-on-Sea Corporation Tramways' network was extended from Bournes Green to Thorpe Bay. The tramway closed in 1942 after being superseded by the motorbus.

Leisure

Thorpe Bay has one of Southend-on-Sea's exclusive golf courses, the Thorpe Hall Golf Club. Thorpe Bay Bowling Club and Lawn Tennis Club are close together on the north side of Thorpe Esplanade (the main road along the seafront). As well as these clubs, Thorpe Bay Yacht Club is also situated along the seafront, to the eastern end of Thorpe Bay. These clubs are private organisations open for annual membership. Thorpe Bay does not have a cinema, a theatre or any other major cultural amenities, but leisure organisations, in addition to those already mentioned, include Thorpe Bay Bridge Club, The Rotary Club of Thorpe Bay and a well-equipped fitness gym.

Politics

James Duddridge MP, representing the Conservative Party, has been Thorpe Bay's member of parliament since 2005. Thorpe Bay is part of the Thorpe Ward of Southend-on-Sea. The ward currently has three independent councillors. These are Cllr Ron Woodley, Cllr Mike Stafford and Cllr Martin Terry.

Schools

Thorpe Bay has a few schools, such as Bournes Green Infants and Junior School, which lies just above the Station Road northern boundary; and Thorpe Hall School, a non- selective,

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

day school.

Religion

There has been a church in Thorpe Bay since 1913. The three churches in Thorpe Bay include St. Augustine's Parish Church (

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

) on St. Augustine's Avenue, designed in 1937 and built under the consultation of Sir Charles Nicholson; Thorpe Bay Methodist Church on The Broadway, whose architectural predecessor was erected in 1921; and St. Gregory's Roman Catholic Chapel of Ease, opened in 1928, which sits opposite the Methodist church on The Broadway.

Notable residents

James Duddridge Sir James Philip Duddridge, (born 26 August 1971) is a British politician and former banker. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Roch ...

, MP for Rochford and Southend East, lives in, and is MP for Thorpe Bay. * Mark Foster, lived in Thorpe Bay and was educated at Alleyn Court School. * Jim Peters, marathon runner, was a resident of Thorpe Bay until his death on 9 January 1999, aged 80. * Rachel Riley, co-presenter on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

gameshow '' Countdown'', also lives in the area.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Populated coastal places in Essex Southend-on-Sea (district)