Thorrington is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Tendring Tendring is a village and civil parish in Essex. It gives its name to the Tendring District and before that the Tendring Hundred. Its name was given to the larger groupings because it was at the centre, not because it was larger than the othe ...

district 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. It lies east of

Wivenhoe Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Colchester, Colchester district, in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the Riv ...

and north of

Brightlingsea Brightlingsea (, traditionally , , ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the Tendring District, Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, Essex, River Colne, on ...

. The striking medieval flint church is dedicated to

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

, and the patrons of the church are

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1258. Thorrington 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as Torinduna. From handwritten sources held by the Church, Thorrington has also been known as Turituna (1152–71); Torritona (1202), Thurituna (1237), Thurington (1248), Thurinton (1253). Thorinton (1255), Tornidune (1272), Tyriton (1274), Thornton (1285), Thoriton (1295), Thoweryngton (1476), Thurrington (1594).

Geography

On the west side, the Tenpenny Brook forms the parish boundary between Thorrington and Alresford. At the point where the brook flows into the Alresford Creek (a branch of the Colne Estuary) stands Thorrington Mill. This is a

tide mill A tide mill is a water mill driven by tidal rise and fall. A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir. As the tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one-way ga ...

built in 1831 and now a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The east and northern boundaries of the parish are bounded by the Saltwater Brook. Where the Saltwater Brook flows into Flag Creek (formerly Borefleet Creek or Byrflytt) is the former site of another Tidal Mill. The village is now almost connected by recently built (2000s) housing to Thorrington Cross, a hamlet of mixed industrial & retail premises, smallholdings and inter-war ribbon development villas at the crossroads of the B1029 (the

road) and the B1027 (

to Clacton). The Colchester to Clacton railway line passes just to the north of the village. Thorrington's station - spelled 'Thorrington' on the Ordnance Survey map, but 'Thorington' as far as the railway companies were concerned - was opened in 1867, and closed in 1957. Great Bentley station is now the closest rail station, located around 2 miles north-east of the village.

Local schools

Great Bentley Primary School is the nearest primary school which serves the catchments of Thorrington, Great Bentley, Frating, Little Bentley and Aingers Green, which caters for around 210 boys and girls aged 4–11.
Great Bentley School, accessed 03 May 2012 This school was built in 1896 and has recently undertaken some rebuilding work in 2003, maintaining its historic front throughout. Currently, this school is rated good or two in its latest Ofsted inspection report.
Ofsted report, accessed 03 May 2012

Governance

There are several elected representatives at different levels of government which act for Thorrington and the surrounding villages.Thorrington find your local MP
WriteToThem, accessed 03 May 2012 There are two Thorrington, Frating, Elmstead and Great Bromley district councillors who represent the area at Tendring District Council. The population of the above ward was at the 2011 census 4,687. The current district councillors are Gary Scott (LibDem) and Ann Wiggins (LibDem). The current Brightlingsea County Councillor who represents the area at Essex County Council is Alan Goggin (Conservative). The current Harwich and North Essex MP who represents the area in the House of Commons is the Rt Hon Sir Bernard Jenkin (Conservative).

Related places

Thorrington was the name of the home of an estate agent, Charles Clark (1824–1906), who arrived in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, from England in 1856. Built in 1860, it was a large house with extensive gardens, on the banks of the Heathcote River, and the venue for many

garden parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

. Clark was living at this house at the time of his marriage in 1865, and died there in 1906. It led to the naming of Thorrington Road in the area, and Thorrington School, a primary school on Colombo Street. Originally an estate of 52 acres, Thorrington was subdivided in 1904 and again in 1934, leaving about six acres. The house was demolished and the land further subdivided in the late 1930s.

References

External links

Link to National Archive

Entry in Kelly's Directory of Essex, 1882
*
Thorrington tide mill

Newspaper photograph of a garden party at "Thorrington", Christchurch, 1935
{{authority control Villages in Essex Civil parishes in Essex Tendring