Thurrock () is a

unitary authority area A unitary authority is a type of local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed ...

with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, si ...

in the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

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 on the north bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

immediately east of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and has over of riverfront including the

Port of Tilbury The Port of Tilbury is a port located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It serves as the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facili ...

, the principal port for London. Thurrock is within the

London commuter belt The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to work area, Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London' ...

and is an area of regeneration within the

Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...

redevelopment zone. The borough includes the northern ends of the

Dartford Crossing The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...

. The local authority is

Thurrock Council Thurrock Council is the local authority for the borough of Thurrock in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council ...

, based in Grays. The borough also includes Purfleet-on-Thames,

South Ockendon South Ockendon is a town, former civil parish and Church of England parish within the Thurrock borough in Essex in the East of England, United Kingdom. It is located on the border with Greater London, just outside the M25 motorway. The area to t ...

Stanford-le-Hope Stanford-le-Hope is a town, former civil parish and Church of England parish in the unitary authority area of Thurrock, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Often known locally simply as Stanford, the town is located 24 miles (38.4&nbs ...

and

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

, as well as other villages and surrounding areas. More than half of the borough is designated as

Green Belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

. The neighbouring districts are the

London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities include Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham, Lo ...

, Brentwood,

Basildon Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. ...

and

Castle Point Castle Point is a local government district with borough status in south Essex, England, lying around east of London. The borough comprises the towns of South Benfleet, Hadleigh and Thundersley (where the council is based) on the mainland, a ...

. On the opposite side of the Thames are

Gravesham Gravesham ( ) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. The council is based in its largest town of Gravesend. The borough is indirectly named after Gravesend, using the form of the town's name as it appear ...

and

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

History

Mammoths A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

once grazed in the Thurrock area and archaeologists unearthed the remains of a jungle cat. Humans have lived in the area since

prehistoric times Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

and the land has been farmed by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

. Thurrock has numerous

archaeological sites An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

including the major excavation at

Mucking Mucking is a hamlet and former List of Church of England churches in Thurrock, Church of England parish and civil parish adjoining the Thames Estuary in the Thurrock Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, in southern Essex, Eng ...

. The name "Thurrock" is a Saxon name meaning "the bottom of a ship". Wool-market

Horndon-on-the-Hill Horndon on the Hill is a village, former civil parish and Church of England parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock, in the county of Essex, England. It is located close to the A13, around one mile northwest of Stanford-le-Hope and around ...

was the site of an 11th century mint as well as the 15th century woolmarket which gives an indication of the area's wealth in the 15th century. The narrowing of the river where Tilbury now stands meant it was important in the defence of

, and

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

built three blockhouses, two on the Tilbury side and another on the Gravesend side of the river, following the end of his marriage to

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

. In 1381, villagers from

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 between Basildon and Corringham, and is also close to Stanford-le-Hope. In 1931 the parish ...

and

instigated the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

when they were called to Brentwood to pay the

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

. When they refused to pay, a riot ensued which was the catalyst for a mass protest across

and

. Later, in 1588

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

addressed her troops not far from the Tilbury blockhouse as the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

sailed up the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. Between 1670 and 1682, the Tilbury blockhouse was substantially rebuilt into a much larger fortification (

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 ...

) and Coalhouse Fort was built further down river, close to the second blockhouse. The importance of the forts in defending the country continued through

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

ic times and into the two world wars. The land where Tilbury Town now stands was farmland and marsh grazing until the building of the docks in the 1890s. Thurrock includes the Bata village, built for workers of the shoe company in 1933. Eight homes and the factory are listed. Historically, the area was renowned for mineral extraction, including clay, aggregates and notably the digging of huge amounts of chalk from the West Thurrock area for use in the now defunct cement industries. When chalk extraction ceased one of the disused pits was redeveloped as Lakeside Shopping Centre. A number of former pits have been used to form the Chafford Gorges Nature Reserve, managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.

Captain Kidd

The body of

Captain Kidd William Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701), also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish-American privateer. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life, but he was likely born in Dundee and later settled in Ne ...

was displayed in Thurrock. He had been convicted of piracy and hanged on 23 May 1701, at '

Execution Dock Execution Dock was a site on the River Thames near the shoreline at Wapping, London, that was used for more than 400 years to Execution (legal), execute Pirate, pirates, smugglers and mutiny, mutineers who had been sentenced to death by Admiralt ...

Wapping Wapping () is an area in the borough of Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is in East London and part of the East End. Wapping is on the north bank of the River Thames between Tower Bridge to the west, and Shadwell to the east. This posit ...

. His body was ''

gibbet Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of criminals were hanged on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. Occasionally, the gibbet () was also used as a method of public ex ...

ed'' — left to hang in an iron cage over the Thames at Tilbury Point — as a warning to future would-be pirates for twenty years. Some sources give the location where his body was exhibited as Tilbury Ness, but this may be an alternative name for the same place. There is some uncertainty as to whether his body was displayed at what is now called Coalhouse Point or at a site a few hundred yards up stream, close to the present Tilbury Docks.

1953 Floods

On 31 January 1953, the low-lying areas of Thurrock were inundated by the

North Sea flood of 1953 The 1953 North Sea flood () was a major flood caused by a heavy storm surge that struck the Netherlands, north-west Belgium, England and Scotland. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, resulting in extensive flooding. The ...

. The Van den Berghs and Jurgens margarine factory, which manufactured Stork margarine, was forced to stop production for many months. Since the output of this factory constituted one third of the country's ration allocation, this led to a severe strain on the supply of margarine in the UK. Most schools in Thurrock were closed, either as a direct result of the flooding or in order to use them to help the relief effort. More than 1300 people in

and other low-lying areas were evacuated to schools on the higher ground. Chadwell St Mary Primary school was used as the main welfare centre for the homeless. By 15 February, most schools had returned to normal. The last to resume were the Landsdowne school in Tilbury and the newly opened Woodside Primary School – then called Tyrell Heath School. On Friday 13 February, the flooded areas were visited by the young

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Despite severe loss of life in nearby

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. ...

, only one person in Thurrock died as a result of the floods.

Heritage plaques

In 2002, a partnership between Thurrock Council, Thurrock Heritage Forum and the Thurrock Local History Society began an initiative to place heritage plaques marking the famous people, events and organisations associated with Thurrock. By September 2021 plaques included: *

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...

*Alice Mangold Diehl (Musician and Novelist, born in

Aveley Aveley is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United King ...

) *

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

's connection to Purfleet *The arrival of the

Empire Windrush HMT ''Empire Windrush'' was a passenger motor ship that was launched in Germany in 1930 as the MV ''Monte Rosa''. She was built as an ocean liner for the German shipping company Hamburg Süd. They used the ship to carry German emigrants to Sou ...

at Tilbury on 21 June 1948 *The training ship Exmouth *The

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

factory in the Corringham marshes *The shooting down of

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

L15 at

Purfleet Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater ...

in 1916 * Philip Vincent *

Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was an English naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection; his 1858 pap ...

and his house at the Dell * Arthur Young *The establishment of the town of

in 1912 *

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery Abolitionism, abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Nav ...

's connection with

and

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

's connection with the design of a lightning conductor for the Purfleet gunpowder magazine *

Henry de Grey Henry de Grey of Grays Thurrock, Essex (1155–1219) was a favourite courtier of King John of England. Life In 1195 he had been granted the Manor of Thurrock in Essex which later became known as Grays Thurrock (or simply Grays), which he b ...

, who gave his name to Grays *

Kate Luard Kate Evelyn Luard, (29 June 1872 – 16 August 1962), was a British nurse in the Second Boer War and First World War who was awarded the Royal Red Cross and Bar. She was the author of two books describing her experiences. Early life Luard was b ...

, the much decorated Boer War and First World War nurse

Administrative history

The borough has its origins in the

Orsett Orsett is a village, Ward (electoral subdivision), ward, former civil parish and ecclesiastical parish located within Thurrock unitary district in Essex, England, it is north-east of Grays, Essex, Grays. In 2011 the ward had a population of 6,1 ...

Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

, which had been created in 1835 covering a group of 18 parishes in southern Essex. Poor Law Unions subsequently formed the basis for later local government structures, with the Orsett

Rural Sanitary District Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

created in 1872 covering the same area. The parish of

Grays Thurrock Grays or Greys may refer to: Places * Grays Bay, Nunavut, Canada * Grays, Essex, a town in Essex, England ** Grays railway station ** Grays School * Grays, Kent, a hamlet in Kent, England * Rotherfield Greys or Greys, a village in Oxfordshire, ...

was made its own

urban sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

in 1886. Urban and rural sanitary districts were converted into urban districts and

rural districts A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the adm ...

in 1894. Two further urban districts were later created from parts of the

Orsett Rural District Orsett Rural District was a local government district centred on Orsett in the south Essex part of the Thames Estuary in England. It was a rural district from 1894 to 1936, initially made up of seventeen civil parishes and the successor to the ...

: the

Tilbury Urban District Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an anci ...

in 1912 covering the parish of

Chadwell St Mary Chadwell St Mary is an area of the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England. It is one of the List of traditional (Church of England) parish churches in Thurrock, traditional (Church of England) parishes in Thurrock and a former civil pa ...

, and the

Purfleet Urban District Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater L ...

in 1929 covering the three parishes of

and

West Thurrock West Thurrock is an area, former civil parish and traditional Church of England parish in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 18 miles (28.1 km) east south-east of Charing Cross, London. History West Thurrock was an ancient parish. In 1894 ...

. After 1929 the area therefore comprised four district-level authorities: one rural district, containing 13 civil parishes, and three urban districts: * Grays Thurrock Urban District *

, with its parishes being: **

Bulphan Bulphan ( ) is a village and former civil parish in the borough of Thurrock in Essex and one of the traditional (Church of England) parishes in Thurrock. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 774. History In 1931 the parish had a po ...

** Corringham **

East Tilbury East Tilbury is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock borough, Essex, England, and one of the traditional List of traditional (Church of England) parish churches in Thurrock, Church of England parishes in Thurro ...

** Horndon on the Hill **

Langdon Hills Langdon Hills is an area of Basildon in the borough of Basildon in Essex, England. It is located south of Laindon railway station on the London, Tilbury and Southend line. It is the location of the Langdon Hills Country Park, which is in th ...

Little Thurrock Little Thurrock () is an area, ward, former civil parish and Church of England parish in the town of Grays, in the unitary authority of Thurrock, Essex. In 1931 the parish had a population of 4428. Location Little Thurrock is on the north bank ...

North Ockendon North Ockendon is the easternmost settlement of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is east-northeast of Central London and consists of a dispersed settlement within the Metropolitan Green Belt. It was histo ...

Stifford Stifford is an area and former civil parish in the town of Grays in Thurrock, Essex, England. Historically a single village, the area was broken up by the construction of the A13 in the 1900s and is now divided by the road into three communiti ...

West Tilbury 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 tall river terrace overlooking the River Thames. Part of the modern town of Tilbur ...

In 1936 the four districts were all abolished to create the

Thurrock Urban District Thurrock was a local government district and civil parish in south Essex, England from 1936 to 1974. Background The district was created as a consequence of the Local Government Act 1929, which compelled county councils to review county district ...

(subject to some minor boundary changes with surrounding areas, notably at North Ockendon). All the civil parishes within the area were merged at the same time to become a single parish called Thurrock. The present-day borough of Thurrock was created in on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, covering almost the same area as the former Thurrock Urban District, which was abolished, with just a minor change on the border with

to place the whole designated area for Basildon

new town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

in that district. The civil parish of Thurrock was also abolished as part of the reforms and the area became an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

. The reformed Thurrock district was given

at the same time, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. Until 1998 Thurrock was a lower-tier

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

authority, with

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...

providing county-level services. Thurrock was made a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

on 1 April 1998, taking over the county-level services. Thurrock remains part of the

of Essex for the purposes of

lieutenancy Lieutenancy may refer to: United Kingdom Places * Lieutenancy area, a separate area appointed a lord-lieutenant, including: **Ceremonial counties of England, formally known as "counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies" **Lieutenancy areas of ...

Governance

There is only one tier of local government in Thurrock, being the unitary authority of

. There are no

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 ...

es in the borough, with the whole borough being an

. The local authority is

Elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

are held in three years out of every four.

Wider politics

Thurrock is covered by two parliamentary constituencies.

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...

includes most of the borough while

South Basildon and East Thurrock South Basildon and East Thurrock is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by James McMurdock of Reform UK. Constituency profile The seat had a very similar proportion (4.0%) of jobseekers to the n ...

includes some wards in the east of the borough.

Geography

Thurrock has a population of 175,500 people living in 90,500 homes. The

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

covers 70% of the borough. There are of land available for industrial use. There are seven

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

s, 19

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

s, including the

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or b ...

High House Purfleet High House is the collective name for a group of historic buildings in Purfleet, Thurrock, Essex, which was used as a farm for hundreds of years, with a Grade II listed house and barn, but with the addition of one of the best dovecotes (dove hous ...

, and 239

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 ...

s. The borough contains ten

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

: *Globe Pit, Grays *Grays Chalk Pit *Lion Pit, Grays *Purfleet Chalk Pits *West Thurrock Lagoon and Marshes *Inner Thames Marshes *Vange and Fobbing Marshes *Basildon Meadows *Mucking Flats and Marshes *

Hangman's Wood Hangman's Wood and Deneholes is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Little Thurrock in Essex. The deneholes, which were created by medieval chalk mining, are a Scheduled Monument. The name Hangmans Wood dates back to at least ...

and Deneholes Despite much of the borough being protected Green Belt land, Thurrock provides localised opportunities for further industrial and commercial development. The borough forms part of the

regeneration area, a corridor of opportunity that has been identified by central government as the area with greatest development and commercial potential in the country.

Thurrock Development Corporation Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government. It was an Urban Development Corporation set up by the Government of the ...

took over much of the borough's planning functions from its creation in 2005 until its demise in March 2011. Much of the population and commercial activity is centred along the riverfront. This includes many large and important industrial sites, including two large oil refineries, manufacturing industries, a container port, cruise liner terminal, distribution warehousing and one of Britain's largest refuse disposal sites at the appropriately named settlement of Mucking. Thurrock is also home to the

Lakeside Shopping Centre Lakeside Shopping Centre (commonly referred to as Lakeside) is a large Out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom, out-of-town shopping mall, shopping centre located in West Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater Lon ...

Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is "

Cfb CFB may refer to: *College football, in the United States *Canadian Forces base, military installation of the Canadian forces * Caminho de Ferro de Benguela, railway in Angola *Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District *Cipher feedback, ...

" (Marine West Coast Climate/

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

Demography

At the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2011, there were 157,705 people, 62,353 households and 45,985 families residing in the borough. The population density was 9.7 people per hectare. There were 63,869 housing units. The racial makeup of the borough was 86% White, 3.8% Asian, 7.8% Black, 2% Mixed Race, 0.6% other. There were 62,353 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 52.5% of all households were made up of individuals, 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The median age in the borough was 42. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% of residents were between the ages of 19 and 24; 30.3% were from 25 to 44; 24.2% were from 45 to 64; and 38.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.6% female.

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Thurrock at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British

Pounds Sterling Sterling (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...

Culture and film

Thurrock has been the scene of several major films. St Clement's Church and street scenes at

were used in the making of the film ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to star Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of ...

''. Thurrock can also be seen in ''

28 Days Later ''28 Days Later'' (sometimes stylised with ellipsis as ''28 Days Later...'') is a 2002 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. It stars Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to d ...

''. Scenes from the films '' Alfie'' (2004), and ''

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jone ...

'' were shot at Tilbury docks. The opening scenes from ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Wayne / B ...

'' (2005) were shot at Coalhouse Fort in East Tilbury. Some filming also took place for the film '' Essex Boys'' in and around the Bata estate at East Tilbury. The

State Cinema The State Cinema is a Listed building, Grade II* Listed building in Grays, Essex, Grays, Essex. Designed by F. G. M. Chancellor under Matcham & Co., it opened in 1938 as one of the most modern cinemas of its type at the time with seating for 22 ...

, where Eddie met Roger in the classic ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

'', can be found in Grays.

Art Deco architecture in Thurrock

There are a number of examples of

Art Deco architecture Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s, ...

in Thurrock. The baggage hall at Tilbury was opened in 1930. It has an art deco interior, designed by Sir Edwin Cooper and is a grade II listed building. The State cinema is also a listed building and dates from 1938. It is one of the few surviving examples of 1930s cinema architecture. It has the original cinema organ which can still be played. However, in the early 21st century the building became disused and faced dereliction. In September 2015 it was announced that

J D Wetherspoon J D Wetherspoon (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a British pub company operating in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based ...

had bought the property for conversion to a public house.( Building of the

Bata Shoes The Bata Corporation (known as Bata, and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, known as Baťa, ) is a multinational footwear, apparel and fashion accessories manufacturer and retailer of Moravian (Czech) origin, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzer ...

estate in East Tilbury was begun in 1933, and this is now a conservation area.JD Wetherspoon have since put the State Cinema building up for sale after announcing they would no longer be converting it to a public house January 2023 Chadwell St Mary has one of the few examples of a "Sunspan" house designed by the architect

Wells Coates Wells Wintemute Coates (December 17, 1895 – June 17, 1958) was an architect, designer and writer. He was, for most of his life, an expatriate Canadian who is best known for his work in England, the most notable of which is the Modernist block ...

. Although built in the 1950s, Woodside Primary School's architecture has been described as the slightly earlier "ocean liner" style of Art Deco. The building features a number of bricked curves and circular windows, while the wrought-iron banisters on the stairs are deliberately set to lean out at an angle.

Attractions

There is one multiplex cinema attached to the Lakeside Shopping Centre, and the Thameside Theatre in Grays. Live shows are held at the Circus Tavern in

. Open space includes

Chafford Gorges Nature Park The Chafford Gorges Nature Park is a nature reserve located in Chafford Hundred, England, and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. It includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit has been designated for its biolog ...

, Langdon Hills Country Park and Grove House Wood, managed by

Essex Wildlife Trust The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 The Wildlife Trusts, wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the ...

. Museums and historic buildings include

Coalhouse Fort Coalhouse Fort is an artillery fort in the eastern English county of Essex. It was built in the 1860s to guard the lower Thames from seaborne attack. It stands at Coalhouse Point on the north bank of the river, at a location near East Tilbury ...

, Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre, High House, Purfleet with its historic farm buildings, the Royal Opera House's Bob and Tamar Manoukian Production Workshop, The Backstage Centre and ACME artists' studios, Thurrock Museum and Walton Hall Farm Museum. Next to

is Arena Essex, a former motor sports complex, where speedway, banger and stock car racing took place. This site is now to be redeveloped for housing.

Transport

Being on the river and close to London, Thurrock is served with good communication links. The

M25 London Orbital Motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 th ...

, the railway line between Southend and London Fenchurch Street which provides direct access to Central London, the Port of Tilbury, and the nearby

London City Airport London City Airport is an international airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham, Borough of Newham, about east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the two centres ...

make Thurrock an important international trade centre. There is a grass airstrip south of Bulphan village. A ferry for passengers on foot connects Tilbury with Gravesend on the southern bank of the River Thames. Rail transport in the borough is provided 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 ...

with stations at: *

Chafford Hundred railway station Chafford Hundred railway station, also known as Chafford Hundred Lakeside station, is located on a single-track branch line of the London, Tilbury and Southend line, serving the area of Chafford Hundred as well as Lakeside Shopping Centre in Es ...

East Tilbury railway station East Tilbury railway station is on a loop line of the London, Tilbury and Southend line, serving the village of East Tilbury, Essex. It is down the line from London Fenchurch Street via and it is situated between and . Its three-letter stati ...

Grays railway station Grays railway station is on the London, Tilbury and Southend line serving the town of Grays, Essex. It is down the line from London Fenchurch Street via and is located at the junction where a branch line from via re-joins the route from Ra ...

Ockendon railway station Ockendon railway station is located on a passing loop on a single-track branch of the London, Tilbury and Southend line, serving the town of South Ockendon, Essex. It is down the line from London Fenchurch Street via ; the following station ...

* Purfleet railway station *

Stanford-le-Hope railway station Stanford-le-Hope railway station is on a loop line of the London, Tilbury and Southend line, serving the town of Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. It is down the line from London Fenchurch Street via and it is situated between and . Its three-letter ...

Tilbury Town railway station Tilbury Town railway station is on a loop line of the London, Tilbury and Southend line, serving the town of Tilbury, Essex. It is down the line from London Fenchurch Street via and it is situated between and . Its three-letter station cod ...

West Horndon railway station West Horndon is a railway station on the London, Tilbury and Southend line, serving the village of West Horndon situated on the boundary of the boroughs of Brentwood and Thurrock, Essex. It is down the main line from London Fenchurch Street a ...

(on northern boundary) Bus services within the Thurrock urban area are mostly provided by

Ensignbus Ensign Bus Company Limited, trading as Ensignbus, is a bus and coach operator and bus dealer based in Purfleet, Essex. As of March 2023, it is a part of FirstGroup. History Ensignbus was formed in 1972 by Peter Newman, who remains involved ...

. *Arriva has a depot at West Thurrock, but all of its work is Transport for London contracts and has only one route running into Thurrock, the 370. Other operators are First Essex, Stagecoach London and NIBS Buses.

Education

Thurrock has 55 schools; 39 of them are

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, 13 are secondary, two are

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...

and one is

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

. All but one have free school or academy status, with

Grays Convent High School Grays Convent High School is a voluntary aided girls' Roman Catholic secondary school in Grays, Essex, England. It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Brentwood's South Essex deanery, and is a specialist language college. The school wa ...

instead having

voluntary aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...

status. Five schools, including Grays Convent High School and four primary schools, are

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

faith school A faith school is a school in the United Kingdom that teaches a general curriculum but which has a particular religious character or formal links with a religious or faith-based organisation. The term is most commonly applied to state-funded fai ...

s while two primary schools are

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 ...

faith schools. 44 schools in Thurrock are operated by one of 13

multi-academy trust Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) or academy chain is an academy trust that operates more than one academy school. Academy schools are state-funded schools in England which are directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local aut ...

s, which include major chains such as the

Harris Federation Harris Federation is a multi-academy trust of 52 primary and secondary academies in and around London. They are sponsored by Philip Harris (Lord Harris of Peckham). Description With 52 academies in London and Essex, the Harris Federation educat ...

and

Ormiston Trust Ormiston Trust is a charitable trust based in London, England. It is a grant-making trust that chiefly assists schools and organisations supporting children and young people. The trust was established in the memory of Fiona Ormiston Murray who ...

and the country's first

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

academy trust. Since 2007, all secondary schools in Thurrock have had

specialist school Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...

status. Some schools, such as

William Edwards School William Edwards School (formerly William Edwards School and Sports College), commonly referred to by locals and students as Willy Eds, is a coeducational secondary comprehensive school with academy status, in Grays, Essex, England. It is a fo ...

and

Orsett Heath Academy The Orsett Heath Academy is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational Secondary school, secondary Free school (England), free school academy in Grays, Essex, Grays, Essex, England. It is the newest member of the South West Essex Community Education T ...

, utilise their right as specialist schools to select 10% of their pupils in specialist subject aptitude every year. Thurrock has no

grammar schools A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

, although Thurrock Council has tried to introduce them. Historically Thurrock had three grammar schools, Grays Thurrock School, Palmer's School for Boys and Palmer's School for Girls. In 1931, the Palmer's schools became

public schools Public school may refer to: *Public school (government-funded), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging private schools in England and Wales *Great Public Schools, ...

with

boarding Boarding may refer to: *Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a: **Boarding house **Boarding school *Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where hor ...

, reverting back to grammar school status in 1944 under voluntary control. Grays Convent High School was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

from its formation until 1969. There were also two selective

secondary technical school Secondary technical schools, referred to colloquially as secondary techs or simply techs, were a type of secondary school in England and Wales that existed in the mid-20th century under the Tripartite System of education. Few were built; their mai ...

Grays County Technical High School The Hathaway Academy, formerly the Grays School Media Arts College (TGSMAC or Grays School), is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational, Comprehensive school, non-selective secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status that is loca ...

which is now an academy status comprehensive and

Aveley County Technical High School Ormiston Park Academy, formerly the Belhus Chase Specialist Humanities College, is now a secondary school and academy located in Aveley, Essex, England. The school was reformed as an academy in 2009 under the sponsorship of the Ormiston Academie ...

, which merged with the Palmer's schools in 1971 to form

Palmer's College Unified Seevic Palmer's College, trading as USP College (previously known as Seevic and Palmer's Colleges Group), is a large general further education college in Essex, England. Since 2021, it has been a European Parliament Ambassador School. ...

. Palmer's College, now one half of

USP College Unified Seevic Palmer's College, Trade name, trading as USP College (previously known as Seevic and Palmer's Colleges Group), is a large General Further Education, general further education college in Essex, England. Since 2021, it has been a E ...

, is Thurrock's local

sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

for generalised

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

, whilst the Thurrock Campus of

South Essex College South Essex College of Further and Higher Education, also known as South Essex College, is a further education college located in several campuses in Basildon, Southend-on-Sea and Grays in Essex, England. The college provides courses for studen ...

is the local sixth form college for

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

. Palmer's also offers courses at

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

. Other institutions of further education in Thurrock include the Thurrock Adult Community College, Osborne Sixth Form and Ortu Sixth Form Centre Stanford & Corringham.

Partnerships

The Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary Excellence Cluster brought together Chadwell St Mary Primary School, ORTU Corringham Primary School, Grays Convent High School, Hassenbrook Academy, Herringham Primary School, Landsdowne Primary School, Manor Infant School, Manor Junior School, St Mary's RC Primary School, Woodside Primary School and

The Gateway Academy The Gateway Academy, formerly The Gateway Community College, is a coeducational Academy (English school), academy secondary school in Grays, Essex, Grays, Essex, England. It became an academy in 2006 under the sponsorship of the Ormiston Trust a ...

. Senior members of the schools' councils also sat on the cluster's student council before its dissolution. ORTU Gable Hall School has had a long partnership with Pro Arte Alphen Park School in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa for almost 10 years – the two schools have held exchange programmes with each other and the students sampling life in each other's respective countries. Woodside Primary is linked with a school in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, through the charity Gorkha Learning for Life, which was founded by a member of school staff.

Media

Television

Thurrock is served by

BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London, Surrey and parts of the surrounding areas of the Home Counties. Its output includes the daily '' BBC London'' news bulletin and w ...

and

ITV London ITV London is the on-air brand name used by ''ITV Broadcasting Limited'' for two broadcast franchises of ITV, Carlton Television (weekdays) and London Weekend Television (weekends) in the London ITV region. Its terrestrial digital signal is ...

with television signals are received from

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

TV transmitter,

BBC South East BBC South East is the BBC English region serving Kent, East Sussex (including the City of Brighton and Hove), parts of West Sussex and Surrey. The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter (former ...

and

ITV Meridian ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at midnight on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned ...

can also be received from Bluebell Hill TV transmitter.

Radio

Radio stations that broadcast to the area are: *

BBC Essex BBC Essex is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Essex. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on New London Road in Chelmsford. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 136,000 ...

BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the BBC Local Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London. It broadcasts on FM broadcasting, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Broadcasting House in Langham Plac ...

can also be heard *

BBC Radio Kent BBC Radio Kent is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Kent. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Great Hall in Royal Tunbridge Wells. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audie ...

can also be heard *

Heart East Heart East was a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes. The station launched on 3 June 2019, following a merger of four Heart station ...

* Radio Essex *

Time 107.5 Time 107.5 was an Independent Local Radio station, based in Romford and broadcasting to East London and West Essex. The station strapline was "All Time Favourites" and the station was available on FM on 107.5 MHz in the broadcast area and ...

*Gateway 97.8, a community based station

Newspapers

The area is served by these local newspapers: *''The Thurrock Gazette'' *'' The Evening Echo''

Sport and leisure

Thurrock has several

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 ...

clubs in the area: *

Tilbury F.C. Tilbury Football Club is a football club based in Tilbury, Thurrock, England. The club play in black and white stripes, are currently members of the and play home matches at Chadfields. History The club was established in 1889 by workers from ...

the oldest surviving football club in Thurrock having been formed in 1889. They have played at Chadfields since 1947. *

Thurrock F.C. Thurrock Football Club was an English football club based in Purfleet, Thurrock, Essex. Known as Purfleet until 2003, the club played at Ship Lane. History Originally being founded as Essex Sports in 1984, the club was renamed to Purfleet in Ap ...

which played at Ship Lane and was dissolved in 2018 *

Aveley F.C. Aveley Football Club are a professional football club based in Aveley, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside. History The club was established in 1927 and played in local leagues until World War II ...

which plays at Parkside *

Grays Athletic F.C. Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Chadfields in nearby Tilbury. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former ...

which played in at the

New Recreation Ground The New Recreation Ground was a football stadium on Bridge Road, Grays, Essex, England, and was the home ground of Grays Athletic. Prior to it being closed, the capacity stood at 4,100, of which 1,000 was seated. Grays Athletic moved to the g ...

in central Grays until 2010, but now plays at Parkside * East Thurrock United F.C. which plays at Rookery Hill Thurrock Yacht Club is based in the centre of Grays on the Thames foreshore. It offers a range of competitive and recreational boating opportunities.

List of places in the borough

Chafford Hundred Chafford Hundred, or simply Chafford, is a housing development and suburb in the town of Grays in the borough of Thurrock in Essex, England. Chafford Hundred is north-west of Grays Town Centre. Its railway station serves the area and Lakesi ...

* Corringham *

Coryton Refinery Coryton Refinery was an oil refinery in Essex, England, on the estuary of the River Thames from central London, between Shell Haven Creek and Hole Haven Creek, which separates Canvey Island from the mainland. It was a part of the Port of Lo ...

* Grays *

* Linford *

* Purfleet-on-Thames *

Shell Haven Shell Haven was a port on the north bank of the Thames Estuary at the eastern end of Thurrock, Essex, England and then an oil refinery. The refinery closed in 1999 and the site was purchased by DP World who received planning consent in May 2007 ...

Thames Haven Shell Haven was a port on the north bank of the Thames Estuary at the eastern end of Thurrock, Essex, England and then an oil refinery. The refinery closed in 1999 and the site was purchased by DP World who received planning consent in May 2007 ...

*Thurrock Village *

Historic buildings

* St Clement's Church * The State Cinema *

*The Woolmarket, Horndon *

Orsett Hall Orsett Hall was a 17th-century Grade II listed building in Orsett, Essex (de-listed on 10 March 2008). It was set in of parkland and was the centre of the Orsett Hall agricultural estate. The house was destroyed by fire on 11 May 2007 and rebui ...

*St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Grays

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Thurrock.

Individuals

* Dorothy Coker: 26 September 2001. * Reverend John Guest: 30 September 2021. * Canon Brian O’Shea: 30 September 2021. * Father Paul Dynan: 30 September 2021. *

The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Darren Barlow: 31 January 2024. * Fatima Whitbread: 21 May 2025. * Margaret Whitbread: 21 May 2025. * James "Jim" Gooding: 21 May 2025.

Military Units

* 215 (Essex) Squadron, RLC: 28 June 1986. * The

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the line regi ...

: 18 July 1990. * The

Port of Tilbury Police The Port of Tilbury Police is a non-Home Office ports police force responsible for the Port of Tilbury, and Tilbury 2 owned by the Port of Tilbury London Ltd, a subsidiary of Forth Ports plc. The force consists of a Chief of Police, Police Insp ...

: 25 September 2002. * The

Burma Star Association The Burma Star Association is a British veterans' association for ex-servicemen and women of all services who served in the Burma Campaign of World War II. The criterion for membership is the award of the Burma Star for service in Burma during Wor ...

(Thurrock Branch): 26 November 2008.

Twin towns

The borough of Thurrock is twinned with the following places: *

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Netherlands, Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, th ...

– city in Germany *

Płock Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

– city in Poland

References

External links

Thurrock Borough CouncilThurrock GazetteThurrock Local History Society
{{Authority control Local government in Essex Unitary authority districts of England Local authorities adjoining the River Thames Local government districts of the East of England Port of London Unparished areas in Essex Former civil parishes in Essex Boroughs in England