Thurrock was a local government district and civil parish in south

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

from 1936 to 1974.

Background

The district was created as a consequence of the

Local Government Act 1929 The Local Government Act 1929 ( 19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 17) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales. The act abolished the system of poor law unions in England ...

, which compelled county councils to review county districts and make recommendations for changes to the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

for approval. The subject of amalgamation of riverside parishes was not new, with an unsuccessful proposal in 1911 to expand Grays Urban District to include Chadwell St Mary, Little Thurrock, West Thurrock and part of Stifford. In March 1931, Essex County Council convened a conference of local authorities in the area to solicit their views. The council suggested the breaking up of Orsett Rural District and the enlargement of the existing urban districts of Purfleet (gaining North Ockendon) and Grays Thurrock (gaining Stifford and part of Little Thurrock). Tilbury urban district would be absorbed by a new Orsett urban district formed from the remainder of the rural district. The proposals met with objections from the local authorities. An inquiry was held in November 1932 and the Minister of Health suggested the creation of a new "Riverside" urban district covering the whole area. The county council submitted revised proposals along these lines on 4 October 1933, calling the new district "Orsett". A further local enquiry was held in November 1933 and the changes were approved in December, with the suggestion from the minister that new district should be called "Thurrock". Purfleet Urban District Council took legal action in an attempt to prevent the changes and revert to the earlier scheme, ultimately taking the case to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

without success.

History

The parish and urban district was formed from the former area of the following civil parishes which had been abolished in 1936: *From Grays Thurrock Urban District: **

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, ...

*From Orsett Rural District: ** Bulphan ** 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 ...

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 ...

** 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 **

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 ...

** North Ockendon ** Orsett **

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 ...

** Stifford ** West Tilbury *From Purfleet Urban District: **

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

*From Tilbury Urban District: **

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 ...

The district was enlarged in 1938 by gaining part of the former

Little Burstead Little Burstead is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It lies south-south-west of Billericay and east-south-east of Brentwood railway station.Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, by John Marius Wilson, 1870-2 History In 1086, ...

parish from

Billericay Urban District Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon in Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, east of the City of London. The town was founded in the 13th century by the Abbot of West Ham, in his Manor of Great Bur ...

. The district was abolished in 1974. The part within Basildon New Town became part of

Basildon District The Borough of Basildon is a local government district with borough status in Essex, England. It is named after its largest town, Basildon, where the council is based. The borough also includes the towns of Billericay and Wickford and surroundi ...

, while the remainder became the present-day Borough of Thurrock. It has since become 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 ...

with largely the same boundaries.

Notes

References

{{reflist

External links

Historic boundaries - A Vision of Britain

Unit data - A Vision of Britain
Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 History of Thurrock Urban districts of England