Thurrock 101893 221946610 2008-06-26T20:32:30Z E-Kartoffel 886257 {| border=1 cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width=300 style=margin-left:10px |- !colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#ff9999"|Borough of Thurrock |- |colspan=2 align=center|[[Image:EnglandThurrock.png]] |- !colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Geography |- |width="45%"|Status:||Unitary, Borough |- |[[Regions of England|Region]]:||[[London]] |- |Ceremonial County:||[[Essex, England|Essex]] |- |[[Surface area|Area]]:<br>- Total||[[List of English districts by area|Ranked 203rd]]<br>[[1 E8 m²|163.38]] [[square kilometre|km²]] |- |Admin. HQ:||[[Grays]] |- |[[ONS coding system|ONS code]]:||00KG |- !colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Demographics |- |[[Population]]:<br>- Total ({{English statistics year}})<br>- [[Density]]||[[List of English districts by population|Ranked {{English district rank|ONS=00KG}}]]<br>{{English district population|ONS=00KG}}<br>{{English district density|ONS=00KG}} / km² |- |Ethnicity<ref>[http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=276845&c=thurrock&d=13&e=13&g=405874&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1207592462856&enc=1&dsFamilyId=1812 Lead View Table<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>:||91.8% White<br>3.1% S.Asian<br>2.9% Black<br>1.4% Mixed Race |- !colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Politics |- |colspan=2 align=center|<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Arms-thurrock.jpg|200px|Arms of Thurrock Council|{{deletable image-caption|1=Monday, 3 March 2008}}]] --><br>Thurrock Council<br>http://www.thurrock.gov.uk/ |- |[[Local government in England#Councils and councillors|Leadership]]:||Leader & Cabinet |- |Executive:||{{EnglishDistrictControl|ONS=00KG}} |- |[[MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005|MPs]]:||[[Andrew Mackinlay]] [[Labour Party (UK)|(L)]]<br>[[Angela Evans Smith|Angela Smith]] [[Labour Party (UK)|(L)]]/[[Co-operative Party|(Co-op)]] |} '''Thurrock''' is a [[unitary authority]] with borough status in the [[England|English]] [[ceremonial county]] of [[Essex]]. It is part of the [[London commuter belt]] and an area of regeneration within the [[Thames Gateway]] redevelopment zone. ==The borough== It lies on the [[River Thames]] just to the east of [[London]]. With over 18 miles (29 km) of riverfront it covers an area of 64 square miles (166 km²), with more than half defined as [[Green Belt]]. With [[Greater London]] to the west and the river to the south, the county of Essex abuts the Borough to the north and east, and across the river lies [[Kent]]. ===Land use=== Thurrock has a population of 145,689 people living in 58,485 homes. The [[Green belt (UK)|green belt]] covers 60% of the borough. There are seven [[conservation area]]s, 19 [[scheduled ancient monument]]s and 239 [[listed building]]s. The borough contains ten sites of [[Sites of Special Scientific Interest|special scientific interest]]. There is 2 km² of land available for industrial use. 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 [[Thames Gateway]] 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. A [[Thurrock Development Corporation]] was recently imposed and took over much of the borough's planning functions in 2005. 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]]. ===Attractions=== There are two multiplex cinemas attached to the Lakeside Shopping Centre, and the Thameside Theatre in [[Grays]]. Live shows are held at the Circus Tavern in [[Purfleet]]. Open space includes [[Langdon Hills Country Park]] and [[Grove House Wood]], managed by [[Essex Wildlife Trust]]. Museums and historic buildings include [[Coalhouse Fort]] at [[East Tilbury]], [[Tilbury Fort]] in [[Tilbury]], Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre, Thurrock Museum and Walton Hall Farm Museum. Next to [[Lakeside Shopping Centre]] is Arena Essex, a motor sports complex, where speedway, banger and stock car racing takes place. ==History== [[Mammoths]] once grazed in the Thurrock area, and archaeologists recently unearthed the remains of a jungle cat. Man has been in the area since [[prehistoric times]], and the land has been farmed by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] and [[Anglo-Saxons]]. [[Image:Wool-market.jpg|thumb|left|The Woolmarket by Ron Strutt]]It is the site of the 15th century woolmarket.The area's wealth in the 1400s is shown in the splendid wool market at [[Horndon-on-the-Hill]]. The narrowing of the river where Tilbury now stands meant it was important in the defence of [[London]], and [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] 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]]. Later, in 1588 [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] addressed her troops not far from the Tilbury blockhouse as the [[Spanish Armada]] sailed up the [[English Channel]]. Between 1670 and 1682, the Tilbury blockhouse was substantially rebuilt in to a much larger fortification ([[Tilbury Fort]]) 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]]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 [[East Tilbury#history|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 the disused pit was redeveloped as Lakeside Shopping Centre. The present-day borough of Thurrock was created in 1974 from the former area of [[Thurrock Urban District]]. The [[Local Government Act 1972]] left the boundaries mostly untouched, although part of it, in [[Basildon]] New Town, was ceded to the [[Basildon (district)|Basildon district]] and the district gained borough status. [http://www.thurrock.gov.uk/museum/content.php?page=crest] It was given administrative independence from Essex County Council on [[April 1]] [[1998]] by ''The Essex (Boroughs of Colchester, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock and District of Tendring) (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996''. It remains part of Essex for [[ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial]] purposes such as [[Lord-Lieutenancy]]. ===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 March 2008 there were plaques to: *[[Joseph Conrad]] *Alice Diehl *[[Dracula]]'s connection to Purfleet * The shooting down of [[Zeppelin]] L15 in 1916 * The [[Kynoch]] factory in the [[Corringham, Essex|Corringham]] marshes * The training ship Exmouth *[[Vincent Motorcycles#Phil Vincent|Philip Vincent]] *[[Alfred Russel Wallace]] *[[Arthur Young (writer)|Arthur Young]] ==In films== Thurrock has been the scene of several major films. St Clement's Church and street scenes at [[West Thurrock]] were used in the making of the film ''[[Four Weddings and a Funeral]]''. Thurrock can also be seen in ''[[28 Days Later]]''. Scenes from the films ''[[Alfie (2004 film)|Alfie]]'' (2004), and ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'' were shot at Tilbury docks. The opening scenes from ''[[Batman Begins]]'' (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]] where Eddie met Roger in the classic ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'' can be found in Grays. Of interest to film buffs is the State cinema itself. This listed building dates from 1938 and it is one of the few surviving examples of thirties cinema architecture. It has the original cinema organ which can still be played, however, the building is disused and faces dereliction. ==Transport== {| {{Railway line header}} {{BS-header|National Rail in Thurrock|#eeffff}} {{BS-table}} {{BS|||<small>to Southend</small>|}} {{BS3|||BHF||[[Stanford-le-Hope railway station|Stanford-le-Hope]]}} {{BS3|||BHF||[[East Tilbury railway station|East Tilbury]]}} {{BS3|||BHF||[[Tilbury Town railway station|Tilbury Town]]|}} {{BS3|||BHF||[[Grays railway station|Grays]]}} {{BS3||STRrg|ABZrf}} {{BS3||BHF|STR||[[Chafford Hundred railway station|Chafford Hundred]]|}} {{BS3|STR|BHF|STR||[[Ockendon railway station|Ockendon]]}} {{BS3|BHF|STR|STR||[[West Horndon railway station|West Horndon]]}} {{BS3|AKRZu|AKRZu|AKRZu|||[[M25 motorway]]|}} {{BS3|ABZrg|STRrf|STR}} {{BS3|STR||BHF||[[Purfleet railway station|Purfleet]]}} {{BS|||<small>to London</small>|}} |} |} Being both on the river and right next to London, Thurrock is served with good communication links. The [[M25 London Orbital Motorway]], the railway line between Southend and London Fenchurch Street which provides direct access to Central London and, eventually, Stratford International Station, the Port of Tilbury and the nearby [[London City Airport]] 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]] with stations at: *[[Chafford Hundred railway station]] *[[East Tilbury railway station]] *[[Grays railway station]] *[[Ockendon railway station]] *[[Purfleet railway station]] *[[Stanford-le-Hope railway station]] *[[Tilbury Town railway station]] *[[West Horndon railway station]] (on northern boundary) ==Economy== This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Thurrock at current basic prices [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/RegionalGVA.pdf published] (pp.240-253) by ''Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year || Regional gross value added<ref>Components may not sum to totals due to rounding</ref> || Agriculture<ref>includes hunting and forestry</ref> || Industry<ref>includes energy and construction</ref> || Services<ref>includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured</ref> |- | 1995 || '''1,406''' || 8 || 657 || 741 |- | 2000 || '''1,737''' || 4 || 677 || 1,056 |- | 2003 || '''1,995''' || 5 || 664 || 1,327 |} <references /> ==List of places in the borough== *[[Aveley]] *[[Bulphan]] *[[Chadwell St Mary]] *[[Chafford Hundred]] *[[Corringham, Essex|Corringham]] *[[Coryton Refinery]] *[[East Tilbury]] *[[Fobbing]] *[[Grays]] *[[Horndon-on-the-Hill]] *[[Langdon Hills]] *[[Little Thurrock]] *[[Mucking]] *[[Orsett]] *[[Purfleet]] *[[Shell Haven]] *[[South Ockendon]] *[[Stanford-le-Hope]] *[[Stifford]] *[[Tilbury]] *[[West Thurrock]] ===Historic Buildings=== *[[Coalhouse Fort]] *[[St Clement's Church, West Thurrock|St Clement's Church]] *[[State Cinema|The State Cinema]] *[[Tilbury Fort]] *The Woolmarket, Horndon *[[Palmer's College]] ==External links== * [http://www.thurrock.gov.uk Thurrock Borough Council] * [http://www.thurrock.gov.uk/maps Thurrock Borough Council] - Maps * [http://www.thisisthurrock.co.uk Thurrock Gazette] * [http://www.thurrock-community.org.uk/historysoc Thurrock Local History Society] * [http://www.thurrocklabourparty.org.uk Thurrock Labour Party] {{Template:Essex}} {{East_of_England}} [[Category:Thurrock|*]] [[Category:Local government in Essex]] [[Category:Unitary authorities in England]] [[de:Thurrock]] [[eo:Thurrock]] [[fr:Thurrock]] [[it:Thurrock]] [[lb:Thurrock]] [[nl:Thurrock]] [[no:Thurrock]] [[pl:Thurrock]] [[ro:Thurrock]]