BOOK REVIEWS
Discovering Thurrock by Christopher Harrold
Every good conservationist will know that in 1968,
twelve tons of cement dust fell on every square mile of
Thurrock; but how many know of the history and archaeology
of the land upon which it fell?
Thurrock is England's largest Urban District, and
habitation goes back to Palaeolithic times. Since then
Thurrock, with its eleven Thameside parishes has seen a very
wide range of architectural styles. The Essex geologist will
already know that the Chalk crops out here and that the
region is famous for its fossils, including a mammoth or two.
Belhus Park in Aveley with its woods now open to all,
was landscaped by Capability Brown. Tilbury, apart from its
container terminal, has Scratch Sundials on the Church
dating from the time before clocks were used to time the
services. The centre of Corringham is an example of modern
town planning, but the Norman Church, Hall and weatherboarded
cottages certainly are not. Fobbing has legends of
smuggling and connections with the Peasants' Revolt of the
14th century. Street names are a feature of Grays.
Horndon-on-the-Hill, now a Conservation Area, was once a
centre of the Saffron industry.. Laingdon Hills is a beauty
spot. Mucking is well known to ornithologists, but what
of the archaeological sites destroyed by the quarrying that
makes the area so attractive to birds. South Ockendon, with
its village green, has the rare feature of the 13th century
round church tower, also a mill site and an Iron Age barrow,
The Lock-up in Orsett was last used as a prison in 1848.
Hangmans Wood in Little Thurrock is famous for the Dene Holes,
as everybody who has read his Essex Naturalist knows.
These, and many other facts about this fascinating
Thamesside region of Essex, I found in 'Discovering Thurrock'
by Christopher Harrold of the Thurrock Local History Society.
He and the Society are to be congratulated on an
excellent publication and source of inspiration. It sells
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