Visit Thurrock Places

Visit Thurrock Place – things to do & explore

  

Thurrock places overview by Walkfo

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Thurrock history

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The name “Thurrock” is a Saxon name meaning “the bottom of a ship” Horndon-on-the-Hill was the site of an 11th century mint as well as the 15th century woolmarket. The area was renowned for mineral extraction, including clay, aggregates and notably the digging of huge amounts of chalk from the West Thurrock area.

Captain Kidd

Captain Kidd was convicted of piracy and hanged on 23 May 1701, at ‘Execution Dock’, Wapping . His body was gibbeted — left to hang in an iron cage over the Thames at Tilbury Point — as a warning to future would-be pirates .

1953 Floods

On 31 January 1953, the low-lying areas of Thurrock were inundated by the North Sea flood of 1953 . The Van den Berghs and Jurgens margarine factory, which manufactured Stork margarine, was forced to stop production for many months . 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 .

Heritage plaques

In 2002 a partnership between Thurrock Council, Thurrock Heritage Forum and Thurrock Local History Society began an initiative to place heritage plaques marking famous people, events and organisations associated with Thurrock . By September 2021 plaques included: Dracula’s connection to Purfleet, Dracula, the arrival of the Empire Windrush and the shooting down of Zeppelin L15 at Purfleet .

You can visit Thurrock places and use Walkfo Thurrock to discover the history & things to do in Thurrock whilst walking with our free digital tour app. Walkfo Thurrock has 88 places on our Thurrock map with history, culture & travel facts that you explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Thurrock, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route – you choose where you want to go, when you want to go and Walkfo Thurrock will keep up.
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With millions of places including tourist walks, Thurrock travel destinations, National Trust locations converted to audio experiences, our Thurrock places AI guide will help you get the best from your visit to Thurrock & the surrounding areas. The Thurrock places app for iPhone & Android delivers hidden history, interesting culture and amazing facts in interactive audio stories in response to where you walk at National Heritage sites, tourist attractions, historic locations or city streets, with no predefined walk map requirements.

“The Walkfo AI has curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 88 audio facts unique to Thurrock places forming an interactive Thurrock map for you to explore.”

Walkfo’s Visit Thurrock Places Map
88 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Thurrock historic spot	Thurrock tourist destination	Thurrock plaque	Thurrock geographic feature
Walkfo Thurrock tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Thurrock

  

Best Thurrock places to visit

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Thurrock has many places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Thurrock’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Thurrock’s information audio spots:

Belmont Castle Belmont Castle was a neo-Gothic mansion near Grays in the English county of Essex . Built c.1795 to designs by Thomas Jeffery, it was the most prominent building in the parish . It was demolished in 1943 to make way for a chalk quarry .

Circus Tavern Circus Tavern is an entertainment venue in Purfleet, Essex, England which hosts functions, cabaret acts and is also a nightclub venue . First opened in 1974, it is most famous as having been a long-time venue of PDC World Darts Championship .

Baker Street Mill, Orsett Baker Street Mill is a grade II listed smock mill at Baker Street, Orsett, Essex, England. It has been part adapted to residential use on its lower two floors only.

The Dell, Thurrock The Dell is one of the earliest houses in Britain to be built in concrete. It was built on the instructions of Alfred Russel Wallace, who lived in Grays, Thurrock, Essex.

Tilbury Riverside railway station Tilbury Riverside railway station is located in the town of Tilbury in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex. The station was 22 miles 46 chains (36.33 km) down the line from London Fenchurch Street station via Rainham.

St Mary’s Church, Chadwell St Mary The Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed building in Thurrock, Essex. It forms the Parish of Chadwell St Mary in the Diocese of Chelmsford.

St James’ Church, West Tilbury The church of St James is a grade II* listed former parish church in West Tilbury. It is constructed from flint and rubble and was restored by W Benton. It contains remnants of Early Norman windows.

Mucking (archaeological site) Mucking is an archaeological site near the village of Mucking in southern Essex. The site contains remains dating from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. Major excavations took place at the site between 1965 and 1978, directed by Margaret Ursula Jones.

Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve Rainham Marshes is an RSPB nature reserve in Purfleet, Thurrock and the London Borough of Havering. In 2000, the area of land was bought from the Ministry of Defence, who used it as a test firing range. The reserve is home to a diverse range of bird species, wetland plants and insects.

St Giles & All Saints Church, Orsett St Giles & All Saints Church, known locally as Orsett Church, is a Church of England parish church in Orsett, Essex. It is of medieval origin, and has been built upon since its original construction.

Visit Thurrock plaques