Terrel's Heath

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Terrel's Heath
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Terrel's Heath
Terrel's Heath shown within Essex
OS grid reference TQ6381
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Sovereign state United Kingdom
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UK
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51°29′N0°22′E / 51.49°N 00.36°E / 51.49; 00.36 Coordinates: 51°29′N0°22′E / 51.49°N 00.36°E / 51.49; 00.36

Terrel's Heath is, in spite of its name, an area of woodland in Chadwell St Mary named on the 1938 six-inch Ordnance Survey map. [1]

Woodland low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade

A woodland or wood is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of primary or secondary succession. Higher density areas of trees with a largely closed canopy that provides extensive and nearly continuous shade are referred to as forests.

Chadwell St Mary village in the United Kingdom

Chadwell St Mary is in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England. It is one of the traditional parishes in Thurrock and a former civil parish. Its residential areas are on the higher ground overlooking the former Thameside marshland. Grays is a town centred 2 miles (3.2 km) west of it. Closer still, 1 mile (1.6 km) south is the modern town of Tilbury which was almost wholly part of the parish until the end of the 19th century. The settlement is frequently referred to simply as Chadwell, particularly before the 19th century.

Ordnance Survey organisation that creates maps of Great Britain

Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency of the United Kingdom which covers the island of Great Britain. Since 1 April 2015 part of Ordnance Survey has operated as Ordnance Survey Ltd, a government-owned company, 100% in public ownership. The Ordnance Survey Board remains accountable to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. It is also a member of the Public Data Group.

Contents

Location and description

An ancient bank and ditch separates Woodside school (on the left) from Terrel's Heath (on the right). Woodside and Tyrells Heath.jpg
An ancient bank and ditch separates Woodside school (on the left) from Terrel's Heath (on the right).

Terrel's Heath is adjacent to Woodside Primary School in Little Thurrock. Separating Terrel's Heath from Woodside School is an ancient bank and ditch that marks the boundary between the traditional parishes of Chadwell St Mary and Little Thurrock. [2] It can be accessed only from the bridle path [3] which runs from Chadwell St Mary, across nearby Orsett Heath to Hangman's Wood, part of the ancient route from Coalhouse Point in East Tilbury to the bridge or causeway at Aveley. [4] It is deciduous woodland, almost entirely oak with bluebells in the spring, often an indicator of ancient (unplanted) woodland. [5]

Little Thurrock human settlement in United Kingdom

Little Thurrock is a ward and Church of England parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock, Essex.

Orsett Heath human settlement in United Kingdom

Orsett Heath is a location and recently built hamlet in the unitary authority of Thurrock, in the ceremonial county of Essex. It is located about twenty miles away from London. Nearby settlements include the towns of Tilbury and Grays Thurrock and the villages of Orsett and Chadwell St Mary. For transport there is the A13 road (England), the A1089 road and the A1013 road nearby. The nearest railway station is Tilbury Town railway station. The Gateway Academy is about a mile away.

East Tilbury village in the Essex, England

East Tilbury is a village in the unitary authority of Thurrock borough, Essex, England and one of the traditional parishes in Thurrock.

Name

The name Terrel's heath dates back to at least the mid 17th century when it was recorded (as Tirells Heath) on an estate map. The place-name element "Terrel's" may relates to either the Tyrrel family of Essex or the Torel family. [6] The element "Heath" may relate either to a time when it was not wooded or to include the surrounding area which was until comparatively recently typical heathland. The Tyrell's family were sponsors of All Saints Church, East Horndon where many family members are buried. It was the family name which was adopted as the original name both the junior and infant schools which later became Woodside Primary School, Grays while the adjacent Secondary School was known as "Torells". The young 19th Century diarist Martha Randall [7] wrote "Tirrels heath" when describing a November walk on the Heath which was close to her home at Heath Place Farm.

Estate map

Estate maps were maps commissioned by individual landowners or institutions, to show their extensive landed property, typically including fields, parkland and buildings. They were used for display and estate management and were fashionable from the 16th to the 19th century.

All Saints Church, East Horndon Church in Essex, England

All Saints Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of East Horndon, Essex, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands north of the village, and northwest of the junction between the A127 and A128 roads, some 4 miles (6 km) south of Brentwood.

History

Terrel's Heath was given to Thurrock Council by the Baker family of Orsett Hall and is now a public open space. It was considerably reduced in size by the construction of the Dock Relief Road which connects the Port of Tilbury with the A13. This road now separates Terrel's Heath from the larger Orsett Heath. Before the road and before the nearby housing estates were there Terrel's Heath would have been part of a large swathe of heathland interspaced with woodland. This included Biggin Heath (heathland belonging to the manor of Biggin), Chadwell Heath (heathland belonging to the manor of Chadwell St Mary, not the place near Romford), Mucking Heath, Orsett Heath, Socketts Heath and Terrel's Heath all of which were on high ground compared to the nearby marsh and had poor sandy soil with underlying gravel and chalk. [8] Heathland is maintained by animal grazing which prevents the growth of trees or large bushes. If the land ceases to be used for grazing, it reverts to woodland. [9] Terrel's Heath was apparently still being grazed in 1840 when Champion Branfill wrote to William Wigfield on the subject of “rights of pasturage on Tyrrells heath”. [10]

Orsett Hall

Orsett Hall was a 17th-century grade 2 listed building in Orsett, Essex. It was set in 12 acres (4.9 ha) of parkland and was the centre of the Orsett Hall agricultural estate. The house was destroyed by fire on 11 May 2007 and rebuilt in the same style and on the same footprint as the original building in 2009.

Port maritime commercial facility

A port is a maritime commercial facility which may comprise one or more wharves where ships may dock to load and discharge passengers and cargo. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, some ports, such as Hamburg, Manchester and Duluth, are many miles inland, with access from the sea via river or canal.

Tilbury town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England

Tilbury is a 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 ancient cross-river ferry. Tilbury is part of the Port of London with a major deep-water port which contributes to the local economy.

Related Research Articles

Thurrock Borough & Unitary authority area in England

Thurrock is a unitary authority area with borough status in the 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 local authority is Thurrock Council.

Grays town in Essex, England

Grays is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex and one of Thurrock's traditional parishes. The town is approximately 20 miles (32 km) to the east of London on the north bank of the River Thames, and 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the M25 motorway. Its economy is linked to Port of London industries, its own offices, retail and Lakeside, West Thurrock.

Thurrock Urban District

Thurrock was a local government district and civil parish in south Essex, England from 1936 to 1974.

West Tilbury village in United Kingdom

West Tilbury is a village on the top of and on the sides of a 30 metres (98 ft) tall river terrace overlooking the river Thames. Part of the modern town of Tilbury is within the traditional parish of West Tilbury.

Hangmans Wood and Deneholes

Hangman's Wood and Deneholes is a 3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Little Thurrock in Essex. The deneholes, which were created by medieval chalk mining, are a Scheduled Monument.

Horndon-on-the-Hill village in Thurrock, Essex, England

Horndon-on-the-Hill is a village 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 two miles northeast of Orsett. The village area falls within the Orsett ward of Thurrock District Council.

The Gateway Academy is a secondary school in Grays, Essex, England. It became an academy under the sponsorship of the Ormiston Academies Trust. after Thurrock council was unable to find the resources to provide a new building. It was previously a successful ‘Fresh Start’ school, The Gateway Community College which was created from two failing secondary schools; Torells School(Chadwell St Mary) and St Chad's School(Tilbury). The opening of the new modern building was delayed by three years. The Gateway Community College was signed off by Ofsted as a successful Fresh Start school in 2006. The school then became an academy in 2007. The Academy has brought many improvements in access to education for the students of the area, and as of an inspection in November 2011 was rated as "Outstanding" by Ofsted. A subsequent Ofsted inspection of March 2017, downgraded the school from Outstanding to Requires Improvement category. But however this school is still considered to have less applications handed in from parents for places compared to the nearby William Edwards.

Biggin, Essex human settlement in United Kingdom

Biggin is a hamlet and manor in Chadwell St Mary, part of the borough of Thurrock, in the ceremonial county of Essex. It is about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the town of Tilbury and a similar distance east of Grays Thurrock.

Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary Excellence Cluster was a cooperative group of schools brought together under the government's Excellence in Cities initiative. The purpose of the cluster was to raise standards of attainment for all children in cluster schools and to support the new Gateway school. The original schools were Chadwell St Mary Primary School, Corringham Primary School, Grays Convent, Hassenbrook School, Herringham Primary School, Jack Lobley Primary School, Landsdowne Primary School, St Chad's Comprehensive School, Torrell's Comprehensive School, Tilbury Manor Infant School, Tilbury Manor Junior School, Tilbury St Mary's RC Primary School and Woodside Primary School. Schools outside of Chadwell St Mary or Tilbury were included either to add capacity or because a large number of their children came from the area. Jack Lobley school was closed in 2003 but the building was used for a while to house a cluster Inclusion Centre. St Chad's and Torrell's were also closed and reopened as one fresh start school; The Gateway Community College, which has since become The Gateway Academy but continues to have problems. Standards and attendance are still significantly below average. Excellence Clusters were originally given additional funding to development provisions over a four "strands": learning mentors, learning support units, gifted and talented and a tailored strand decided by each cluster which is in this case is school improvement.

Mardyke (river) river in the United Kingdom

The Mardyke is a small river, mainly in Thurrock, that flows into the River Thames at Purfleet, close to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. In part, it forms the boundary between the Essex hundreds of Barstable and Chafford. The river gives its name to the Mardyke Valley—a project aimed at increasing appreciation and usage of recreational land around the Mardyke.

St Marys Church, Chadwell St Mary Church in Essex, England

The Church of St Mary is a Church of England parish church in Chadwell St Mary, Thurrock, Essex. The church is a Grade I listed building. Together with Emmanuel Church, it forms the Parish of Chadwell St Mary in the Diocese of Chelmsford.

References

  1. ↑ Old Maps Archived 2008-11-21 at the Wayback Machine .
  2. ↑ Matthews, John, 2007, The Chadwell Parish Boundary (in Panorama, The Journal of the Thurrock Local History Society, Number 45, page 57)
  3. ↑ Thurrock Council, 2007, Thurrock Rights of Way, Thurrock Council
  4. ↑ Benton, Tony (1991). Boldly from the marshes. Thurrock Council. pp. 86–87.
  5. ↑ Woodland Trust
  6. ↑ In The Place-names of Essex, PH Reaney says that nearby Terrells Hall (in Little Thurrock) is related to the family of William Torel
  7. ↑ Bingley, Randall (2000). The nightingales were singing: the diary of Martha Randall of Orsett, 1858-61. Thurrock Museum.
  8. ↑ South Essex: landscape and memory
  9. ↑ Rackham, Oliver (1997). The History of the Countryside. Phoenix. p. 282.
  10. ↑ Benton, Tony (1991). Boldly from the marshes. Thurrock Council. p. 9.
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