129880_RLHS_Heritage_Booklet

Celebrating Thurrock's Rich Heritage 2nd Edition Some of the people, places and events that have contributed to our history



Celebrating Thurrock's Rich Heritage Monarchs and missionaries diarists known and diarists unknown calypso singers and unsung heroines Here are some of the people who have contributed to Thurrock's heritage. 1

Dedicated to those who have contributed to Thurrock's heritage and those who have ensured it is remembered. 2

Contents William Palin …. 6 Margaret Jones …. 7 Martha Randal …. 8 Jonathan Catton …. 9 Thomas Baker …. 11 Elizabeth I …. 12 Bernard de Gomme …. 13 Samuel Pepys …. 14 General Gordon …. 15 James Montresor …. 16 Richard Haldane …. 17 Kate Luard …. 18 Gordon Steele VC …. 19 Gunther Pluschow …. 20 Sir Francis Whitmore …. 21 St Cedd …. 23 Thomas Higbed …. 24 William Laud …. 25 John Pell …. 26 John Newton …. 27 The Temple family …. 29 The Barrett-Lennard family …. 30 The Sturgeon family …. 31 The Button family …. 32 Daniel Defoe …. 34 Benjamin Franklin …. 35 Alfred Russel Wallace …. 36 Alice Diehl …. 37 Joseph Conrad …. 38 Philip Vincent …. 39 Lord Kitchener …. 40 William Palmer …. 42 Tomas Bata …. 43 Hertbert Brooks …. 44 The Seabrooke family …. 45 Eileen Fowler ….46 Frederick Chancellor …. 47 3

Thurrock's rich history and heritage This booklet is part of a Lottery funded project to celebrate the people, places and events that have contributed to Thurrock's rich heritage. The people celebrated have all lived in or visited Thurrock during the last fifteen hundred years. The first edition of this booklet introduced many people who didn't have a Thurrock Heritage plaque. A shortlist of five people was selected for a public vote. As a result of this vote, the HLF project will finance three new plaques which will be dedicated to Kate Luard, William Palmer and Margaret Jones. Kate Luard and Margaret Jones are the subject of short videos financed by the project, as are Benjamin Franklin and Lord Kitchener who appear later in the booklet. This revised 2nd edition of the booklet contains additional entries for a number of people who had already been recognised with a plaque and one new entry for Gordon Charles Steele VC who was a nominee for a new plaque, but was narrowly beaten. 4

The Historians One way we know about Thurrock's heritage is that historians, past and present have written down what they knew and what they had discovered in documents such as parish registers. The earliest historian to mention a place in Thurrock (Tilbury) was the Venerable Bede, writing in the eighth century. The earliest published history devoted solely to Thurrock was written by William Palin rector of Stifford in the 19th century. In the 20th century, Ivan Sparkes, Thurrock's chief librarian, produced a bibliography listing a vast number of books and documents that throw light on Thurrock's past. We can also learn about our heritage by studying objects from earlier times. These can be buildings that are still around such as churches, forts and houses. Objects recovered by archaeologists can also teach us about Thurrock's heritage. The largest archaeological excavation was in Mucking during the 1960s and 1970s. However, there have been many other digs throughout the borough. Sometimes we can learn our heritage from the actions of ordinary people. In the middle of the 19th century, a young girl in Orsett decided to keep a diary, just as many teenagers have done before and since. In this case, Martha Randal's diary has survived. The diary, and Randal Bingley's expert interpretation of the entries, give us a unique insight life in a Thurrock village one hundred and fifty years ago. Communicating Thurrock's history and heritage is an important way of keeping it alive. Jonathan Catton, was Thurrock's Heritage officer for many years. Through his work with school children, his talks, his regular contributions to the local newspapers and his enthusiastic encouragement of other local historians, he introduced many people to Thurrock's rich heritage. 5

William Palin – Stifford and its neighbours William Palin was the rector of the parish of Stifford. In 1871 he wrote Stifford and its Neighbours – the first local history book devoted entirely to Thurrock. The following year he wrote a follow-up, More about Stifford and its Neighbours. Palin was born on 10th November, 1803. He studied at Oxford and was ordained as a deacon in 1833. He was curate of Stifford until his ordination as a priest the following year, when he became rector. He held the post for nearly 50 years. Palin married Emily Long and they lived in the rectory at Stifford with their four children. Around 1869 he became aware that church officials in nearby Little Thurrock had burned some of their no longer needed church records. He feared that valuable historical information might have been lost and decided to look in the parish chest of Stifford and most of Thurrock's other parishes and then record and publish what he found about their history. His first volume was published in 1871, and a companion volume was published the following year. The Essex Weekly News said “Mr Palin has produced a model history of Stifford and its surrounding villages”. Following his death in 1883, he was described as “a ripe scholar, a faithful friend, a diligent under shepherd”. Unfortunately, the memorial window erected in his memory at a cost of 52 guineas was damaged in the 2nd World War and the inscription can no longer be read in its entirety. He is also remembered in the street name Palins Way in Stifford Clays. 6

Margaret Jones: the Mucking excavation Margaret Jones was the director of the Mucking archaeological excavation which was one of the largest and longest running excavations ever undertaken. Many local people, nicknamed “the Mucking Weekenders” were among the amateur and professional archaeologists that took part. Margaret Owen was born in Birkenhead on 16th January, 1916. She married Tom Jones in 1940. The Ministry of Works appointed Jones to conduct a rescue excavation near the village of Mucking on a site which was in the process of being lost as a result of gravel excavation. The site had been identified from crop marks in an aerial photograph taken by Dr J K St Joseph in 1959 and excavations began in 1965 discovering additional features not revealed by the aerial photographs. At the time it was the largest archaeological excavation in Europe covering 44 acres. Among the participants were many younger archaeologists and volunteers from Britain and abroad including more than 3,000 students from many countries In 1978, after 13 years, the digging finished and post-excavation analysis begun in Thurrock Museum. The final excavating days were marked by radio and TV broadcasts. There were 44,000 features and an enormous number of finds. Some of these are in the British Museum and the Museum of London. Mucking has near legendary status in British Archaeology. Interim results were published regularly, not to mention postcards. The results have been extensively used in illustrating and debating key archaeological issues. However, publication of all the reports took many years – the final report was published in 2017. 7

Martha Randal and her diary Martha Randal was a fifteen year old girl, the daughter of a local farmer living in Heath Place in Orsett. Starting on 1st May, 1858, she kept a diary of her life and activities for 4 years in the middle of the 19th century. The entries are mostly mundane, but from time to time touch on well known episodes from the period. It is a fascinating glimpse of life in a Thurrock village in the middle of the Victorian age - ranging from the celebrated painting of \"Derby Day\" by Frith to the coming of age party for the son of the local squire. She mentions costumes, social attitudes, cultural influences and the buildings in the village Martha talks about nearly 200 contemporary people including a large number of relatives who lived locally. She frequently uses initials or pet names. Randal Bingley's research supplies more details of the people, places and things she mentions which gives us a better understanding of the lost world she is lived in. The diary was not meant for publication and it remained in private hands for more than 100 years, until it was published a few years ago. Historians and local people will wish that Martha had continued her diary for longer. 8

Jonathan Catton – Heritage Officer Jonathan Catton (18th December, 1955 – 25th August, 2016) was the son of a local GP. He was well-known locally – and more widely – for his knowledgeable and committed promotion of Thurrock’s heritage. He retired from his post as Thurrock’s Heritage & Museum Officer in December 2015. Jonathan started work for the Southampton Archaeological Trust. He returned to Thurrock to work on the well known Mucking excavation, where he had volunteered as a schoolboy. He was initially a supervisor, and later assistant to the director. He later joined Randal Bingley at the Thurrock Museum and Heritage Service where he worked 27 years and rose to head the service. He took an enthusiastic, committed ‘hands-on’ approach; involving schools, organising community ‘digs’, and ‘handling artefacts’ sessions, as well as giving regular talks and lecturing to local and national organisations. He was active in the restoration of Coalhouse Fort at East Tilbury, and was an early manager of the site. He maintained an interest in military re-enactment, and was president of the Garrison Artillery Volunteers who, at home and abroad, promote the life and equipment of the Royal Artillery with educational displays. In 2017, a Thurrock heritage plaque to Jonathan, was unveiled at the entrance to the museum in the Thameside Complex in Grays. 9

War and Rumours of War The bank of the Thames between Stanford le Hope and East Tilbury has long been seen as a suitable invasion point. It was used by the Saxons as the Roman Empire began to decline. Inevitably, in time of war it needed to be defended, both in its own right and as part of the defences for London. Military defences go back at least 450 years (and there is evidence for a Roman fort on Gunhill nearly 2,000 years ago). To transport troops, provisions and munitions to these fortifications required construction of good quality roads, which are either still in use, or can be seen in the local landscape. Thurrock contributed to the Hundred Years War and and facilitated the movement of troops in the Civil War. Scottish Jacobites who served under Bonnie Prince Charlie at the Battle of Culloden were held here. There are three major military establishments in Thurrock – the powder magazines at Purfleet and two forts in West and East Tilbury. As a result, our area has been visited by important national and international figures (including Benjamin Franklin, who has a Thurrock Heritage plaque). In the first World War, the gunners at Purfleet hit the airship L15, the first Zeppelin to be brought down in Britain. For this they received a gold medal and are commemorated by a Thurrock Heritage plaque. During the second World War, little boats from Tilbury went to Dunkirk. Part of the Battle of Britain was fought over Thurrock. We endured the Blitz (suffering civilian casualties for whom there is, as yet, no memorial). We watched the preparations for D-Day and contributed to Pluto (the underwater pipeline to deliver oil to the invasion beaches) and Mulberry (floating harbours) projects. The military significance of Thurrock has now declined, but it remains an important part of our heritage. 10

Thomas Baker leads the Peasants' Revolt Thomas Baker was one of the Fobbing villagers who refused to pay an additional poll tax. This refusal was the first such incident in what became known as the Peasants' Revolt. After the refusal of Baker and other villagers, the revolt quickly spread through Essex and Kent. Eventually, a large body of men marched on London, burning land records. For his role in the revolt, Baker was hanged at Chelmsford on Thursday after St Peter and St Paul (4th July) in the fifth year of the reign of Richard II. Baker owned four acres of arable land in Fobbing called Pokattescroft or Bakerescroft. He was a land owner rather than a peasant. The croft was “enclosed with hedges and ditches” and worth six shillings a year. It was located near the churchyard of Fobbing. It continued to be mentioned in local records for many years after his death. 11

Elizabeth I – the Armada Speech In 1588, Elizabeth I travelled down the Thames from London coming ashore at Tilbury Fort. On the night before her great speech, Elizabeth stayed in Horndon at Saffron Gardens, the house of Edward Rich. The following day, she rode to a field near Mill House in West Tilbury to inspect the troops that were assembled to repel a Spanish invasion. The speech she delivered the following day to her assembled army is one of the best known royal speeches ever given. “I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” In fact the Armada had already been defeated by bad weather and the English Navy. The threat of invasion was not completely ended, but it never materialised and shortly afterwards, the troops were sent home to help bring in the harvest. 12

Tilbury Fort – Bernard de Gomme Bernard de Gomme designed an improved Tilbury Fort to replace the former blockhouse and make it more effective in deterring any seaborne attack on London. The work was largely completed by 1685. It had a five pointed star- shape to ensure that there were no “blind spots” in which attackers could hide from the defenders. Before work on the new fort could begin, large amounts of clay had to be deposited on the marshland surface to provide a better foundation for the construction. Three of the star points survive and the remnants of a fourth can be seen. The fifth (projecting in to the Thames) was planned but never built. Its foundation timbers can still be seen at low tide. De Gomme was born in the Netherlands in 1620. He served with Charles I in the English Civil War and with the restoration returned to England as chief engineer to Charles II. He designed many military facilities for the king. In 1746, Scottish prisoners from Bonnie Prince Charlie's army were held in the fort and in prison hulks moored in the Thames nearby. A list of the prisoners and their fate is held within the fort. In 1998 a memorial stone from the Culloden battlefield was erected to these prisoners in front of the fort. It was unveiled by Michael Martin MP. 13

Samuel Pepys – Secretary of the Navy Samuel Pepys, kept his famous diary between 1660 and 1669. He visited Thurrock twice during this period. On September 24, 1665 - “Waked, and up and drank, and then to discourse; and then being about Grayes, and a very calme, curious morning, we took our wherry, and to the fishermen, and bought a great deal of fine fish, and to Gravesend to White’s, and had part of it dressed”. On another occasion, he drank at a small alehouse close to Tilbury Fort. This would have been on or close to the site of the current World's End pub – previously known as the Ferry House. 14

General Gordon and Coalhouse Fort General Gordon, who lost his life in the siege of Khartoum, was born in 1833. He was commissioned into Royal Engineers in 1852. The then Lt Colonel Gordon arrived in Gravesend in September 1865, after serving in China and helping to suppress the Taiping Rebellion. His role was to supervise the Thames defences including the completion of Coalhouse Fort. The foundations for Coalhouse Fort had been laid in 1861, but construction was not completed until around 1874. It housed 16 rifle muzzle-loading guns. Gordon had concerns about the new fort, fearing that an invading force might take artillery onto the higher ground to the north. He raised this concern with the authorities, but was overruled. However, additional fortifications on higher ground were added in the 1890s. The fort was used in both world wars. In the 2nd World War it was a degaussing monitoring station. Ships passed over submerged sensors to detect whether the steel in their hulls had been sufficiently demagnetised to make them undetectable by German magnetic mines. After the 2nd World War the fort became less relevant to national defence. In 1962, ownership was transferred from the War Department to Thurrock Council. Since 1983, the Coalhouse Fort Project has been restoring the fort and holds regular open days. It has been used as a location for a number of TV programmes and films. 15

Purfleet Magazine James Gabriel Montresor designed and supervised the building of the Royal Magazine for Gunpowder situated at Purfleet on the banks of the River Thames. The new facility was opened in Purfleet because it was considered a risk to have too much gun powder at Woolwich, so close to London. The magazines stored gunpowder produced or purchased by the Government and supplied it to the Navy and Army as required. The magazines could hold 5,000 barrels of gunpowder and there was constant danger of explosion. The magazines were built of brick with thickly copper plated doors. The nails were copper and the roof space was filled with sand. Lightning conductors were installed to guard against the risk of a lightning strike. Benjamin Franklin, who was visiting London was consulted on the design, but his suggestion was rejected. The magazines and their contents were protected by a garrison. In the First World War, there were anti-aircraft batteries to defend against Zeppelin raids and they succeeded in bringing down the L15 for which they received a gold medal from the Lord Mayor of London. The Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre is housed within what was once Magazine No.5. The centre contains a wide range of historical artifacts and memorabilia relating to the history of the magazines and local area dating from 18th Century to present day. 16

Richard Haldane and the Purfleet firing range At the beginning of the 20th century, the threat of war with Germany was becoming acute. The Boer War had shown deficiencies in the readiness of the British army for modern warfare. In December 1905, Richard Haldane (later Viscount Haldane) was appointed Secretary of State for War in the Liberal government and instituted a major re- organisation of the army. In addition to organisational changes, Haldane set out to improve training. In 1906, the War Department created the Purfleet Rifle ranges adjacent to the Purfleet magazine to provide training in the use of modern firearms. By September 1914 there were 10,000 recruits for the new army on the marshes next to the rifle ranges at Purfleet. In 1915, additional ranges at the Rainham end of the site were added. Between 1921 and 1948 the Range had its own railway station. The site continued to be used for 90 years - by the regular army, the Territorials and by the fire arms unit of the Metropolitan Police. It is now the site of the Rainham RSPB nature reserve which opened to the public in 2006. A number of the target butts from its previous use are still visible in the reserve – in some cases being used by nesting birds. 17

Kate Luard – nurse Kate Luard, who was born in Aveley on 29th June 1872, became a nurse and served with distinction in the Boer war and later in the 1st World War. She was the daughter of Clara Isabella Sandford Bramston and Bixby Garnham Luard. Bixby was vicar of Aveley from 1871 to 1895. Having decided she wanted to be a nurse, she worked as a private teacher and governess to raise the necessary funds for her training at Kings College Hospital, London. In 1900 Kate served for two years in South Africa in the 2nd Anglo Boer War. On 6th August 1914, just two days after the declaration of World War 1, aged 42 years, she enlisted in the Queen Alexander Imperial Military Nursing Reserve Service. She was twice mentioned in dispatches for gallant and distinguished service in the field and she shares with Florence Nightingale the rare distinction of twice being awarded the Royal Red Cross medal 1st class. In her later years she lived with two of her sisters, in Abbotts at Wickham Bishops. She became bedridden in her eighties and died on 16th August 1962 age 90. She is buried at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Wickham Bishops 18

Gordon Charles Steele VC Gordon Charles Steele was born in Exeter in 1891. In 1903, his father, Captain H. W. Steele, was Captain Superintendent of the Cornwall moored off Purfleet. The family lived on board and Gordon attended Palmer's College. In 1914, when war was declared, he joined the Royal Naval Reserve. He served on the submarine D8 and on armed merchant ships disguised to attract U- boats. He took part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. After the end of the World War, he was part of the British forces assisting the white Russians in the civil war against the Bolshevik government. In August, 1919, he was second-in-command of a coastal motor boat. The boat's captain was shot dead and Steele took the wheel. He lifted the commander away and torpedoed a Bolshevik battleship. He then attacked a second battleship and successfully withdrew. He was awarded the Victoria Cross and was part of the VC guard of honour at the burial of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey on 11th November, 1920. He retired from the Navy in 1957. In 1958, he was the subject of an episode of the BBC programme, “This is Your Life”, hosted by Eamonn Andrews. Gordon Steele died on 4th January 1981 and is buried in All Saints New Cemetery, Winkleigh in Devon. 19

Gunther Pluschow - escapee Gunther Pluschow was a German aviator, aerial explorer and author and was the only German prisoner of war to escape from Britain to Germany in either World War. He managed to hide on a Dutch steamer in Tilbury docks and return to Germany. Pluschow had been in China when the 1st World war started. He got away by aircraft and crossed the Pacific to San Francisco. From there he travelled by train to New York, where he disguised himself as a Swiss locksmith and boarded an Italian steamer. Pluschow crossed the Atlantic safely but then, in January 1915, bad luck struck: the ship made an unscheduled stop at Gibraltar. He was recognised and arrested by the British authorities. He was shipped to England and sent to the Donington Hall internment camp near Derby. In July, Pluschow escaped and made his way to Tilbury where he hoped to stow away on a ship travelling to a neutral country. While he waited for the ship, he visited a local eatery. Without realising it, Plüschow had entered a private members’ club and the proprietor asked for his membership card. He said his name was Mr Mine and he wasn’t a member but paid three shillings and joined. After several abortive attempts, he managed to board the SS Princess Juliana, heading for the Netherlands. Pluschow was awarded an Iron Cross, First Class by the Kaiser. In July 2015, a Thurrock Heritage plaque to Gunther Pluschow was unveiled in the Tilbury Cruise Terminal by Jonathan Catton. 20

Colonel Sir Francis Whitmore Francis Henry Douglas Charlton Whitmore was born on April 20th, 1872 at Gumley Hall, Leicestershire, the son of Captain Thomas Charles Douglas Whitmore and Louisa Cradock Hartopp. The family moved to Orsett Hall in 1890 – the estate having been bequeathed to Captain Whitmore in settlement of a gambling debt. Francis Whitmore assumed total control of the estate in 1896 and over the following years, turned the hall into a fine country residence and the estate into a thriving farming enterprise. Whitmore was commissioned as lieutenant in the 1st Essex Volunteer Artillery in 1892. He served with distinction in the 1st World War, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the war, he served on the Essex County Council. He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Essex in 1936 and held the post until he retired in 1958. He involved himself in the activities of many organisations and societies in Essex, either as president, chairman or benefactor. Among his honours and awards, he was made a baronet in 1956. He died in June 1962 and was buried with full military honours at Orsett parish church. In September, 2015, a Thurrock Heritage plaque was unveiled at Orsett Hall commemorating Sir Francis and the Officers and Men of the Essex Yeomanry and 10th Royal Hussars who served with Sir Francis in the Great War. 21

Religion and Churchmen Christianity was a key feature of English (and British) life for over a thousand years. Parish churches are the oldest buildings in Thurrock. There were churches in at least half of the Thurrock parishes before the Norman Conquest. Thurrock participated in many key events – the conversion from paganism; the religious persecutions that accompanied the reformation; the rise of Puritanism and its conflict with the established church. By the 18th and 19th century many clerics were well educated, had a reasonable standard of living and had time to pursue other interests including local history and mathematics without neglecting their religious duties. One of them composed one of our best loved hymns. By the middle of the 19th century, Catholic emancipation and the rise of non-conformist denominations were challenging the dominant position of the Church of England. In the 20th century, Britain became a more secular society with increasing numbers of people practising non-Christian religions. 22

St Cedd - missionary built a church at Tilbury St Cedd was sent to re-convert the pagan people of Essex to Christianity. Essex had previously been converted when King Sabert accepted Christianity, but the kingdom reverted to Paganism on his death. St Cedd had been trained at Lindisfarne and was sent to Essex as a missionary by his abbot. His mission was sufficiently successful that he was appointed Bishop “of the Church of the East Saxons”. Cedd was an important church figure and attended the decisive Synod of Whitby which debated and settled a dispute about the correct date for Easter between Cedd's Celtic church and the Rome oriented church at Canterbury. Cedd died on 26th October AD 664. Bede's History of the English Church which was written about seventy years later, records that St Cedd built two churches in Essex, one at Tilbury (Tillaburg on the banks of the Thames) and the other at Bradwell which still stands. It is not known for certain whether St Cedd's church was in East or West Tilbury. It does not appear to have become a parish church – it may have been sacked by the Vikings or may have become the Hospital of St Mary at Tilbury. 23

Thomas Higbed – protestant martyr Under Edward VI, England had become a strongly Protestant country. When his sister, Mary I, came to the throne, many ardent Protestants refused to return to Catholicism. Foxe's Book of Martyrs records that Thomas Higbed of Horndon was accused of being a heretic and misbeliever having praised other Protestants such as Latimer and Ridley who had already been executed as heretics. In particular, on 8th March 1555, at his trial, he refused to accept the doctrine of transubstantiation - that in the Holy Communion, it was in fact the body and blood of Jesus Christ. He was found guilty and on 23rd March, Higbed was handed over to the Sheriff of Essex to be burned at the stake for maintaining his beliefs. An entry in the Horndon Manor roll for 1728 notes that Higbed's execution was in a field called “Betty Luckyn's Mead”. Horndon's National School was subsequently built in this field. There are memorials to Higbed in the church and on the Bell Inn, (although this records the wrong place of execution). 24

William Laud – the scourge of the Puritans William Laud was appointed rector of West Tilbury in 1609 and held the post until 1616. He went on to become Bishop of London and subsequently, Archbishop of Canterbury. He was a senior advisor to Charles I, and was one of the strongest opponents of Puritanism. Before Laud rose to power, Puritanism had been unofficially tolerated within the Church of England and some senior churchman had actively supported it. Laud's firm line against the Puritans was one of the factors which led to the English Civil War. Laud was attained by Parliament and beheaded on 10th January 1645 on Tower Hill. 25

John Pell – inventor of the division sign John Pell was a prominent 17th century mathematician born in 1611. From 1654 to 1658 Pell acted as Cromwell's political agent in Zurich to the Protestant cantons of Switzerland. He returned to England and took Holy Orders. In 1661, he was appointed as rector of Fobbing. He was also presented to the living at Laindon but was expected to treat both these positions as sinecures and continue his mathematical work. He was educated at Cambridge and in 1644 became professor of Mathematics at Amsterdam. In 1663 he was given an honorary Doctorate in Divinity, and was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He died in London in 1685. He was described in Aubrey's Brief Lives as “very handsome, and of a very strong and excellent habit of body, melancholic, sanguine, dark brown hair with an excellent moist curl”. Pell worked in the fields of algebra and number theory. His name is given to the “Pell Equation”, although it was Fermat who first mentioned the equation as a mathematical problem. One of Pell's achievements is the invention of the division sign. This is sometimes disputed, but recent research by Noel Malcolm supports Pell's claim. 26

John Newton, composer of Amazing Grace John Newton was born in Wapping, London, in 1725, the son of John Newton Sr, a shipmaster in the Mediterranean service, and Elizabeth Scatliff. In 1734, he went to live in Aveley, the home of his father's second wife. He was press-ganged into the Royal Navy for a period, and later served on a slave ship. He underwent a religious conversion on a voyage back to England from the West Indies. Despite this, he continued to sail on slave ships for a number of years afterwards. Following a stroke in 1754, he gave up seafaring, but remained involved in the slave trade. He began to seek a post as a priest and in 1764, he was ordained as a Church of England minister, initially serving at Olney. In later life, he came to regret his part in the slave trade and became an ally of William Wilberforce in campaigning to abolish slavery. From 1767 onwards, he collaborated with William Cowper in writing many hymns including Amazing Grace, the hymn for which he is best known. In 2012, a Thurrock heritage plaque to the Reverend John Newton, was unveiled by the then mayor, Charlie Curtis, at the Purfleet Children’s Centre. 27

I know my place – Thurrock's ruling families Before the 20th century, Thurrock, like most of Britain, was a very ordered society. Everyone knew their place. Although society was ordered, it was not fixed. A family could lose its land and money and slip out of the ruling elite. Another could make money in trade, purchase an estate and in due course (a generation or so later) be recognised as members of the gentry. Thurrock and other parts of Essex were popular locations for the newly rich to settle. The families written about here are just some examples. Other local gentry families included the Bakers, Wingfields and subsequently the Whitmores in Orsett; the Theobolds in Grays; the Russells in North Ockendon and the Erringtons in Chadwell and West Thurrock. The local squire often controlled employment and housing and as a JP he could dispense summary justice. If he lived locally, it would be in a grand house with ancestral portraits on the walls. The house was usually surrounded by parkland with views over the landscape. If the landowner lived elsewhere, his steward would ensure that local order was maintained. Most farms in Thurrock were owned by a gentry family and leased to the farmers who actually worked them. The farmer might be better off than his agricultural workers, but he had to pay rent for his land, sit behind his landlord in church and be aware of the political views of the squire. The best gentry families supported charities and looked after the welfare of their tenants and workers. They helped found alms houses, libraries and schools. They left money to support the church or local organisations. But they rarely tolerated disorder or lack of respect. Monuments to them are found in most local parish churches or in elaborate tombs in their graveyards. Before the 20th century, local history was the history of the local gentry. 28

The Temple Family of Chadwell Sir Alexander Temple was a Puritan and junior member of the family based in Stowe in Buckinghamshire. In 1607, Temple and his children moved to Chadwell Place (also known as Longhouse Place) following the death of his first wife. Temple lived there until 1620 and owned it until his own death in 1629. Other members of his family, including his brother Peter, also stayed there. Temple owned seven other farms in Chadwell, Orsett and Little Thurrock.Temple held many public offices - MP, JP, warden of the Rochester Bridge and captain of Tilbury Fort. He twice choose the person to be vicar of Grays. His son, James, was an officer in the Civil War Parliamentary army. James Temple served as a judge on the court that tried Charles I and signed his death warrant. On the restoration, he was convicted and imprisoned for life in Jersey. Temple's daughter Susan was the grandmother of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Susan's son by her second marriage was Martin Lister a 17th century naturalist and doctor. 29

The Barret-Lennard family of Aveley Sir Thomas Barret-Lennard, the illegitimate son of Lord Dacre, was appointed as a Baronet in 1801. His family lived at Belhus in Aveley until the house was auctioned in 1923. It was demolished after World War II, due to suffering bomb damage as well as vandalism from the military personnel who were stationed there. The original Tudor mansion was built by John Barrett who died in 1526. The house was later re-modelled by the 17th Lord Dacre, influenced by the gothic style, fashionable in the late 18th century. It had formal gardens, close to the house with a wilderness area and deer park beyond. The grounds were subsequently landscaped by Capability Brown between 1752 and 1763. Sir Thomas was a noted eccentric who wore very old and shabby clothing. He had once been mistakenly apprehended by the police as a miscreant. He was also often assumed to be a servant when he opened the park gates to a carriage for which he received a tip. 30

The Sturgeon family of sheep farmers Thomas Bennett Sturgeon was born about 1790 in Suffolk and moved to Essex in 1823/4 with his wife, Lydia. They farmed at Moor Hall, then at South Ockendon and Grays Hall Farm. Thomas Bennett Sturgeon died on 21st May 1855 and he, together with his wife (who had died four years earlier) are buried in the churchyard at Grays He had purchased several Negretti merino ewes and rams from George III’s depleted stock. Thomas Bennett's son Charles farmed at South Ockendon Hall and in 1856 won First Prize of 600 French francs and a Gold Medal, as well as second and third prizes, for the Sturgeon sheep at the All Nations Exhibition of Farm Stock at Paris. In 1860, he exported six Negretti rams, certified to be directly descended from the flock of George III, to Australia. The entire flock of pure Merino sheep were sold by auction at South Ockendon Hall following the ending of the family farming business. Thomas and his brother Alfred initially shared accommodation at The Elms, Dell Road. However as Alfred’s family was growing (he had three sons and five daughters) he built Grays Hall about 1869 on the north side of Orsett Road. This is now the clinic for the Community Mental Health Team. 31

The Button family and Belmont Castle Around 1792, Zachariah Button built a country house, Belmont Castle, in the fashionable “Gothic” style. The Button family had lived in Thurrock from at least the end of the 17th century. Zachariah was born in 1739. He married a local heiress, Sarah Sawell, around 1768. He used his wealth to purchase one of the Grays manors which gave him the right to be buried inside Grays church. This purchase also made him owner of the land on which Belmont Castle was built. Button used a London architect, Thomas Jefferey. The house was well constructed and avoided the more extravagant features of the Gothic style. The main approach was from the north, past a smooth lawn. From the south side of the house, there were extensive views across the river to Kent. After Button's death around 1806, the house had a number of owners, but local chalk quarries moved closer and closer to the house, making it less attractive as a residence. Local people could still attend fêtes in the grounds during the 1920s and 30s, but the house was demolished in 1943. It's name was revived recently for a local primary school. 32

The Arts and Sciences Thurrock has been the home of many prominent people from the world of arts and science, as well as itself being the subject of artistic works – in part at least. Events from Thurrock's history, such as the Fobbing villagers precipitating the Peasant's Revolt and Queen Elizabeth's Tilbury speech, feature in many works of historical fiction. The Thameside marshes were described in Daniel Defoe's Tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain. Two hundred years later, the same Thameside locations feature in some of the writings of Joseph Conrad. Carfax, in Purfleet, was the fictional home of Count Dracula – a connection that is celebrated by a Thurrock Heritage plaque. The film industry has frequently used Thurrock as a location. In The Guns of Loos, made in 1927, a chalk pit served as a First World War battlefield. Among the other films to feature a Thurrock location are Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, partially shot at the State Cinema and Four Weddings and a Funeral, in which the funeral takes place at St Clement's church, West Thurrock. High House Production Park is the home of the Royal Opera House Production Workshop which provides the sets for ballet and opera productions at Covent Garden. It also provides studio space for artists and houses the Bob and Tamar Manoukian Costume Centre with its collection of historic costumes, musical instruments and furniture. 33

Daniel Defoe and his tile factory Daniel Defoe is important in English Literature because of his novels (eg Robinson Crusoe). However, before writing novels, he lived in Chadwell for nine years. He established a tile and brick works in the Tilbury marshes and built a new house nearby. The house survived into the late 19th century when it was known as Marsh House. It was earlier called the red house - presumably because it was built using red stock bricks. Defoe appears in the local records from time to time in connection with maintaining the sea walls and drainage of his property. One of his neighbours was a Mr Friday, a name he perhaps remembered when he wrote Robinson Crusoe. 34

Benjamin Franklin, experimental scientist Benjamin Franklin was an experimental scientist. His best known experiment involved flying a kite during a thunder storm to establish that lightning was a form of electricity. From the mid 1750s to the mid 1770s, Franklin spent much of his time in London. He represented the colonies, but used his time to further his scientific explorations as well, meeting many notable people. Franklin visited the Royal Gunpowder Magazine at Purfleet in the 1760s. In 1772 he was asked his opinion as to the design of lighting conductors for the magazine. He recommended the conductor rods should end in points, however he was overruled by King George III's decision to end them in 'balls'. Franklin was a champion of unity among the English colonies in North America. He was a prolific pamphleteer and began to advocate independence from England. In 1775, he was appointed as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. The following June, he was appointed a member of the 'Committee of Five' that drafted the Declaration of Independence, proclaimed on 4th July 1776. He is celebrated in the United States as one of the country's “founding fathers”. In April 2012, a plaque was unveiled at the Purfleet Heritage Centre, by the then Thurrock Mayor, Charlie Curtis, celebrating Benjamin Franklin' visit. 35

Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace, was a Victorian scientist who co-discovered (with Darwin) the theory of evolution through natural selection. The idea occurred to him while he was recovering from malaria while collecting specimens in the far east. His letter to Darwin outlining the idea led to the simultaneous publication of papers by both men and spurred Darwin into publishing On the Origin of Species describing his 20 year research. Wallace lived at The Dell (now 24, College Avenue in Grays) between 1870 and 1874. He built a new house using local materials, including concrete, one of the earliest concrete houses in the country. He also laid out a garden in the remains of an old quarry which he said (in a letter to Darwin) could become a “splendid imitation of a Welsh Valley in miniature”. Wallace’s house survives, but his garden was lost to new housing. However, parts of a neighbouring Victorian quarry garden do survive in the 'Treetops' housing development. While living at The Dell, Wallace published The Geographical Distribution of Animals, defining different geographical regions by the similarities or differences between the animals inhabiting them. This work lead to a new scientific field and Wallace has been described as the father of biogeography. In 2002, a Thurrock heritage plaque to Wallace was unveiled on The Dell by Wallace's grandson. 36

Alice Diehl, Musician and Author Alice Diehl was born at Park Lane, Aveley in 1844. She was the daughter of Eliza Vidal and Carl Mangold. Her parents lived most of the time in London where her father taught music. Alice spent her summers in Aveley with her grandparents and was very fond of her grandfather but after his death in 1862 spent less time in Aveley. In 1852, when she was 8, Alice had a book of poems published under a pseudonym. Her music career began when her parents sent her to Germany to be taught by Adolphe Henselt a former fellow student of her fathers. She began to perform in public in 1861, in Paris. She then came to London where she continued to play until age 28 when she gave her last recital at Crystal Palace in 1872. From this time onwards she seems to have preferred teaching music. In 1863 she married the violinist/composer Louis Diehl a match that her mother did not approve of but which was a great success. About 1872, Alice began writing; at first short stories but in due course, novels. The Garden of Eden was published in 1882 and she continued writing until just before her death on 13th June 1912, publishing more than 40 novels. In 2010, a Thurrock heritage plaque to Alice Diehl was unveiled at the Aveley Christian Centre, Stifford Road, formerly the school opposite the house in Park Lane where she was born. The plaque was jointly unveiled by the then Mayor, Cllr Maureen Pearce and a great, great nephew of Alice Deihl. 37

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), the celebrated author, was born Josef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski in the Ukraine of Polish parents. After an adventurous life in the French Merchant Marine and eventually as a Captain in the British Merchant Marine he was naturalised as a British subject in 1884. Joseph Conrad and his wife Jessie moved into a small semi-detached villa in Victoria Road, Stanford le Hope in 1896. He did not like the property for several reasons, describing it as “a damned Jerry-built rabbit hutch” In less than a year, having discovered the river and landscapes of the area, he found a better setting for undertaking his writing - a medieval lath and plaster farmhouse named 'Ivy Walls' in Billet Lane where Conrad could work in improved space and solitude. At Stanford le Hope, Conrad completed 'The Nigger of the Narcissus' ('Children of the Sea' in USA) and wrote 'Karain', 'The Return', and 'Youth' and began 'Lord Jim' and 'Heart of Darkness'. His son Borys was born at Ivy Walls in January 1898 and in October of that year the family moved to Standford in Kent. In September 2010, a Thurrock heritage plaque to Joseph Conrad was erected, marking the site of the Ivy Walls farmstead in Billet Lane. 38

Philip Vincent – Motor Cycle Pioneer Philip Conrad Vincent was born in Fulham on 14th March, 1908. His parents farmed in Argentina. He was initially educated by his mother and then at a British Preparatory school in Argentina. He then came back to England to live with his uncle, John Vincent, in High House, Horndon-on- the-Hill. His first motorcycle was a second hand model bought from Gamages at Christmas, 1924. Vincent went to Cambridge in October 1936 to read Mechanical Sciences. However, his heart was not in his studies. His father eventually agreed to let him leave Cambridge and fund him for a trial period in designing and building motorcycles. Philip then formed a company with Frank Waller, a family friend. In 1928 they bought HRD Motors - HRD were the initials of its chief Howard Raymond Davies. The new company was called Vincent HRD. Their premises were at Stevenage, where they remained until the company's demise in 1956. They produced 12,500 motorcycles for both road and sporting use collecting both National and World records. Philip Conrad Vincent passed away in 1979 and his ashes are interred in the family plot at St Peter and St. Paul's, Horndon on the Hill. A Thurrock heritage plaque to Vincent was unveiled by Philip Vincent-Day, his grandson, at High House on 21st July 2002 . The plaque was supported by members of the Vincent HRD Owners Club and Thurrock Council. 39

Lord Kitchener, the Windrush's calypso singer Among the immigrants who disembarked from the Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks in 1948 was calypso singer Lord Kitchener, the stage name of Aldwyn Roberts. The cinema news reels include his performance of \"London Is the Place for Me\", a calypso specially written for the occasion. He was a prominent performer in Britain in the 1940s and 50s. His most famous composition praised “cricket lovely cricket, at Lords where I saw it”. This marked the first time the West Indies cricket team had beaten England in a test match in England. The victory was in the 2nd Test at Lords and the two spinners, Ramadhin and Valentine, between them took, 18 wickets for 279 runs in the match. Lord Kitchener returned to Trinidad in 1962 and continued his successful calypso career. He retired in 1999 as a result of suffering from bone marrow cancer and died on 11th February 2000 in Port of Spain. 40

Ordinary lives: ignored by the history books Until the 20th century, ordinary people were not considered a suitable topic for history books unless they accomplished some special feat. Their births, deaths and marriages were often (but not always) recorded in the parish registers. Their names might appear in rent books and in court proceedings, but if they kept their noses clean, little record of their lives remained after their death. Most received no formal education unless they were lucky enough to get a charity place in a school. Before the 19th century, most worked on the land, but the growing importance of factories drew many to the big cities. Thurrock experienced a growth in industry in the 19th century. Grays in particular was a centre of the cement industry. The railways, and the building of Tilbury Docks also meant that less Thurrock people worked in agriculture. They did however work six days a week, go to church on Sunday and have very little time for leisure activities. Although we know very little about individuals, the interest in social history in the 20th century has resulted in much greater knowledge of ordinary lives. With the arrival of the railways, it became possible for people (including Alfred Russel Wallace who already has a Thurrock Heritage plaque) to live in Thurrock and work in London. Agriculture moved towards market gardening to support the growing population of the metropolis and with bank holidays and the shorter working hours, leisure activities became a more important feature of people's lives. 41

William Palmer and his college William Palmer, a London merchant, moved to Grays having inherited the manor in 1638. In 1706, he established a charitable trust and an endowment to support education in Thurrock. In his will in 1709, he made a further bequest for a schoolmaster's dwelling. The result was what is now Palmer's College. The original school, close to Grays church, had ten “poor” scholars. It subsequently moved to the top of the hill now called Palmers Avenue. By this time, the school had 100 day boys and 40 boarders. A girls school was opened on the same site in 1876. The girls school moved to the Chadwell Road site in 1931, while the boys school expanded on the old site. The girls school was joined by the boys in 1977. It is now a co- educational sixth form college and now has more than 1600 students. The college is still supported by the William Palmer College Education Trust. William Palmer's coat of arms was adopted by the school in 1935. It includes the motto Monumentum aere perennius (A monument more lasting than bronze). This was adopted at the suggestion of another Palmer's School master, Alfred Gallimore. 42

Making shoes – Tomas Bata's shoe factory In 1932, Tomas Bata, a Czech industrialist, began construction of a shoe factory on a marshland site in East Tilbury. Tomas himself died in the same year in a plane crash, but the ethos of his company was continued by his sons. The Bata Shoe company took a paternalistic attitude towards its workers. It provided housing, recreation and entertainment in addition to employment. For example, the Bata cinema was opened in the 1930s. It ceased operating in 1965, but after refurbishment it remains in use as the East Tilbury Village Hall. Although in gradual decline from the 1980s, the shoe factory continued operating until 2005. Thurrock Council designated the East Tilbury (Bata) Conservation Area in 1993. 43

Making Cement – Herbert Brooks The cement industry dominated Grays in the 19th and 20th centuries. Among the local companies was the Brooks Cement Company founded by Edmund Brooks which introduced the cement industry to Grays in 1871. About four others followed shortly after. In the early 20th century the Brooks company was owned by Edmund's sons. These included Herbert Brooks who worked at the head office in London. Brooks held many public offices, including chairman of the Grays town council. He was a noted local historian and one of his publications was William Palmer and his School. The Brooks papers, including unpublished research are in the Central Library in Grays. Extracts from his scrapbook have been published in Panorama. At the top of Orsett Road, Grays, there is a small brick walled public garden named in his memory. 44

Making beer, the Seabrookes Roger Seabrooke was elected ale- conner in Grays in 1774. Roger’s fourth son, Thomas, was born in Grays in1768. He established the Seabrooke brewery business in Grays around 1800. In 1841, Thomas was still working as a brewer, aged 72. He had been joined by his son, James, who became a partner in the brewery. In 1863, a third generation of the family, James' son Charles, joined the brewery partnership. Two of James' other sons, Thomas and Jonathan, also worked alongside their father. Jonathan Seabrooke and his family lived at The Elms in Dell Road, Grays. The Elms was built about 1850 in 'a fairy land, with its deep and picturesque ravine'. It had been demolished by 1979, when the site was occupied by Treetops school. This was in turn demolished and houses built on the site in 2017. Jonathan's son, Frank Gordon, was elected as Managing Director of Seabrooke's in 1913, the fourth generation in the business. In a surprise move, the Seabrooke brewery and its surrounding land occupying 6½ acres was sold to Messrs Charrington and Co. in 1929. Charringtons promptly closed the Thurrock brewery. A family letter written in 1930 gives an inkling of the reasons for the sale, saying ‘little birds in their nest did not agree’. Nowadays the only reminders of the Seabrooke family and their considerable brewery business in Grays are a plaque in the parish church, crumbling headstones in the churchyard and the street name of Seabrooke Rise. 45

Keeping fit in the fifties - Eileen Fowler Eileen Fowler was a 1950s TV star who presented keep-fit programmes. She lived and worked in Thurrock for many years. She was born in Edmonton and initially went into the world of the musical theatre. In the mid-1930s she left the stage and concentrated on keeping fit and a healthy life style. She set up classes, encouraging everyone to exercise. Eileen examined ways to sell her notions to the public at large, and before and throughout World War II, she set up the Industrial Keep Fit organisation, with classes for the company workers of Middlesex, Hertfordshire and Essex. Teams from her various groups gave displays and demonstrations. She held fitness classes at Bata, East Tilbury, Queen’s Hotel, Grays and at Thames Board Mills, Purfleet and choreographed the Bata pantomime. Her classes often featured smiling girls with ‘EF’ on their shirts. Eileen Fowler’s ladylike but demanding routines were a feature of radio and television in the 1950s. Exercising to music, sometimes with props was a new concept at the time. At its peak, her radio show had half a million listeners. She is remembered as the epitome of 'health and beauty'. Eileen Fowler was a founder member of the Keep Fit Association in 1956. She also produced fitness programmes, including Stay Young Forever, on LP records and was awarded MBE in 1975. 46

Being entertained - Frederick Chancellor designs the State Cinema The State Cinema in Grays was designed by Frederick Chancellor. He was a Chelmsford based architect who was born in 1865 and died in 1945. The cinema building is a prominent example of Art Deco style. It opened in 1938 with a performance of “Hurricane” starring Dorothy Lamour. At the time, cinema attracted large audiences – the State could seat over 2,000 people for a single performance. In addition to films, the state could host stage shows. A key feature was a Compton organ which could rise out of the floor in front of the audience. The State was given a Grade II listing status in 1985 and this was raised to Grade II* by English Heritage in 2000. The interior was used in the film Who Shot Roger Rabbit and in music videos and TV productions. The building is currently not used. 47

Further Reading These people can be found in the pages of our journal, Panorama or in publications by the society or the Thurrock Museum. Here are some of the articles: Thomas Baker Panorama 37 The Button Family Panorama 28 Joseph Conrad Panorama 55, 56 Alice Diehl Panorama 41 Daniel Defoe Panorama 27 Elizabeth I Panoramas 25, 29 & 45 Queen Elizabeth Slept Here General Gordon Panorama 52 Margaret Jones, obituary Panorama 41 William Laud Panorama 6 John Newton Panorama 46 William Palin Panorama 32 Martha Randal's Diary Thurrock Museum, 2000 The Sturgeon family Panorama 47 The Seabrooke family Panorama 51, 55 Sir Alexander Temple Panorama 44 Alfred Russel Wallace Panorama 29, 47, 52 Sir Francis Whitmore Panorama 40 48