There are more bursts of cycling on this stage and not so much stop-start of London. Hopefully, you will have been enriched in some way by the notes for the previous stage. It is now time to add to your database of interesting facts on the Thames estuary during this stage to Southend-on-Sea. By the time you reach the sea you will be able to appear on "Mastermind," the river being your specialist subject.

Being as we were riding through West Thurrock, we made the best of our situation to take a look at some of the old taverns that once thrived on the old London Road.

Figure 1 : "Greetings from West Thurrock" Picture Postcard [Author's Collection]

The route through West Thurrock is rather industrial. The above vintage postcard gives the appearance of a picturesque Essex village but even when this was published the landscape was scarred from chalk-quarrying and cement-making. The modern industrial landscape is even more of an eyesore. However, the large coal-burning power station closed in 1993. Mind you, it was replaced by a plant manufacturing industrial chemicals and detergents. West Thurrock also boasts the tallest electricity pylons in the UK, though the eye is drawn to the Dartford Crossing with the accompanying noise and descending pollution.

The settlement's name is derived from a Saxon term meaning "the bottom of a ship" though, looking around, it feels more like being in the middle of a skip.

We followed the cycle lane to negotiate the roundabouts at Stonehouse Corner, the name commemorating a Stone House that was demolished in the 1920s when the road was re-aligned. The ride heads eastwards along the London Road, a route that was enhanced in the 18th century to provide access to the Gunpowder Magazines at Purfleet.

A few hundred metres from the Stonehouse roundabouts the route passes under two bridges, the first being the road to the Dartford Tunnel, the second being the run-up to Queen Elizabeth II bridge.

Figure 2 : Sectional view from Kent of the proposed Thames Tunnel 1925 [Author's Collection]

The Thames Tunnel, as it was once known, was first proposed in 1924, the above illustration being published during the following year. Work started in the 1930s but, due to the war, was not resumed until the 1950s. The first tunnel to the west was not opened until 1963, so almost forty years from the drawing board to realisation. Even during construction, transport authorities realised that it would be inadequate so a second tunnel was commenced. The east tunnel opened in 1980. The M25 created huge traffic flows, the twin tunnels being unable to cope with the volume of vehicles - hence the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. Even this is insufficient and another crossing is in the pipeline, so to speak. Incidentally, although cyclists cannot pedal through the tunnels, there is a free service whereby a car, fitted with a bike rack, transports both bike and cyclist under the Thames.

Figure 3 : Tunnel Portland Cement Works c.1920 [Author's Collection]

Immediately after the second bridge, to the left, was the site of the Tunnel Portland Cement Works, one of the largest of the numerous firms exploiting the chalk and clay in the area. It was a vast undertaking but hardly a trace of the site is left today. There is even a hotel on part of the old complex.

Local MP, Leslie Solley, observed in 1948 that "the effect of the cement dust in the domestic domain is extremely serious. If windows are opened within a mile of these works, furniture inside the rooms become quickly covered with a fine layer of dust. Clothes which are kept on the line become covered." The dust in the air was possibly good for beer sales!

Figure 4 : Essex [New Series 1913-] n XCV.5 [includes: Thurrock] - 25 Inch Map; depicted 1915, published in 1920. [© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.]

Figure 5 : Inn Sign of The Rabbits at West Thurrock [Author's Collection]

Riding through the sprawl of industrial units and past the Dartford crossing it is hard to imagine that there were hardly any houses in the area in the mid-19th century. The development of the large cement works to the north of the London Road led to the construction of terraced cottages for the people who toiled in the chalk quarry. One such row, later named Goodyear Terrace, was built almost opposite a more modern road called First Avenue. The cluster of houses had their very own tavern called The Rabbits, a name that I would like to think referenced the large numbers of Leporidae hopping around the West Thurrock marshland between the London Road and River Thames. However, it may be a corruption of Rabbets which, itself derived from the Old French Rabat, the "rectangular groove or channel cut out of the edge of a board so that it will join by overlapping with the next piece, similarly cut." This is a term familiar to carpenters or boat-builders so it could have been a reference to these local trades.

Figure 6 : The Rabbits on London Road at West Thurrock 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

As we rolled up to The Rabbits, we were saddened to see the place boarded-up. I am not sure if the tavern has any future. A local resident told me that it had been closed for some time so its outlook as a public-house is seemingly very bleak. In the early 20th-century the house was operated by Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. of Grays. However, the company was acquired by Charrington's in 1929 so the livery of the premises had changed by the time of the above photograph taken in the following year.

By the end of the 1930s the brewery had covered the building in render but I rather like the appearance of the brickwork, which was probably locally-sourced. I am curious about the small outbuilding to the left - perhaps beers were produced here in the Victorian era? As a beer house, the Rabbits opened in the mid-19th century. It was certainly trading by the mid-1840s when John Morgan was recorded as licensee and shop-keeper.¹ Maybe the outbuilding was the old shop?

Born at Shenfield at the end of the 18th century, John Morgan had moved to West Thurrock by 1840 and, like many of the local inhabitants, worked as an agricultural labourer.² In the 1840s this part of West Thurrock was sparsely populated and The Rabbits stood in isolation. This was at a time when the Rising Sun was one of the local taverns to which labourers would traipse to Sun Point for refreshment. The Fox and Goose and Ship Inn were old houses, both trading in the 18th century. Of greater antiquity was the Blue Anchor, a house trading in the late 16th century and the Boar's Head which, along with The Harrow, was recorded in the early 18th century. The latter was a single-storey weatherboarded cottage in Back Lane, close to Stifford Bridge.³

John Morgan later worked as a gardener and lived near the beer house when it was kept by William and Elizabeth Button. This couple also sold groceries from the premises, though William Button was hauled before the magistrates in 1860 on a charge of possessing weights that were both light and unjust.⁴

The name that became synonymous with the Rabbits was that of the Idle family. They took over the tavern in the mid-1860s and their name would remain above the door until 1955, almost a century of running this roadside hostelry. The family's association with the Rabbits started when George Idle became the publican. Born in Twickenham in 1816, the son of a shoemaker married Eliza King at Marylebone in March 1846.⁵ The couple kept the George Inn at Corbets Tey near Upminster for some years.⁶ Eliza died in 1868 but George remained at the Rabbits, helped by his sons and daughters.

Figure 7 : The Rabbits on London Road at West Thurrock 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

For whatever reason, the licensee made "a determined attempt on his life" on December 28th, 1876. It was said that he had been "ailing in mind" for some considerable time. On that Thursday night he went into the back yard of the pub and threw himself into a tub of water before inflicting a frightful wound in his throat with a razor. He subsequently staggered back into the Rabbits but collapsed in the passage due to the loss of blood caused by the wound. His sons and daughter came to his assistance and a surgeon from Aveley came quickly. The local newspaper reported that, despite the medical help, only "slight hopes were held of his recovery." Indeed, the publican died soon afterwards and was buried a few days later. ⁷

Following the death of George Idle, the licence of The Rabbits passed to his son William and then to his brother Charles. When he passed away in 1934 the licence passed jointly to his son Harry and daughter Kate.⁸ Although she was the licensee during the Second World War, she had appointed Harvey and Jessie Paquette as managers. She never married and died at Tilbury Hospital in 1955 when the family name above the door was changed to Lloyd.

In the summer of 1980, The Rabbits proved to be a logistical problem for Derek Miles, publican of The Unicorn at Bekesbourne near Canterbury. The licensee undertook a charity pub crawl, a 550-mile route including a visit to every one of 236 public-houses operated by Shepherd Neame. At the time the Rabbits was the brewery's only house across the water in Essex. Facing the option of death by carbon monoxide poisoning in the Dartford Tunnel, he said he would have to cheat a little and accept a lift.⁹

The Rabbits was still a Shepherd Neame house in the early years of the 21st century when there was a Vietnamese Restaurant next door. That site has been redeveloped for housing. Indeed, the area to the south of The Rabbits, between London Road and the railway has become mostly commercial buildings. This land had been the site of a football ground, home to West Thurrock Athletic F.C.

Figure 9 : Post-Office and Shops on London Road in West Thurrock c.1947 [Author's Collection]

This post-war view from The Rabbits shows that a good deal of continuity pervades into the 21st century. Most of the buildings on the north side of London Road are still standing, the wall posting box being in the same place. In this image the post-office is the second shop on the left, the retail premises being subsequently integrated with the corner shop. The woman stood outside may be Rose Reece, her name being displayed in art deco lettering on the shop fascia. Even the chip shop was in existence when this image was captured. On the south side, at Amelia Place, was the premises of the shipping butcher, William Payne. This side of London Road has been redeveloped.

Continuing along the London Road, it is only a short distance to the site of the Fox and Goose, the headquarters of the West Thurrock Cycling Club in the late Victorian era. Like us, the ghosts of the old wheelers would be saddened to see that the pub was demolished a few years before our cycle journey. The premises was on the north side, just past Hilltop Road. A development of apartments now occupies the site.

Figure 10 : Site of the Fox and Goose at West Thurrock [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

The Fox and Goose was recorded from 1769 so was only a little younger than the Ship Inn, our next port-of-call. The building was fairly long, with extensions at both ends of the original core. There was considerable opposition to the demolition of the old place but, as can be seen, the occupancy of the site is considerable, perhaps swaying the councillors recommending the development.

A newspaper report of a coroner's inquest held at the Fox and Goose in August 1848 went viral, the story being published in most newspapers across the UK. The events were so shocking the press had a field day describing how Sarah Grout, a neighbouring resident, had "destroyed two of her infant children, one a boy, James, aged two years, and the other a female, named Mary Ann, four years of age, by cutting and killing them with a bill-hook." ¹⁰ An older son escaped and ran to a neighbour to raise the alarm. Accompanied by the licensee of the Fox and Goose, Isaac Moss, she went to the house. They found Sarah Grout upstairs in the bedroom with the dead children. It was the publican who took the bill hook from her. Thomas Steel, the parish constable, arrived and arrested the woman who was taken to Chelmsford Gaol.¹¹ At her trial the jury found her "Not Guilty," on the ground of insanity. ¹²

Figure 11 : Charabanc Trip outside the Fox and Goose on London Road at West Thurrock c.1920s [Author's Collection]

This inter-war photograph shows happier times at the Fox and Goose. I assume that the charabanc is about to set off from the pub loaded with some of the regular customers. This was generally the case rather than a group arriving at the tavern from elsewhere. The local policeman has photo-bombed the shot. Most of the men are wearing button-holes so it could have been a wedding party? The proprietor of the local hat shop must have rubbed his hands in glee when they all ordered the same cap!

Figure 12 : Fox and Goose on London Road at West Thurrock c.1920s [Author's Collection]

At this time the Fox and Goose was kept by the Harding family. A native of Barking, Benjamin Harding, a carpenter by trade, moved to West Thurrock in the 1880s. For many years he worked at the Tunnel Cement Works. He and his wife, Kate, moved to the Fox and Goose at the end of the Edwardian period. ¹³

Following Benjamin Harding's death in January 1915, the licence passed briefly to his wife before being succeeded by his son, also named Benjamin. He was the licensee at the time of the charabanc trip, the image showing that it was an Ind Coope house. In fact, the premises were leased to the Romford brewery in the 1840s. ¹⁴

Figure 13 : The Ship at West Thurrock [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Continuing straight on at the Stoneness roundabout, the journey comes to The Ship on the north side of London Road. This inn is of some antiquity and was recorded in 1761. ¹⁵ In the modern age the business model of The Ship is that of a family-run sports pub and restaurant with weekend entertainment. Still, at least it is still trading, though there is no decent cask beer to be had.

Figure 14 : Essex [1st Ed/Rev 1862-96] LXXXIII.11 [includes: Thurrock] - 25 Inch Map Surveyed in 1895, Published in 1897. [© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.]

The hostelry is marked as the Old Ship on this Victorian map. The incumbent of St. Clement's Church would have been able to look across to the tavern from the window of his study. Did this result in good behaviour by the imbibers enjoying a few beers? The house at the time of this map survey was occupied by the Rev. Thomas Aldersey Morley, vicar of West Thurrock and curate of Purfleet, along with his wife Bessie. ¹⁶

When discussing The Ship, R. M. Smith, in his 1978 Essex pub guide, wrote: "A detached building originally built in the mid-17th century, the Ship Inn was once connected by a tunnel to nearby Saint Clement's Church ... almost certainly used for smuggling illicit goods. Records show that a publican in the 19th century was shot in the back yard of the pub, and his ghost is said to haunt the pub to this day." ¹⁷ I only type this as it is nice and juicy, but I have not ascertained the construction date for myself, or indeed, if there is an entrance to a tunnel from the cellar. Graham Smith, in his authoritative book on smuggling in Essex, wrote that "there is a total absence of any smuggling allusions, either official or indeed apocryphal, on this stretch of the Thames." ¹⁸

As for the building, as previously mentioned, it was first mentioned in 1761. The premises were used, alternately with the Fox and Goose, for vestry meetings, until 1821. To be honest, it does look like an 18th century building to me.

Similar to the situation at The Rabbits, there was another nearby cluster of housing in which quarry workers were accommodated. A small grid was created with Peaceful Row and West Street and around sixty houses were erected in the 19th century. They have all gone. A whole micro-locale, home to a working-class community, has been wiped from the map.

Figure 15 : The Ship Inn on London Road at West Thurrock c.1914 [Author's Collection]

The pub has the livery of Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. on this early 20th century photograph. Note that a bicycle is parked outside this house and on the image of the Fox and Goose. What happened was that I teleported myself back in time to experience both the Ind Coope beers from Romford and the ales made up the road at Seabrooke's brewery in Grays. Would it not be wonderful to be able to go back in time to discover lots of different beers that were once cooked up in mash tuns of old?

Thomas Baldwin was the landlord of the Ship Inn, or Old Ship, during much of the late Victorian period. After running the hostelry for around 30 years the elderly publican moved to the White Horse Inn, a pub run by his son, at North Ockendon where he died in December 1899, aged 81. ¹⁹

Figure 16 : The Ship Inn at West Thurrock 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

This photograph was taken in 1930, probably on the same day as the image of The Rabbits further west along London Road. Both pubs had been operated by Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. of Grays. The Whitbread family may have taken up residence at Purfleet but it was Seabrooke's that had a monopoly of beer sales in the Thurrock Grays area. The outbuilding on the left looks interesting, probably an outdoor toilet?

In the aforementioned guide, published in 1978, R. M. Smith provided a description of the Ship Inn during that period. He wrote that "the saloon bar, called the Captain's Cabin, is decorated as one might suspect to look like smart ship's quarters. The public is called the Crew's Quarters. The whole pub has recently been decorated and is small and friendly. Darts is very strong here - the pub sports four teams, including a ladies' team." At the bar one could order Crown Bitter and IPA on draught.

Figure 17 : St. Clement's Church at West Thurrock [© Kenneth Yarham reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution licence]

Directly opposite The Ship is a footpath with which we thought we could check out St. Clement's Church, a lovely-looking building, so lovely that they used it for the film "Four Weddings and a Funeral." An earlier design from the 12th century featured a round tower nave associated with the Knights Templar, the foundations of which are visible today. We rolled down the public footpath to cross the railway line but, much to our dismay, the crossing was closed for work by Network Rail. The above photograph shows the exterior and adjacent Procter and Gamble works. Encyclopaedias could use this image to illustrate the meaning of juxtaposition. What a hideous contrast. The only redeeming fact being that the company financed restoration work of the church which had fallen into some decay.

Figure 18 : The Old Shant at West Thurrock [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Back to the London Road and heading east it is not too many wheel revolutions until the Old Shant comes into view. This is another former Seabrooke's house in which the beer choice was better back in the old days. The old beer house was then known as the Club House. It was still early in the morning so I was unable to venture inside this pub to quiz the landlord about the name of the place. I was hoping for more detail other than the entry in the "The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang," which simply states the word means alcoholic drink. In the early 1890s the premises, which traded as an off-licence and shop, was listed as the Club House. However, in June 1894 the Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser featured an article detailing a theft from the premises with a headline of "The Burglary at The Shant." ²⁰ In the report Albert Parry, grocer and beer retailer, was detailed as running the Club House. So, the two names were prevalent in the late Victorian period. The journalist stated that a window pane of the shop had been removed and a large box of biscuits taken from the window display. The thief emptied the contents of the box into his pockets but was seen by a watchman called Horton who reported him to the police. Constable Davey apprehended Daniel Greig, a man of no fixed address, after he found biscuit crumbs in his pockets. Instead of asking why the vagrant was so hungry that he was compelled to steal food to survive, the magistrates committed him for trial at the Assizes.

Figure 19 : The Old Shant at West Thurrock 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

The off-licence eventually became a tavern. I imagine that acts of benevolence by the local brewers such as providing land for a new library resulted in favourable decisions by the magistrates. Once again, we are fortunate that Charrington's sent a photographer to record the property, acquired as part of their takeover of Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. in 1929. This is how the Club House looked during the following year. Though more substantial than the neighbouring row of terraced houses, it would appear that the old shop followed the same building line and that the premises was extended to the road in the early 20th century. Note the tramway and derelict building to the rear of the property, a legacy of the old Thames Works that produced Portland cement. The tramway divided the old off-licence from the land of Home Farm. In the 21st century two tracks still follow the lines of the tramway up to a messy site filled with shipping containers.

Figure 20 : Essex [1st Ed/Rev 1862-96] LXXXIII.11 [includes: Thurrock] - 25 Inch Map Surveyed in 1895, Published in 1897. [© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.]

Although we had an interesting look at some of the taverns of London Road in West Thurrock, it was a relief to escape from the busy traffic and head back to the river. Mind you, the journey along the main road does mean that one avoids the awful path around the Proctor & Gamble site. The route back to the Thames is along Wouldham Road and over the railway line. From here the riverside path is good tarmac.

Figure 21 : Film Still from "Guns of Loos" 1928]

Where the road meets the cycle/footpath there is a jetty for NuStar Energy. Next to this is a disused wharf that also had a pier with a tramway to carry cement to vessels. One of the tramway lines was from the Grays Portland Cement Works, the site of which is to the left of the cycle path heading towards Grays. The site was redeveloped in more recent times with apartment blocks. The cement works, one of many on this stretch of the Thames, created a noisy industrial environment. The air was thick with cement dust, a grey layer forming on every surface. By the time people had dried their washing on the line the clothes were in need of a repeat visit to the wash-house. Even after the closure of the cement works the landscape here was a terrible eyesore. Indeed, the derelict buildings and general state of desolation resulted in the site being used as a set for "Guns of Loos" war film.

Figure 22 : "Greetings from Grays" Picture Postcard [Author's Collection]

Figure 23 : Essex nXCV.NW -OS Six-Inch Map Surveyed in 1916, Published in 1923. [© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.]

In no time at all we rolled up to The Wharf, a pub that seemingly enjoys good local support. The Wharf Hotel, as it was then known, is marked on the above map extract from the World War One years. As can be seen, the building sat amid the extensive industrial landscape. Here there was another pier with a tramway connecting to the chalk quarries and brickworks to the north. The remains of this wharf and pier can be seen on the other side of the wall built to harness the rising tide on this section of the river. As a result, The Wharf is nestled below the water defence so that customers cannot see the Thames.

Figure 24 : The Wharf Hotel at Grays Thurrock c.1932 [Author's Collection]

In this inter-war image of the Wharf Hotel, it can be seen that it was then an Ind Coope house. Note the disused tram rails in the foreground. These can be seen on the 1916 map extract. Another raised tramway can be seen to the left, along with some relics of the cement works. Sadly, the image does not include the adjacent malthouse.

The creation of the piers for the tramway, along with a dedicated wharf for the cement works, almost certainly resulted in the name of the tavern changing to the Wharf Hotel. Up until large scale industry of the 19th century, the old tavern was known as the Sailors' Return Inn. But even this was a change from the Jolly Sailor, the inn sign under which the pub traded in the 18th century.

The large malthouse was probably an expansion of a business operated by John Crib in the late 18th century. He was documented as a corn porter and victualler of the Sailors' Return Inn. It is thought that he also operated a hop kiln so the tavern was almost certainly retailing ales produced from the output of the maltings and kiln. Oh, to be able to journey back in time when there was little development on the Thames and to be able to sit alongside a tranquil riverside drinking a beer made by the Crib family.

Figure 25 : The Wharf at Grays Thurrock [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

By the 1820s the Sailors' Return Inn was kept by the Tolhurst family. Trade directories show that William Tolhurst was the licensee in the mid-late 1820s. However, in November 1824 Thomas Tolhurst was the landlord of the riverside tavern. His name would become known throughout the county following a violent disturbance in the pub. It was on the evening of November 17th, 1824, that the publican, after nipping out on business, returned to the pub to find a man named Davis quarrelling with his wife. Thomas Tolhurst attempted to turf him out of the pub but was struck by the drunken imbiber. The publican sent for the constable but, before the officer could get to the tavern Davis, continued his attack on Thomas Tolhurst. The affray brought the pair towards the fireplace with the publican picking up a poker and striking Davis on the head. A newspaper report stated that Davis, "instead of treating the consequences with due caution, continued to riot and get drunk insomuch that inflammation is supposed to have ensued, and he died." ²¹

A contemporary account indicated that death did not occur on the same night. Apparently, a surgeon was sent for, the wound dressed, following which Davis was put to bed. On the following day he was drinking at the public-house and was seemingly doing well. However, after a few days his head wound assumed an alarming appearance and his condition declined. After languishing until December 17th, the troublesome customer died.

At the subsequent inquest the coroner committed the publican for trial on a charge of killing and slaying Davis. This was not a period in which one would relish a day in court. In 1825 other local men were receiving seven-year sentences for poaching. Two men were sentenced to death for burglary, a fate with the hangman that awaited John Croaker who had been arrested for horse-stealing. However, at the Chelmsford Assizes held in March 1825, the jury, after deliberating for a considerable time, found Thomas Tolhurst not guilty and he was acquitted. ²² I imagine that patrons of the Sailors' Return were a little wary of the poker-wielding landlord, or at least opted not to sit next to the fireplace before hurling any abuse in his direction.

The presence of a dead body in the Sailors' Return was a fairly regular occurrence as many a poor soul that had drowned in the river was brought into the pub before an inquest was held by the coroner. Most deaths were accidents or misadventure, some were suicides. One inquest in December 1838, on the body of 17-year-old John Sills of Maidstone, was held in the Sailors' Return after he was picked out of the water by William Wyles of Queenhithe. The inquest had to be adjourned four times before the jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against Captain Parker, of the brig Jarrow, "by whom the barge Maria, skippered by Captain Harmer Wood, was run down in Long Reach. John Sills was onboard the barge and was drowned. It appeared that the brig came improperly down mid-channel against the tide, with the anchor hanging to the chain instead of being catted or fished or hung awash, a fact proved by James Hodsell, of Yalding, the mate, and several witnesses." ²³ Stood outside The Wharf and looking out across the water, I wondered how many boats have sunk in the River Thames and just how many fragments of the vessels are embedded in the mud.

The name of the hostelry was changed in the early-to-mid-1880s when John and Hannah McNeil were running the place. John McNeil, who hailed from the Isle of Bute, died in 1889, his Durham-born wife continuing as landlady. She was associated with the tavern for more than four decades when she passed away in 1923. She had a cat to which she was very attached. However, in 1906 her favourite moggy was missed, the landlady strongly suspecting that it had got onto a ship and had been taken away to sea. A few months later a vessel put into the wharf, and during the evening the cat came meowing at the door of the hotel, apparently little the worse for its sea-faring experiences. ²⁴

Figure 26 : Town Wharf at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

From The Wharf it is only 280 metres to West Wharf, though there is nothing of historical interest with which to form an impression or perception of the scene in days of old. Could they not have left some fragments of the dock? The eastern side of the basin was once occupied by a timber yard. Indeed, the foreshore of the yard was known as Railway Sleepers Wharf. Adjacent to this yard, and extending to Town Wharf, was the boatyard of E. J. & W. Goldsmith Limited, a firm founded in 1848. By the time of the First World War the company had one of the largest fleets of sailing barges, operating along the coastline as far as Cornwall and Yorkshire. Some of their fleet also sailed to the continent. ²⁵

Like most people, I am referring to the town simply as Grays though, historically, it was known as Grays Thurrock. The name is thought to commemorate Henry de Grey, Lord of the Manor of Thurrock in the late 12th century, following its seizure by the King from Josce, grandson of Josce the Rabbi. Grays Thurrock became a small port and only grew in importance with industrialisation during the 19th century. It subsequently became a hive of activity with all manner of goods being brought in and sent to other parts of the UK and mainland Europe. It is sad that there are no relics of the Victorian age which would provide the visitor with some tangible evidence of the commerce that made Grays such a busy hub. Sad too, that much of the historic High Street has vanished.

Figure 27 : High Street at Grays Thurrock c.1908 [Author's Collection]

This Edwardian view of the High Street says it all really. If this still existed then the town would be flooded, not by the waters of the Thames but by tourists. The old White Hart is to the left. Sadly, the tavern on the right, facing the White Hart, was lost when the street was widened. The house had a classic seafaring inn sign - The Anchor and Hope.

Figure 28 : Extract from page 1 of the "Essex Herald" published on Tuesday July 21st, 1846.

There is no doubt that the Anchor and Hope occupied an old building. Some suggest it was a very old smuggler's tavern that had a lookout. However, I have not stumbled on any concrete evidence that it was an ancient watering hole. Indeed, as a beer house, it could not have been licensed until the 19th century. If I had to stick my neck out, I would say that the frontage looks like a former retail shop.

Figure 29 : Anchor and Hope at Grays Thurrock c.1906 [Author's Collection]

There is a tale surrounding the Hope and Anchor regarding The Press Gang. The story goes that, a body of armed men, led by an officer, came to Grays Thurrock in search of hapless youngsters for naval service. On spotting their advance, one lad ran into the house and hid beneath the crinoline skirt of the licensee's wife who was stood behind the bar. The Press Gang burst into the building in search of a victim but did not look behind the counter. A nice story but rather unlikely as this small beer house may not have had a servery in those days. Moreover, following the defeat of Napoleon, the practice of impressment was greatly reduced, a period in which this house was not licensed. And, of course, one has to consider the landlady's modesty!

One event that certainly took place was the rather novel feat of pedestrianism by a professional athlete in 1867. Glorying in the nom de plume of "Young Bristol," he announced that on Saturday, February 9th of that year he would walk 50 miles in 12 hours, 20 yards of the distance out of every 50 to be walked backwards. He set off from the Anchor and Hope at an early hour, and "walked to the Ship Inn, East Tilbury, a distance of seven miles, eight times, the final heat being accomplished some quarter of an hour before the appointed time. The novelty of the feat brought crowds from the neighbouring villages, and the young athlete was lustily cheered and substantially rewarded on the completion of his task." ²⁶

Figure 30 : Anchor and Hope at Grays 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

It was not until 1960 that the licence of the Anchor and Hope was extinguished. Seabrooke & Sons Ltd., owners of the property, had offered to surrender the licence in 1927 when they applied to the magistrates for a new licence for a public-house they were proposing to build near Socketts Heath, Little Thurrock. The Bench, however, refused the application. Three years later, the licence was almost removed by the magistrates who considered the matter of redundancy. ²⁷ That would have been a cruel blow to the Broyd family who had been custodians of the tavern for over 70 years. ²⁸

When the Anchor and Hope finally closed in 1960 the popular landlady was Frances "Mum" Sprinks. She had been serving beer to her regular clientele since the 1930s. Her husband, William, had previously held the licence, but he died in December 1942. Despite objections by many local residents, some of whom had been drinking at the house for the entirety of their lives, the Anchor and Hope was deemed redundant by the magistrates.

As mentioned during the previous stage, we snuck along to Grays at the end of the ride yesterday. When on our travels at faraway places we do a little research beforehand. When choosing which pubs to visit we tend to steer towards traditional houses selling good beer and buildings that are of historic or architectural interest. If the prerequisites are combined it is a 'must-visit' pub. The White Hart at Grays ticked a number of our boxes.

Figure 28 : Inn Sign of the White Hart at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Painted by the noted artist, Peter J. Oldreive, the White Hart even has a fine inn sign hanging outside. Like his father and grandfather before him, Peter became a commercial artist. He studied Decorative Arts at Portsmouth College before a freelance career in which he produced a few thousand inn signs for breweries. The majority of his work was for Whitbread. He also produced backdrops and murals for the film industry. In retirement he still continued to paint, his key interest being in aviation.

The earlier White Hart Inn was a lovely-looking weather-boarded building dating from the 18th century, possibly earlier.

Figure 29 : The White Hart at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Located at the heart of the busy port of Grays, many a bawdy night would have been enjoyed in the old White Hart. The port had more taverns than was required by the local inhabitants but were filled with visiting seafarers which often made for a riotous affair. It was great to see that the pub is still one of great vibrancy. We called in the early evening of a Friday and the main bar was heaving. The beer garden was also nearly full.

Figure 30 : White Hart Inn at Grays 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

Oddly, nobody was using what I think is the most attractive part of the interior of the White Hart, that of the old saloon bar [this is to the right, looking from the front of the building]....

Figure 31 : Saloon Bar of the White Hart at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

At one time this room had a sliding wooden partition but this has sadly been removed. However, the attractive back bar structure is original and features a display parapet incorporating lettering for Charrington's ales. Beneath the clock there is a dumb waiter connecting to a kitchen above. The curved glazed screen separated the saloon bar from the off-sales department where customers used a vestibule accessed by a dedicated entrance. The main bar was formerly a public and private bar but has been opened out to create a larger room. The smaller private bar also had a curved glazed screen separating it from the outdoor. Only the wooden frame survives. There is, in my humble opinion, too much clutter inside the pub, particularly flags, and it would benefit from some feng shui guru coming in to ditch some of the junk. But enough of the pub tour, let's get to the servery and order some beer. It was quite a ruck to get to the counter but a good tactic for cyclists is to leave your helmet on. This guarantees that the people serving behind the counter notice you!

Figure 32 : Beers at the White Hart at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Despite working their socks off, the women behind the servery were really friendly. There was a fine selection of real ale on offer, none of which I had previously drank. What the heck, the only thing to do in such circumstances is to order one of everything. All were in great shape so it came as no surprise to learn that the White Hart had landed the South West Essex CAMRA Branch [Essex Area] Pub of the Year award.

Figure 33 : Letterhead of T. D. Ridley & Sons of Hartford End, Chelmsford.

The Brimstone was a decent session ale from the Bishop Nick Brewery which is run by Nelion Ridley, part of the family that once owned the much-loved Essex brewery mopped up, along with an estate of 73 tied-houses, by Greene King in 2005. Located at Hartford End, the brewery had been in operation by the Ridley family since 1842. After a spell working as a teacher, Nelion Ridley, a son of the last chairman of the company, started cuckoo brewing at the Felstar Brewery and supplied the Compasses Inn at Littley Green, a pub run by his brother. The brewery's name is an ancestral reference to Bishop Nicholas Ridley who was burned at the stake in 1555 for championing the Protestant cause against Mary Tudor. Clocking in at 3.9%, Brimstone is a red copper ale with a light citrus hop flavour. A nice opener at the White Hart.

Figure 34 : Wreckage of Zeppelin L32, 1916 and Pump Clip for Billericay Zeppelin.

We sat in the sunshine within the White Hart's beer garden and enjoyed another Essex beer. I do not know if it is a policy of the White Hart but it is great to enjoy locally-brewed ales when on our travels. Though billed as an amber ale, I thought that the Billericay Zeppelin was a similar colour to Bishop Nick's Brimstone. Although dropping very slightly in alcoholic strength, this 3.8% biscuity/smoky number boasted a more robust character - another enjoyable session ale. Trevor Jeffrey, proprietor of the microbrewery, first produced ales in 2012 but did not establish his own plant until 2014. This recipe, formerly called Dead Zeppelin, commemorates the shooting down of a Zeppelin airship in September 1916 at Great Burstead, near Billericay. After discarding bombs near Purfleet, the airship, commanded by Werner Petersen, was shot down by the fighter pilot Lieutenant Fredrick Sowery. The German bomber crashed at Snails Farm, killing all 22 crewmen. Despite the loss of life, the incident boosted the morale of people living in the south-east who had been terrified by the Zeppelin bombing raids.

Figure 35 : Lance Bierdrinker caning it large in the beer garden of the White Hart at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Enjoyable as the first two beers were, the pièce de résistance at the White Hart was the rather lovely Old Growler, a porter that had won Overall Champion at the CAMRA Winter Beer Festival on two occasions. This beer had also travelled a relatively short distance from the Essex/Suffolk border. The pump clip certainly states Essex but, rather confusingly, the brewery has moved across the River Stour on a couple of occasions. Nethergate Brewery was first established at Clare in Sussex by Ian Hornsey and Dick Burge. However, in 2005 they upped sticks and moved to Pentlow in Essex. In 2017, following a takeover, the brewery was moved two miles to Long Melford, a village in Suffolk, but I believe they have retained the Essex premises for some brewing - hence the Essex reference on the pump clips. Mind you, this could have been an older pump clip as it shows the Growler name and bowler hat version which I think was the idea of the former Adnam's trio who took over firm in 2010. The Nethergate name was reinstated when Dick Burge, one of the founders of the business, led a consortium to buy back the company in recent years. One thing is for sure, on the evidence of the beer tonight, Old Growler is top pedigree.

Topping up on the Old Growler, it was most agreeable to be sat in the beer garden after a day on the bikes. The rear of the White Hart is not as attractive as the harmony of the frontage. The building was erected to the rear of the older White Hart, at a time when the High Street was re-aligned. I could not help but wonder what the old place was like, a tavern kept by the wig-maker Benjamin Chesterton and his wife Susannah in the late 18th century.

Figure 36 : Children in front of the White Hart at Grays Thurrock c.1906 [Author's Collection]

In July 1846 an inquest was held in the White Hart to discuss a barge that left Grays Wharf heavily laden with chalk. The master of the barge was warned to batten down the hatches before leaving the wharf, which he neglected to do, and the consequence was that the vessel sank within a mile of departure. The master and mate escaped by the boat, but a young man named Robert Wilkinson, a servant at the White Hart Inn, who accompanied them, was drowned. His body was found two days afterwards near Greenhithe. It was reported that all the parties were intoxicated.²⁹

Like many taverns next to a wharf with sailors coming and going, the White Hart could be a rough-hole at times. Trying to keep order was not without risk. Elizabeth Howe, wife of the landlord, was assaulted by a roughneck in April 1887 when she tried to get rid of him. William Frost, publican at the end of the Victorian period, threw Emily Page into the street during a drunken session with two men in which she was singing, dancing and "pulling her clothes up." The wife of a barge captain, she was known to frequent the White Hart with different men when her husband was at sea. Today, the White Hart still has some boisterous behaviour which makes for a lively atmosphere.

Figure 37 : Theobald Arms at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

We could have happily lingered for a session at the White Hart but within a few wheel revolutions there is another good pub in Grays. It is also one of the oldest public-houses of the former High Street. And like the White Hart, the Theobald Arms was once operated by Seabrooke & Sons Ltd.

Figure 38 : Theobald Arms at Grays 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

In this view the pub can be seen in 1930 just after Charrington's had acquired the town's brewery and estate of public-houses. The company rebuilt the White Hart but elected to tidy up the Theobald Arms. They evidently did not skimp on the renovations, forking out £2,369 on the work. The plumber's yard to the right of the pub was also owned by the brewery and rented out to W. J. Wilmott. At the time of this photograph the pub was run by George Wild. He handed over to Henry and Margaret Barrell in 1934.

Figure 39 : Inn Sign of the Theobald Arms at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

The inn sign commemorates the Theobald family who were Lords of the Manor in the mid-18th century. The manor had previously been owned by the Palmer family before it was sold to James Theobold in 1754. It was a good time to buy because Grays Thurrock was about to grow considerably and the land value soared. Following his death, the manor passed to his wife Jane, though by 1817 it was held by Thomas Poole who had taken the surname of Theobald.

Later in the century James Theobald granted almost 1,000 leases for building on his land. He was elected a Member of Parliament for Romford. In March 1894 he died following an accident at Romford railway station. He was rushing to catch a London-bound train that was leaving the platform. He grabbed a door handle of the first-class carriage to jump aboard but lost his footing and fell between the carriage and the platform. He was dragged some thirty yards before the train could be stopped. He was extricated by Charles Woodcock, the station-master, and carried to his office. Three doctors were speedily in attendance, and a stretcher being procured from the police-station, James Theobald, at his insistence, was conveyed to the Golden Lion Hotel. His wife was sent for and was in attendance when he died several hours later.³⁰

Some months before his death, James Theobald had sold the freehold reversions of most of the leases to Sir Julian Goldsmid. The remainder of his estate was broken up and sold. Grays Hall and the manorial rights were acquired by the Seabrooke family. Like the neighbouring White Hart, the Theobald Arms has had a few ding-dongs over the years. In September 1883 Henry Lazell was charged with kicking-off in the pub and for assaulting John Warren. In April 1890, when Thomas Baldwin was the publican, Robert Hawkes entered the pub and starting shouting and swearing so he was told to leave. This maddened Hawkes who threw a glass at the publican. He had the brass neck to walk into the Theobald Arms on very next day so Thomas Baldwin ordered him out. On this occasion the unwanted customer put the windows in.³¹

In the same decade George Smith got himself so plastered he fell into the creek opposite the pub. He was lucky in that he did not drown but it was with some difficulty that he was extricated from the deep mud. His saviours handed him over to Sergeant Wapling who carted him off to the police station where his clothes were removed and he was thoroughly scrubbed, cleaned and wrapped up in flannels.

George Smith fared better than a man called Mansfield who, along with two drinking pals, met up at the Theobald Arms and launched into a right old session in April 1901. They proceeded to four other public-houses and drank 15 pints of beer. Mansfield was so drunk he had to be lifted into a cart but on reaching home he was found "quite dead." ³²

On our visit to the Theobald Arms, we did not witness any of the above nonsense. It would be harsh to state that the pub was rather staid compared to the White Hart. It was certainly less animated. However, this traditional house boasts a very convivial atmosphere and I liked the place and, indeed, the excellent choice of real ales. The two pubs seemingly vie for the Pub of the Year award and the Theobald Arms proudly displays the pump clips of ales that have been drawn up the pipes from the cellar over the years. The pub also stocked a range of bottled beers from UK breweries.

There is a slightly faded sign for the Mighty Oak Brewing Company on the exterior wall of the Theobald Arms - it was too busy to ask if there was a link between the Maldon-based brewery and the pub. This Essex brewery hit the headlines a few years back when their Oscar Wilde scooped the Supreme Champion award at the Great British Beer Festival. Founded by John Boyce in 1996, Mighty Oak was formerly based at Brentwood.

Figure 40 : Pump Clip for the 3.7% European Pale Ale by 4T's Brewery of Warrington.

With the Brexit debate in full swing we opted for some European Pale Ale, a 3.7% beer with floral notes and a pleasant hoppy kick for such a low ABV. This is probably because, in addition to Magnum hops, the brewer, Jordan Millington, slings in some Aurora, Bobek and Perle hops during production - a bit like a small nation state punching above its weight. Although not a local ale, we have not stumbled upon cask ales by this brewery so we had to vote 'yes.' 4T's was started in 2010 in a garage by John Wilkinson, a man who had previously worked as a drayman for Tetley Walker before running the Wilkies Tavern in Warrington. After a spell brewing up in Runcorn, the brewery returned to Warrington in 2015. John Wilkinson and Jordan Millington also dabbled with a smaller brewery set-up in the former Wilkies Tavern. This was known as the 2&9 Brewery.

I have not mapped a route up the High Street as so much has gone, including the taverns that once fronted the thoroughfare. However, should you decide on taking a look at the carnage wreaked by the local authorities, I do have a little informaton on the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the former Railway Hotel that stands next to a unique pedestrian level crossing, along with the long-lost Empire Theatre and Queen's Hotel.

Figure 41 : The Yacht Club at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

I took this photograph from the sea wall, looking towards the Yacht Club at Grays. I was perhaps drawn to the rotting vessel looking like a nautical skip. Like many other boats enduring a slow, agonising death in the water, it is a rather compelling view. The Yacht Club occupies a former coal wharf on which stands the mast and lantern of the aforementioned wreck. Named the Gull, the boat, built in 1860, was bought by the Yacht Club after it was retired from service.³³

Figure 42 : Children playing on the beach at Grays 1906 [Author's Collection]

Surprisingly - well to me as an outsider, at least - Grays had a beach amid all the industry. I bought a picture postcard of a group of children who can be seen playing in the sand, brought in as an artificial beach when the area was laid out in 1906 as a recreation space on land gifted by William Williams. He attended the formal opening of the riverside park, the ceremony being performed by Herbert Brooks, chairman of the Grays Urban Council. Messrs. Arthur Boatman and John Golden, who were credited for the acquisition of the land and the creation of the park, "repudiated any desire to make Grays a seaside resort." To the amusement of the crowd gathered, Mr. Boatman said "it was not to make a Blackpool or a Brighton that the Park was acquired, but simply for the use of the Grays people. There was considerable opposition to the scheme at first, but those who opposed were now asking for more beach, more sand, and more water." ³⁴

In the background is the training ship, Exmouth, a vessel constructed by Vickers, Sons and Maxim at their Naval Construction Works, Barrow-in-Furness, to the order of the Metropolitan Asylums Board. It replaced the earlier HMS Exmouth which had been used for the training of London boys since 1876.³⁵ It does beg the question of why build a replica of an old vessel for training purposes? Officially opened as a training ship in July 1905, the vessel was commanded by Captain R. B. Colmore, formerly of HMS Black Prince.

Figure 41 : Looking towards Tilbury Docks [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

The beach is the end of the road in terms of cycling along the Thames - for now. There is no way around Tilbury Port along the river bank so do not waste time attempting to follow a path. There is a fence with police notices warning the public not to attempt gaining entry. Still, every cloud has a silver lining and this afforded an opportunity to explore part of Little Thurrock.

Our route out of town took us along Argent Street, the north side of the road being the site of the Castle Inn. The premises was roughly halfway between Sherfield Road and Exmouth Road though, of course, these are contemporary references.

Figure 42 : Essex LXXXIII - OS Six-Inch Map surveyed in 1863, published in 1873. [© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.]

Sherfield Road commemorates the house of William Palmer, lord of the manor during his residence at Grays in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. In his will dated 1706 he left £40 a year for the payment of a master "to teach ten poor boys to read, write, cast accounts, and to instruct them in the Latin tongue." Thus, the Palmer's Endowed School was founded.³⁶ Surveyed in 1863, the map extract shows the cluster of early development in this thoroughfare, along with the Thorrock Brewery established by Thomas Seabrooke at the fag end of the 18th century. The firm would operate the Castle Inn before it was taken over by Charrington's. I believe that the cluster of housing, the beer house forming part of Argent's Folly on the northern side, and Perseverance Place on the opposite side of the road, were owned by Jesse Argent, a lighterman who plied his trade with a barge called "Jane and William." Although all traces of the Victorian buildings have long gone, the lighterman is remembered in the name of the thoroughfare. If I lived close to Essex I would go and have a rummage in the Essex Record Office. In the building there is a bundle of documents relating to the property and barge. These suggest a date of 1849 for the leases on the northern side of the road.³⁷ Certainly, the beer house was up-and-running by the time of the 1851 census when the enumerator recorded John Cracknell as the publican running the tavern.³⁸

Another building with history dating back to the last decade of the 18th century was Belmont Castle, the lavish residence constructed for the chalk quarry operator Zachariah Button. It was a fanciful neo-Gothic pile designed by Thomas Jeffery. I assume that the inn sign of this public-house commemorated the mini-palace on the hill with commanding views of the Thames.

Figure 41 : Engraving of Belmont Castle from the Thames by Bartlett published in: "Thomas Wright, The History and Topography of the County of Essex 1831" [Public Domain]

I imagine that Jesse Argent sailed by regularly and either he, or John Cracknell, took inspiration from the castellated construction for the tavern signboard.

A native of Glemsford in Suffolk, Jesse Argent lived in one of the properties of Perseverance Place. He and his wife Jane also operated a grocery shop. In 1861 the rogue was nabbed by Inspector Rutledge and summoned for having in his shop a butter scale 5drs. against the purchaser. Inspector Rutledge stated: "On the same day, in the defendant's shop, I found a pair of scales with unfair balance, and under the enamelled plate, which I removed, I found a piece of brown paper folded." The deceitful retailer, who had been swindling his customers was fined £5 and costs by the magistrates at the Petty Session held at Orsett.³⁹ If I had been one of his customers I would have tied the weights, along with the scales, to the robbing git, before chucking him off Seabrooke's Wharf. However, when his number came up three years later, the Chelmsford Chronicle stated that he was "much respected." ⁴⁰

As for the publican of the beer house, John Cracknell was born in the town around 1815. He kept the Castle Inn with his wife Eliza who hailed from Prittlewell, near Southend-on-Sea. His sister, Mary Ann, was, for many years, the landlady of the Half Moon Inn on Broadway.

Eliza Cracknell died in 1862. It is possible that her husband remained as licensee in name only as he was recorded as a labourer on the Feast of Epiphany in 1863 when his daughter, also named Eliza, married the mariner, William Negus.⁴¹ Born at Horndon-on-Hill around 1841, William Negus elected not to follow in father's footsteps by working the land and went to sea, serving as an apprentice to Thomas Sievey of Gravesend, on a vessel named "Lookout." One can only speculate that the boat was perhaps moored at Grays and William ventured along Argent Street when his path crossed with Eliza Cracknell. After tying the knot, he returned to life as a landlubber, helping Eliza to run the Castle Inn. The licence of the tavern was transferred to him at the Petty Sessions held on the first day of September, 1865.⁴²

William Negus was evidently in charge of the house prior to the licence transfer. However, he seemingly has the issue of his father-in-law becoming a patron. By all accounts John Cracknell was an intemperate man. Things got messy one day in August 1865 when, already intoxicated, he demanded more drink. Considering that he had had enough, his son-in-law refused to serve him. John Cracknell then reportedly struck William Negus with a hammer. The younger man responded by pushing him to the floor and assaulting him. For some reason the former publican pressed charges against his son-in-law. He caused some laughter in court when giving his evidence as he was intoxicated. The magistrates were probably not amused by his demeanour and dismissed the case.⁴³ John Cracknell would later live with his sister, Mary Ann Miller, at the Half Moon Inn.⁴⁴

At the end of the road, we turned left into Bridge Road. If we had done so a century earlier, we would have ridden between the two sites of the Thorrock Brewery of Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. All of the buildings have gone so a bit of imagination is needed. The firm was founded in 1799 by the brick-maker Thomas Seabrooke.

Figure 42 : Thorrock Brewery of Seabrook & Sons Limited at Grays [Author's Collection]

The old brewery was much closer to the river on the High Street but moved to a larger premises on two occasions in the 19th century. The business passed to son Charles and, later, to his grandchildren. The Seabrooke family were still running the business when Charrington's acquired the company and its large estate of public-houses in 1929. The brewery was closed soon after, though the buildings served as a laundry and Co-op Milk Depot. The site was cleared in 1969.

We continued up Bridge Road where, on the corner of William Street, we came across the forlorn-looking Bricklayers' Arms. I was rather surprised to see the building had the livery of W. H. Brakspear and Sons Ltd., of Henley-on-Thames.

Having closed down, the pub looked a bit of a mess but there was still a lovely inn sign hanging from the corner of the building. It was therefore essential that I almost got myself run over in order to take a photograph of the signboard.

Figure 43 : Inn Sign of the Bricklayers' Arms at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Featuring a bricklayer hard at it with his trowel, the signboard bears the motto Castello Fortier Concordia, meaning "Peace is stronger than a fortress," hence the illustrations in the background. This motto is used within the Coat-of-Arms of Northampton and was first recorded in 1617. I expected to see the motto of the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers' which is "In God is all our trust, let us never be confounded." The earliest reference to this Company is in 1416, though records show that a Guild representing the crafts was in already in existence. A Charter was granted to the Company in 1568. I wondered if there was a Northampton connection with Grays but I see that William Peverel, Lord of the Manor after the Norman invasion, is associated with Nottingham. The Manor later passed to the Ferrers family, earls of Derby. Henry de Grey, the man whom the settlement is named after, seems to have no connection either. I am puzzled.

Figure 44 : The Bricklayers' Arms at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

I generally experience a pang of sadness whenever I see a pub in this state, a sight that has become far too familiar in the 21st century. Looking at this place, I was wondering how many pubs will be left in Grays in a few years time?

The Thurrock Gazette reported on a fire in the former Bricklayers' Arms during 2017. The fire brigade was quickly on the scene and extinguished the flames. It was only when the smoke had dissipated that the fire crew found a homeless man on the first floor. It was thought that the fire had started from a discarded cigarette.

Figure 45 : Bricklayers' Arms at Grays 1936 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

Thanks to the Charrington archive, we can see the Bricklayers' Arms in happier times and looking rather resplendent. Notice the faux-marble pilasters, probably made of Vitrolite, a popular material used during the inter-war years. The name of the licensee, E. C. Golden, can be seen above the Bridge Road entrance. This was Edith Clara Golden who was landlady after the death of her husband John. The Golden family kept this house for generations. They were originally tenants of Seabrooke & Sons Ltd., the brewery being a very short distance away. So, as one can see, most of the public-houses passed on this journey through the Thurrock area were operated by this firm, an exception being the Wharf Hotel which was an Ind Coope pub.

It was the Norfolk-born bricklayer Francis Golden who was responsible for the tavern's inn sign. He moved to Grays by the early 1860s and worked as a bricklayer. Helped by his sons, he built a family business as a builder. In 1881 he employed nine men and three boys, by which time he was also operating a beer shop and off-licence that he had named in celebration of his trade.⁴⁵

It was quite common for different trades to be clustered in particular areas of a town and many public-houses were named to celebrate this. This not only helped to foster a local identity but encouraged customer loyalty from the local residents - a sound economic decision for many a publican.

Francis Golden died in 1887 and was succeeded by his son John. Unlike his brother James who, like their father, had become a bricklayer, John Golden was a joiner by trade. He married Edith Clara Tye in March 1898.⁴⁶ He became a councillor for Grays. He also improved the simple boozer and in 1900 was advertising "the most comfortable club-room in Grays," along with a committee room for meetings. The bodies and societies that met at the pub included the Associated Shipwrights' Society, the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, Grays Musical Society, Loyal Gordon Lodge, Manchester Unity of Oddfellows, and the Bricklayers' Arms Slate Club.⁴⁷

Figure 46 : Bricklayers' Arms with John Golden at Grays c.1910 [Author's Collection]

In the above photograph, it is thought that John Golden is the fourth man from the left, leaning on the window sill. He served on the council for three decades and for three years was a member of the County Council. He was largely responsible for the creation of the aforementioned beach at Grays and the provision of a public park. Successful in business he left a fair amount in his will to Edith when he died in 1921. She subsequently became the licensee of the Bricklayers' Arms until the Second World War. In 1941 she handed over the reins to her son John who remained as licensee for over two decades. It is very rare to stumble upon a boozer that was kept by the same family for a century.

We continued along Gipsy Lane, turning right onto Broadway. In no time at all, the Traitor's Gate appears on the right, located on the corner of the narrow East Street. The pub is to the right in the below photograph - I will explain why I have displayed the building from this angle, to include a neighbouring dog-grooming shop.

Figure 47 : The Traitor's Gate at Grays [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Selling up to five real ales, the Traitor's Gate is a popular drinking den. Indeed, it was voted Local CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2014. That was when it was the tap of the local Deverell's Brewery. This pub is often listed in Little Thurrock. However, the boundary was a few metres to the east, next to a tramway that linked the Globe Works with the wharf on the river. A garage and taxi firm occupy a site on the tramway line, the rails continuing along a route under my feet and through the site now occupied by a petrol station. Having said that, although census enumerators included the property within Grays Thurrock, the pub was listed under Little Thurrock in Victorian trade directories. A map dated 1863 does seem to indicate that the boundary line was different in earlier times - all very confusing.

The Traitor's Gate was originally a beer house called the Half Moon Inn but it was not in the present building. The reason for including the building on the other side of East Street is that the ground floor has the look of a former pub. Despite this, however, it is likely that the former Half Moon was closer to the junction with Gipsy Lane. The one constant in the jigsaw puzzle that is the early history of this tavern is Mary Ann Cracknell, a woman who worked her way up from the workhouse to wealthy retirement. She married Thomas Smithson, a butcher and publican here in Grays. After he died the widow married the licensed victualler, Henry Miller, in August 1855.⁴⁸ In the census of 1861 the couple were recorded in this location, though not this building, and Henry Miller was recorded as a baker and beer retailer - an apposite surname for a baker. He employed William Cole in the bakery. Three of Mary Ann's daughters from her previous marriage were living on the premises.⁴⁹

Henry Miller died in July 1865 and Mary Ann was a widow once again. With the help of her two daughters, Eliza and Mary, she continued as landlady of the Half Moon Inn. The bakery side of the business was carried on by Charles Davis who lived on the premises. It was at the Grays Brewster Sessions of September 1885 that Mary Ann Miller applied for the removal of the licence of the Half Moon Inn to an adjoining house. The magistrates granted the transfer.⁵⁰

Figure 48 : The Half Moon at Grays at Grays c.1936 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

Mary Ann Miller, an elderly widow, seems to have sold up soon after the licence transfer. In retirement she moved around the corner to Gipsy Lane. At the Grays Petty Sessions held in May 1886 the licence of the Half Moon Inn was transferred to Abraham Clements.⁵¹ Later in the year, during October, he applied for a wine licence. His solicitor advised the Bench that £2,000 had recently been expended on the premises, and travellers who stopped at the hotel required something besides beer. His application was refused.⁵² A volunteer with the fire brigade, he was not a man to give up lightly and, during the following year, obtained a spirits' licence for the Half Moon Inn.⁵³ There was an epidemic of influenza at Grays Thurrock in 1891, more than 70 cases being reported in May of that year. Abraham Clements died from bronchitis, after going down with the virus. The publican's funeral was held at Stifford Church, the members of the Grays Volunteer Fire Brigade being present in full uniform. The funeral procession was headed by the Grays Town Band playing the "Dead March" and the coffin was borne on the fire engine, which was covered with a pall, the deceased's helmet, belt, and hatchet being placed on the lid of the coffin.⁵⁴

Moving from The Harrow at North Benfleet, Frederick Dorman was granted the licence of the Half Moon Inn during November 1891. Considering the recent track record of the Half Moon Inn, the Chairman, addressing the publican, stated that "it was a house that required very careful management." Frederick Dorman said "he would do his best to conduct the house satisfactorily to all concerned." ⁵⁵ The Dorman family would run the Half Moon Inn for a generation.

Folks say it is best to avoid talking politics when drinking in a pub. Two men who failed to heed such advice were Percy Boosey and William England. The two men were boozing in the Half Moon Inn one Saturday afternoon in January 1910 when they started arguing about politics. This led to a quarrel, with both men taking off their coats before going outside for some fisticuffs. The men squared up and William England hit Percy Boosey with a blow that knocked him to the ground. He was insensible for a few moments, but afterwards recovered and went back inside the Half Moon for a glass of beer. He then went home, but, while talking to his wife, collapsed and remained unconscious until he died on the following Monday morning. At the Coroner's inquest, the jury, after a long deliberation, returned a verdict of manslaughter against William England. He was committed to take his trial at the following Assize. ⁵⁶

Frederick Dorman died in 1919, and he was succeeded by his son, also named Frederick. Ten years later the landlord was found dead with his throat cut at the house at which he was spending a holiday at Gorleston. His brother, Arthur, bank manager, of South Woodford, said he visited him at his lodgings. He was then half-dressed, and said he was going to the lavatory. After he had been gone about three minutes a friend called to see him, and, as he said he could hear groaning, they went to the lavatory, where they found Frederick Dorman with his throat cut. A doctor was summoned, but life was pronounced extinct. His brother attributed the publican's act to overwork, as for the previous five or six years he had been working from six in the morning until midnight. He was advised by his doctor to go for a holiday. Returning a verdict of suicide while temporarily insane, the coroner said that deceased had no doubt considerably overworked himself for the previous six years.⁵⁷

During World War Two the assistant manager at the Half Moon Inn was Hector Emery. He made the national newspapers when Blackie, his black-and-tan mongrel dog, went missing. The reason for this being newsworthy was that Blackie held three gallantry awards, won in 1941, for rescuing another dog from a blitzed cottage. The decorations were: Sunday Pictorial Brave Pets- Medal, R.S. C.A. Meritorious Collar, and the Brave Medal of the Tailwaggers- Club.⁵⁸

Another pub dog to make the national newspapers was a 16½ stone Old English mastiff owned by Ken Telford, licensee of the Half Moon in 1964.

A photograph of the dog was sent to Pentonville Prison to stop an argument among the prisoners. The argument started when one of the inmates tried to convince others that his local pub landlord had a foolproof answer to would-be wage snatchers. The prisoner told them the publican used to walk to the bank with the dog holding the pub's takings between its massive jaws. But nobody believed him. So, the prisoner used his allowance of 'one letter a week' to write to the publican to ask for a picture of his 3-year-old mastiff, Sinbad. The publican replied: "I hope the picture has settled the argument. If it hasn't, I feel sorry for anybody who comes out of prison and tries to take the money-bag out of Sinbad's mouth. He'll get eaten." Ken Telford, told the Daily Mirror that "he is never bothered with burglars or rowdies in the bar," adding that "he brushes the dog's coat with a 3-ft. long ripsaw blade." The publican remarked that "Sinbad is one of the best buys I ever made - he's a walking insurance policy. Sometimes he carries £300 or £400 for me, but I never have any worries. If all else fails, I know he can just sit on a bandit - for he weighs more than Cassius Clay." ⁵⁹

And so, we floated like butterflies a short distance along Dock Road to the Ship Inn. It looked as though the building had recently been refurbished and the frontage tidied up somewhat. I believe the pub, operated by Punch Taverns, had closed for a period so it must have re-opened shortly before we cycled along Dock Road. Of course, this is not the original Ship Inn, the older tavern dated back another century or so. It was documented in 1818 when Edward Lees was the licensee. He and his wife Susan kept the house for a generation. He was hauled before the Bench at the Billericay Petty Sessions in July 1839 on a charge of short measuring his customers. An officer entered the premises and found that many of the pewter jugs used in the Ship Inn were not stamped and did not hold the correct measure of ale. He was also charged with having several weights in his possession that were lighter than the stated weight. The publican was fined heavily and his illegitimate wares seized. Abraham Turp, licensee of the nearby Bull, who also traded as a butcher, was no better for he was fined at the same Sessions for light weights and having a piece of lead affixed to his scales.⁶⁰ What a pair of scoundrels, robbing their regular patrons and neighbours.

When Edward Lees died in 1847, the licence of the Ship Inn passed to his wife Susan. However, the elderly widow was a prime target for robbers seeking easy prey. Two such reprobates, Thomas Brown and Eliza Ramsey, the latter from Rochford, called into the Ship Inn for a drink in March 1849 and, after scoping the premises and sussing out the landlady's situation, returned in the night and burgled the property. The robbery was one of several they committed in the locality but the law caught up with them and they were committed for trial.⁶¹

Figure 49 : The Ship at Little Thurrock [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

The Ship Inn was used for many coroner's inquests during the 19th century. Some were for tragic accidents but on some occasions, there were sinister circumstances surrounding the death of somebody found in the marshes or woodland close to the pub. For example, in November 1906 the body of an unknown man was found in Hangman's Wood by James Goodman, a resident of Grays. He reported the matter to the police and Constable Snowling went to woods and carried the body to the Ship Inn where he was laid out for the inquest. A revolver was found near to the spot where the body was found. On searching his body inside the pub, it was found that his pockets contained money and a watch which led to the conclusion that the man, thought to be from Tilbury, had committed suicide.⁶² He was one of several who committed such acts in Little Thurrock.

The name of Hangman's Wood suggests that at least one execution was undertaken there. The woodland is noted for a number of deneholes which may have attracted those wishing to end their days by throwing themselves into the deep excavations. Today, they afford a priceless habitat for a number of bat species. Or perhaps they are ideal for disposing of a body. I have clearly watched too many crime dramas on the telly.

Figure 50 : Post-Office and Wesleyan Chapel at Little Thurrock c.1914 [Author's Collection]

Kempley Court, across the road from The Ship was the site of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel [seen to the left in the above photograph], built in 1876. Records for the building seem to fizzle out in 1978 so perhaps that was the date of closure. In 1904 the building drew large crowds to hear speeches by Paddy Norman, the former bookmaker, comic and pugilist, turned minster. In order to accommodate the large numbers of people wishing to hear him speak, a week-long programme of speeches was organised.⁶³ He certainly seems to have been a very charismatic character. He was particularly popular in the industrial north and would talk for several hours to very large audiences. The press thought he had an earnest and original way of expounding the scriptures, combined with his ready wit and thrilling stories. At Little Thurrock the people in the packed church were enthralled, sometimes in laughter, and often in tears.⁶⁴

Erected in the Edwardian period the row of houses was called Norton Terrace. I was pleased to see that the post-office was still operating. Around the time of the above photograph Nellie Waters was the sub-postmistress. She kept the shop and post-office with her sister Mabel. Her husband, Albert, was an assistant school master.⁶⁵

Figure 51 : Church of Saint Mary at Little Thurrock c.1912 [Author's Collection]

130 metres further along Dock Road is the Church of Saint Mary. Dating from around 1170-80, the building is largely constructed of flint, mixed rubble and dressed in stone. The nave is the oldest surviving section of the building, the chancel having been reconstructed in the 14th century. Costing around £1,300, the building was thoroughly restored and enlarged in 1878-9. The parishioners were astonished to learn that a singular arch in the south side of the nave was discovered, under which was a curious wall painting. The church was re-opened by the Bishop of St. Alban's in April 1879.

The contractor, William Gumbrill of Kent, was praised for the new pitch-pine roof and other work. New windows were installed, the pulpit renovated, and the floor re-tiled. The new stone font was a present from the architects, Messrs. Franey and Wood, of Spring Gardens, Charing Cross. The communion table, its embroidered cloth, and the reredos, with its pierced tracery and decorated panels, were the gifts from the family of Robert H. Williams, one of the church wardens. The oak lectern was a contribution from several of the neighbouring incumbents, and a carved oak Glastonbury chair, said to have been purchased from the sale of works by the rector's daughters, was placed by the communion table.⁶⁶

Figure 52 : Church of England School at Little Thurrock c.1912 [Author's Collection]

Close to Saint Mary's is the former Church of England School. Featuring a clock tower, the building was designed by Messrs. Elmslie & Franey, architects based at Parliament Street in Westminster, who invited tenders for the building work in May 1871. The school opened in the following year.⁶⁷ There could be no excuse for being late for school as the building featured a large clock. This front part of the school was the living quarters of the head teacher.

From the church and school, it is less than 300 metres to The Bull, an interesting-looking building with an uninteresting beer and food offer. This place had a good old punch-up in 2018, a mass brawl that kick-started a police investigation. It would appear that the operators, Heybar, had subsequently given the place a lick of paint and were pitching at patrons less inclined to kick-off. The marketing sloganeers have been at work on the frontage with "Gather, Guzzle, Graze," but I much prefer the paint-job of Seabrooke & Sons Ltd., advertising their "Fine Thorrock Ales" ....

Figure 53 : The Bull at Little Thurrock c.1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

The twin-gambrel roof is unusual but has not seemingly earned the building any listed status. It is certainly a tavern of some antiquity.

Nathaniel Cramphorne was the landlord in the 1820s. He had married Ann Jackson in 1818 at the church along the road. He was succeeded by the aforementioned Abraham Turp, the scoundrel of the scales, who cheated his customers with the use of dodgy weights in the butchery side of his business. He was also convicted of assault against Thomas Strickland in February 1840.⁶⁸

Richard Ashbee, landlord in the late 1860s, was even more intemperate. In August 1869 he was charged with being drunk and riotous in the village. In the same year he was charged with resisting Police-Constables, William Saward and John Front, while in the execution of their duty in apprehending two men charged with felony at Little Thurrock. As a consequence, the magistrates refused to renew his licence at the following Sessions.⁶⁹

Forced to sell up, Richard Ashbee had already set in motion the detachment of the farming business attached to The Bull. In September 1869 he instructed an auctioneer to sell his interests in the land adjoining. A notice for the sale showed that The Bull was part of a farming enterprise and probably the reason for the inn sign rather than any religious or sporting link.

It was time to head back towards the river and the safest route to Tilbury was via Marshfoot Road and south on Saint Chad's Road. This follows an older lane that led from the site of Saint Chad's Well. Tilbury is an ancient place where Roman artefacts have been discovered. However, it did not exist as a town until the arrival of the railway and the construction of the docks, the latter attracting thousands of people seeking employment. The early housing was of a very poor standard and was not improved until after the First World War. Many of the improvements were largely ruined by German bomber planes in World War 2, along with large scale unemployment following the mechanisation of the docks. It is now ranked as one of the worst places to live in Essex. Well, according to a YouTube video that was picked up by the tabloid press. We went to look for ourselves. When cycling the coast one cannot cherry-pick all the picture postcard locations. Besides, we have often reversed the polarity of popular opinion and found cloud nine amid the worst Tomasz Schafernaker predictions of gloom.

Figure 54 : 1895 Map extract showing the locations of pubs in Tilbury

I have plotted the key pubs on the above map extract dated 1895. I thought this may help as the place has changed since this date, a period when the new town was still in its infancy. The docks, of course, cannot be accessed. Of the pubs marked, only the World's End was still going during our visit. Note that The Anchor had not been built at the time of this survey. Also, the Diamond Jubilee was only licensed for off-sales.

Figure 55 : Former Anchor at Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

As we turned into the Civic Square the sight of The Anchor seemed to exemplify the downward spiral of the new town pipe dream to that of crushed hope and dilapidation. The insalubrious appearance of the exterior conveys an impression that there is no redemption, despite the fact that the interior has been converted into a church. By the time we rolled up to the building it had been more than a decade since the last pints were poured in The Anchor. Last orders were called and the landlord handed the licence back to the authorities following a series of ugly incidents throughout 2009. Essex Police had been called out on more than twenty occasions during the year. In one incident a customer died after being beaten up when he walked out of the pub. On another occasion two men confronted each other in The Anchor which led to a stabbing in the Civic Square. Inevitably, local residents were afraid to patronise The Anchor and not even the involvement of Wetherspoon's could turn things around.

Figure 56 : The Anchor at Tilbury 1927 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

This photograph of The Anchor was taken in 1927, the year after the pub opened for business. The total cost of the build was £30,852., a significant investment by Charrington's.

Figure 57 : Exterior Tiling at The Anchor in Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

The custodians of the new public-house in the late 1920s and early 1930s were Frank and Eleanor Morant. Earlier in the decade the couple managed the Prince Albert at All Hallows Barking in the City of London.⁷⁰ After their sojourn in Essex they returned from whence they came by running Ye Olde King's Arms on Aldersgate Street in the City of London.⁷¹

Given the pub's final chapter of violent behaviour, it is interesting to note that it was only months after opening that The Anchor featured in the press due to a fight outside the premises. In the following year Michael McWall, an Irish docker, was hauled before the magistrates after a 'disagreement' with the publican. When the police came to arrest him, it was stated that he was bleeding from the head after having fought with another Irishman in The Anchor. ⁷²

Reginald Hollingsbee was running The Anchor with his wife Rosina in the late 1930s when he ended up in court for allowing unlawful games in the bar. During the court case it was reported that two regular customers were holding raffles for ten bob notes.⁷³ They would have as many as forty punters trying to win the money, enough in those days to ensure a few nights on the pop.

Figure 58 : Clock Tower War Memorial at Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Before leaving the square, we paused at the war memorial which, like the monument we saw on the previous day at Rainham, also serves as a clock tower. Unveiled on the day before Remembrance Sunday in 1934, the memorial commemorates 156 local servicemen who died during World War One, along with the names of those who were killed in the Second World War. One person who died in Malaya in 1950, and another from the Falklands Conflict of 1982, have also been added.

Figure 59 : Former Ship Hotel at Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

From the Civic Square, it is a short cycle ride along Calcutta Road to the junction of Dock Road and Broadway where the former Ship Hotel stands. Although the building had served as the post-office in recent years, the building looks a bit of mess compared to the neat edifice created by Charrington's ....

Figure 60 : The Ship Hotel at Tilbury 1939 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

This photograph was taken in 1939 when the Ship Hotel was managed by Edward and Margaret Nattrass, both natives of County Durham. Also living on the premises were three barmen, John Norman, William Bullivant and James Bass, plus two barmaids, Sophie Levett and Mary Reid.⁷⁴ The number of staff suggests that the Ship Hotel was a busy hostelry.

Figure 61 : Ship Hotel at Tilbury c.1927 [Author's Collection]

This 1920s photograph shows that Charrington's, rather than rebuild the Ship Hotel after acquiring the pub from Seabrooke & Sons Ltd., elected to re-configure the frontage with tiling. The corner entrance and windows were also squared off to create a contemporary look to the structure.

In April 1899 a serious affray with armed burglars occurred at the Ship Hotel. It was reported that "about one o'clock a barman named Edward Digby was sitting up, awaiting the return of another barman, the house being closed, when he heard the chink of money in the bar. He went thither, and saw a couple of burglars at work on the till. Edward Digby pluckily rushed forward to seize the men, but in the struggle was quickly overcome, and one of the burglars, drawing a revolver, fired twice at him, the shots entering the left side. Before an alarm could be raised, the burglars got clear away, taking £7 odd in cash." ⁷⁵ A follow-up report stated that Edward Digby "has been progressing favourably, but no clue has been obtained to the identity of the perpetrators." The Grays & Tilbury Gazette stated that: "We understand that Harry Reed, the manager of the Hotel, has tendered his resignation to the brewers and owners of the house, Seabrooke & Sons Ltd., this having been brought about in great part by the shock to Mrs. Reed of the accumulation of unfortunate occurrences, of which the burglary and shooting have served as the climax." ⁷⁶ One of these "unfortunate occurrences" was the death of another customer who was put out of the Ship Hotel for playing up, a case which saw the publican facing questions in court over the incident. Before I visited Tilbury, I was aware of how it was viewed as a dangerous place but, after reading through old newspapers for stories regarding its public-houses, it would seem that it twas ever thus.

A map extract dated 1895 shows the location of the Ship Hotel, along with the footbridge that led from Dock Road to The Canteen....

Figure 62 : Essex LXXXIII.16 1895. [© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.]

There were two licensed houses called the Canteen which makes it a little confusing. On the map the establishment marked was simply called the Canteen. This was also known as the Dock Canteen whilst another establishment was further south by the basin and steam laundry. That place, as its location suggests, was called the Basin Canteen. The latter became known as the Basin Tavern whilst this Canteen altered its name to the Dock Restaurant.

Figure 63 : Station Restaurant, formerly Dock Tavern at Tilbury [Author's Collection]

At the time of this photograph the business was trading as the Dock Restaurant. Those living in Tilbury seemed to sidetrack the confusion by calling them the 'Top Canteen' and 'Bottom Canteen.'

The 'Top' Canteen quickly became known as the Dock Canteen and, subsequently, the Station Restaurant. The reason for the canteen names is almost certainly a combination of two factors. Firstly, a principal role of the two buildings was to serve food to the large number of employees who were unable to leave the dock area during their shift. Secondly, they replaced two temporary canteens that served the vast army of navvies and labourers that had worked on the excavation of the docks.

Figure 64 : The ocean liners Chitral, Strathnaver, Strathaird and Himalaya in Tilbury Docks 1952. [Author's Collection]

During Stage 1 of the cycle journey, the route passed the older West India Docks at the Isle of Dogs, along with the East India Dock Basin at Blackwall, both being close to London. Although suitable in their day, the size and capacity of ships grew significantly in the 19th century. The rail links provided transport to a place where deep water docks would enable the East and West India Docks Company to compete for trade with the London and St. Katherine Dock Company who had built the Royal Albert Dock at Silvertown. The above post-war photograph affords a sense of the site after the docks had been enlarged.

Figure 65 : Plan for Tilbury Docks, in J. F. Scott, "The Construction & Equipment of the Tilbury Docks," Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 120 [1895]: 276-288, fig. 1.

It was on July 3rd, 1882, that an Act of Parliament was passed to allow construction of deep-water docks at Tilbury. Work on the ground commenced five days later. This was no prolonged project akin to HS2. The Victorians did not hang about - the pace of excavation and construction went faster than a checkout operator at Aldi or Lidl. In an article published in the Chelmsford Chronicle in July 1883, by a journalist venturing along to witness the work, stated: "Any one at all familiar with the vast extent of the existing dock accommodation along the Thames could hardly fail to be amazed by a visit just now to the scene the new enterprise in which the East and West India Dock Company have embarked at Tilbury. They are supplementing their present large system, comprising the East India, the West India, and South West India Docks, by a new series of the deepest docks in the world. They - or their contractors - have some 2,000 men, 40 horses, between 30 and 40 locomotive engines, seven steam navvies, and 1,000 trucks all busily employed in the work, which in point of magnitude is such as even the Thames has not hitherto seen." The article went on to describe the works in detail before remarking "the contractors' difficulties have thus far arisen from beer rather than water. There would seem to be great scope for the blue-ribbon folk down here. A fine canteen has been erected with its inevitable beer engine, and another about to be opened." ⁷⁷

These were the canteens to cater for the army of labourers toiling day and night to deliver the project on time. Lighting was installed so that work continued around the clock. The docks were formally opened in April 1886 - less than four years after the first shovel went into the ground. Incredible.

Figure 66 : Commemorative Token for the opening of Tilbury Water Docks. [Author's Collection]

It was at the Grays Brewster Sessions held on Friday 7th, 1883, that the solicitor, Mr. Rawlings, made an application on behalf of Robert Pryor of Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co., for "a provisional licence for a large and commodious hotel and two canteens, about to be erected at the new docks at Tilbury." The magistrates were advised that the proposed expenditure was £45,000 building the hotel, and £10,000 on the two canteens. Mr. Manning, engineer of the new docks, was called as a witness, and stated that "the sanitary arrangements would be such as a great public company ought to afford." Colonel Du Plat Taylor, secretary to the East and West India Dock Company, said "it was intended to have the hotel and canteens ready by the time the new docks were opened, which they hoped would be next July twelvemonth." He further stated that "the canteens would be erected for the accommodation of their own men, who were not enabled to leave the docks after they entered in the morning until they had finished their work at night. The company would have 2,000 men engaged there, and the company hoped to have 5,000 men under the gates if they got the custom they expected to have." The Bench were also informed that tea, and other refreshments would be provided on the premises. The magistrates granted the application, on the condition that the two existing licenses for canteens should be abandoned directly the new docks are opened. Interestingly, at the same sessions, another solicitor representing the interests of Ind Coope and Co., of Romford, sought a provisional license for a hotel, which the company intended to construct near the new docks. However, the Bench refused the application on the ground that no neighbourhood existed there at present.⁷⁸ So, it would appear that Truman's had a monopoly on the lucrative trade in the dock area.

As can be seen in the photograph above [Figure 63], access to the first floor of the 'Top' Canteen, or Station Restaurant as it was known when the image was captured, was via a raised walkway. The building may not have been constructed on the planned site. It was originally proposed to build the canteen over a culvert near the station, but in April 1884 it was found that this could not be achieved, a key reason being that the railway authorities wanted it to be erected on another site nearby. However, there was some wrangling as the magistrates had approved the licence based on the original submitted plans.⁷⁹ I am not sure how the matter was resolved but built it was, the premises beginning to trade in April 1886 when the docks were officially opened. Advertisements for more staff were published in the press during January 1887. In October of that year the licence of the premises was transferred from the brewery representative, holder of the first provisional licence, to Charles E. Leston.⁸⁰ This may be a newspaper typo [see notes for the Canteen Basin].

Rather like the ships that sailed from Tilbury, or that trains arriving from London, the Station Canteen had a first-class and second-class bar.⁸¹ It was no doubt in the latter where most incidents took place, the sort of things that made the newspapers. For example, in October 1891 Thomas Bailey was charged with assaulting a barman named Thomas Gray. After being served with a glass of ale he spat at the barman before throwing the contents of the glass over him. Perhaps the barrel needed changing but this was an outrageous way to behave. He was very apologetic in court where the magistrates fined him.⁸² In March of the same year William Howlett was charged with being drunk and refusing the quit the Station Canteen, and with assaulting the same barman. The latter, seemingly something of a punch-bag for disgruntled customers, told the magistrates that he refused drink for which, without provocation, he received a black eye from Howlett. The drunken imbiber had to pay a fine and costs.⁸³ Another assault at the bar was committed by Patrick Driscoll which cost him a fine. Were they queuing up to have a go at the poor barman? Perhaps he requested a move to the first-class bar where there was a bit of decorum?

Figure 67 : Presentation to Alice Waterson at the Dock Restaurant 1968.

Surviving the pounding taken by the dock area during World War 2, the building stood for just over a century and it was with some sadness that one of the early commercial structures of Tilbury was pulled down. One person who worked behind the servery during the war was Alice Jeanette Christopherson, better known to the regular customers as Janie. Living in Melbourne Road, she clocked up 42 years of service at the Station Restaurant before retiring in 1968. By that time, she had married Robert Waterson. Most of sailors who called at Tilbury for refreshments knew and loved the barmaid. Indeed, for her retirement there was a large collection which was used to buy her a rocking chair, coffee table, and a pair of slippers. Did they imagine that she would spend her days with her feet up? The brewery presented Janie with the hand-pull that she had operated throughout her long career behind the bar - just the sort of thing to go in her woman cave! There was a presentation at the Station Restaurant for her retirement, the manager being Ron Drake, during which Janie recounted how the pub never closed during the war and, "as the bombs dropped around, the customers joined in a sing-song." They had another sing-song on the night of her leaving "with Jim and Fred Lilley on the piano and drums, and other guests playing a variety of instruments, singing and dancing until midnight."

The Basin Canteen was not so fortunate during the Second World War and was bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1941, the building, later known as the Basin Tavern, being completely destroyed. And what a building it was ....

Figure 68 : The Basin Canteen at Tilbury Docks c.1913. [Author's Collection]

The licensing arrangements at the docks seem to have been quite unique. At the Grays Petty Sessions held in November 1887 the licence of all three premises operated by Truman's were transferred to R. E. Sexton.⁸⁴ This was almost certainly the solicitor's manager, Richard Edward Sexton. It would appear that managers were appointed to run the businesses but did not hold the licences. In 1891 Edward George Sexton was running the Basin Canteen. He was the son of Edward and Charlotte Sexton who operated the Whalebone and Brewery at Norwich.⁸⁵ He grew up in that tavern so learned a lot of the trade before serving an apprenticeship in the Merchant Navy, under Shaw, Savill & Co., sailing on the S.S. Zealandia.⁸⁶ In January 1891 he married Theresa Champness, the couple running the Basin Tavern for the remainder of the Victorian era.

Figure 69 : Extract from page 1 of the "Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser" published on Thursday January 16th, 1890.

The Basin Canteen was seemingly a lively place but, by accounts I have found, it was also a more dangerous environment in which to imbibe. However, the most tangible aspect of the building's history is the number of inquests held in the place. Customers must have seen bodies being brought into the Basin Canteen every week. Indeed, the coroner may as well have booked a permanent room to save constant trips to the dock to conduct another enquiry. At least the circumstances were sometimes different for it seems that one could die in every conceivable manner at Tilbury. They could have erected a giant banner next to the river bank with the phrase "Come and have a pint if you think you're hard enough!"

Of course, the melting pot at Tilbury created the perfect storm for outbreaks of bloodthirstiness. Several thousand people worked in the docks in which sailors from all over the world descended on two licensed canteens where things would often kick off. There was even a death threat to the manager, Edward Sexton, simply because he asked a drunken sailor to leave the premises.⁸⁷ Bodies would be brought into the premises of those who had died in fights or were victims of stabbing. Many people were dragged out of ditches or the Thames, the inquests failing to find the reason for the bodies ending up in such situations. Many a jury returned an open verdict, or simply "Found Drowned."

Aside from violent deaths, there was a long litany of accidents in which people died in awful circumstances. Skim past this section if you are squeamish. These are just a few of the many cases heard in the Basin Canteen. On July 23rd, 1912, there were three inquests in one day.⁸⁸ The accident book for the railway must have filled up quickly in the 19th century. One man, a truck marker named John Hinds, was horribly crushed between two buffers, the poor man not even being spared instantaneous death.⁸⁹

Dock workers faced ever-present danger in the course of their daily routine. A stevedore named William Glibbery was engaged in driving a winch on board the S.S. Anubis when he attempted to regulate the tackle. The next thing was that he was seen being revolved round and round the winch, possibly after being drawn into it by his coat. He fractured his skull and broke both legs, lingering for an hour before dying.⁹⁰ Another stevedore, Steve Berry, whilst loading cases of steel into a barge, fell into the vessel and died.⁹¹ Another particularly horrible incident involved John Mallam, a seaman who stepped inside the coiled rope on the deck of S.S. Kingscote, when the vessel moved forward. As the slack rope tightened, he got his leg caught and, in what probably seemed a slow-motion event, he could not escape and experienced a ghastly end to his life.⁹²

In June 1908 a bank holiday cycling jolly wound up being examined at the Basin Canteen when Louisa Roberts, a 22-year-old woman from Rotherhithe, ended her young life at Tilbury Hospital following an accident. She was cycling back to London from Southend-on-Sea with two men, including Sidney Herbert Pledger, when they came upon a traction engine. The men passed the engine safely, but the young woman ran on the bank, and was thrown against the second truck attached to the engine, the wheel of which passed over her right leg and foot. She was first taken to Grays but transferred to the hospital at Tilbury where gangrene set in. Her leg was amputated from the thigh but she subsequently died from blood poisoning.⁹³

In January 1903 there was an outbreak of fire at one of the galvanised iron shops adjoining the Basin Canteen. The flames spread rapidly, and through the efforts of the Dock Brigade, under Inspector Hill, they managed to stop the spread of the fire to the Basin Canteen. The three adjoining shops, however, were completely destroyed, as were the sleeping rooms at the rear, occupied by Edward Sexton, the Canteen Manager.⁹⁴

Figure 72 : Air-Raid Observer using Field Glasses.

Reporting on bomb damage during World War 2 was fairly limited as it would provide information to the enemy. Tilbury Docks were a prime target for the Luftwaffe. It was during one bombing raid in 1941 that the Basin Tavern was destroyed. It was reported in October 1944 that, from the beginning of the war up until February 1941, more than 50,000 bombs of various types were dropped in the Thurrock urban district, including Grays and Tilbury. 88 people were killed in these attacks, 313 injured, and 40 missing [presumed dead]. 274 houses had been destroyed, while nearly 13,000 were damaged.⁹⁵

Opposite the Church of St. John the Baptist on Dock Road there is a cycle path that crosses the railway via a footbridge and connects to Ferry Road. The path passes close to the site of the old steam laundry that stood next to the Basin Tavern.

Figure 73 : Inside the Steam Laundry at Tilbury Docks c.1913. [Author's Collection]

The laundry business must have processed an incredible amount linen and uniforms for the ships that berthed at Tilbury. In January 1914 a fire broke out at the laundry that illuminated the country for ten miles around. The Dublin Fusiliers, stationed at Tilbury Fort, rushed to assist the Dock Fire Brigade in tackling the blaze. The offices and drying room were completely destroyed, but the fire was prevented from spreading to adjoining buildings of the laundry. The linen from several ships at the dock was in the laundry, the estimated damage of which was considerable.

It is a short distance to the old railway station and baggage hall, but it was very disappointing to find the complex fenced off.

Figure 74 : Customs and Baggage Hall of the Port of London Authority c.1924. [Author's Collection]

As can be seen from this photo, the building looked great in its heyday. Designed by Sir Edwin Cooper, architect for the Port of London Authority, the Customs and Baggage Hall was completed in 1924. It was constructed in English bond, red-brown brickwork with rusticated quoining, and dressings of Portland stone. The interior of the hall was set out with initial letters so that passengers could find their belongings at once. It was said that several hundred passengers arriving on a large ocean liner could all be put on their trains within an hour.

From close to the bus turning circle on Fort Road one can see the landing stage and enjoy a view across the River Thames to Gravesend. It was because of the short distance between the two river banks at this point that a ferry service operated in earlier times, certainly by the late 16th century but probably much earlier.

During the First World War, a pontoon bridge was built across the river, creating vehicular access from Tilbury to Gravesend. It was quite an undertaking but facilitated the transportation of military equipment to Kent and onwards to the south coast.

Figure 75 : Pontoon Bridge to Gravesend during World War One. [Author's Collection]

Tugs were used to remove the centre sections to allow shipping to pass, an operation that could take several hours - or more during choppy waters. Indeed, the bridge may have had limited hours in which it was practical to use given the rising tides of the Thames.

Figure 76 : Gunther Plüschow [Image meld of 2 picture postcards by author]

The German military no doubt learned of the bridge but if they were unaware of the undertaking it was certainly reported by Gunther Plüschow, the only German prisoner-of-war in World War I to escape from Britain back to his homeland. The aviator, whose escapades make him comparable to Indiana Jones, snuck on board a boat leaving Tilbury docks bound for the Netherlands.

Figure 77 : P&O Cruise Liner berthed at the Landing Stage 1948. [Author's Collection]

This post-war photograph shows the railway station and baggage hall, along with the landing stage. I also have marked the site of the Tilbury Hotel in the bottom left of the image. An Act of Parliament of 1922 authorised the Port of London Authority to construct a passenger landing stage, work on which commenced two years later. The company's architect, Sir Edwin Cooper incorporated a floating platform designed to rise and fall with the tide. Five conveyor bridges for baggage, would connect the landing stage with the Customs Baggage Hall. The railway station was to be enlarged with extra platform space for trains from London. This facility, designed to make the transition from ocean liners to the railway network easier, was officially opened in 1930 by the then Prime Minister, J. Ramsey MacDonald.

Figure 78 : Plan of the Floating Landing Stage drawn by G. H. Davies 1922. [Author's Collection]

Due to site restrictions, our position overlooking the landing stage is the closest possible location the public can get to the site of the Tilbury Hotel. In the 1948 photograph, the officers' dwellings can be seen next to the vacant site of the hotel. These dwellings are plotted on Goad's Insurance Plan published in 1891 .....

Figure 78 : Goad's Insurance Plan showing the Tilbury Hotel 1891.

All the stops were pulled out for the construction of the Tilbury Hotel. This was a flagship building to cater for passengers travelling on the ocean liners from the docks of the East and West India Docks Company.

Figure 79 : Tilbury Hotel c.1914. [Author's Collection]

When opened in time for the luncheon at the opening ceremony of the docks, the Tilbury Hotel was described as "fitted up and furnished by Messrs. Maple and Co. in the most complete manner. The hotel was constructed by Messrs Perry and Co. of Bow, from the designs of Edward Augustus Gruning, and will be worked by Messrs. Truman, Hanbury and Buxton and Co., the celebrated brewers, under the arrangement with the Dock Company. The building is lighted throughout by electric light; the power being supplied by duplicate engines and dynamos fitted up in an engine house at a short distance from the hotel. It may be mentioned that the building is of a modified Jacobean style of architecture. The superstructure is supported on 428 pitch pine piles, averaging about 55 feet in length and 14 inches square, all driven firmly into the gravel bed which here overlies the chalk. The vertical surfaces of the exterior walls are covered with red tiles except on the upper floor, which is of half-timber works, the interstices being filled with rough cast." ⁹⁶

One thing's for sure, as a member of the proletariat, if I had been around in the 1880s there was no way I would have been able to venture inside this luxurious hotel. I would have been supping in the Ship Hotel trying to avoid the flying glasses and bagatelle balls. The Tilbury Hotel catered for the affluent travellers joining ships berthed at Tilbury. There was even a hydraulic lift for all their luggage.

An advertisement dated 1888 printed in the St. James's Gazette, a publication favoured by the well-heeled, shows that the Tilbury Hotel was not purely for travellers of ocean liners. Patrons could nip along to enjoy the facilities during a day trip from Fenchurch Street. Some may also have sailed along the Thames. The advertisement showed that John Privett was the first manager of the hotel which had "110 bedrooms and every provision for the comfort and accommodation of visitors."

In the spring of April 1889 notice advertisements for the re-opening of the Tilbury Hotel appeared in the newspapers.

Figure 80 : Extract from page 4 of the "Gravesend Journal" published on Saturday March 16th, 1889.

I am not exactly sure why the place had closed. I can only offer conjecture that it was during the period when, through trading difficulties and debt restructuring, the East and West India Docks Company formed a cooperative agreement with the London & St. Katharine Dock Company. Certainly, the issue of the hotel came up in a meeting in which the financial affairs were discussed. The company had seemingly footed the bill but the brewery was enjoying the profits. Yet, it was the dock company that faced liabilities should it fail. There were also dock strikes during this period. Or perhaps there were other issues. Whatever the reason, John Privett, along with his wife Louisa, left to take over the management of a temperance hotel in Bloomsbury.⁹⁷

With its reading rooms, billiard room, tennis courts, croquet lawns and gardens, the Tilbury Hotel was not immune from crime and disorder. In January 1890 Mrs. Smith, the manageress, was a victim of a jewellery heist, the precious items being stolen from her bedroom. The police suspected professional hotel thieves.⁹⁸ In August 1907, in an act more associated with the Basin Canteen, the neck of Charles May was slashed with a razor during a fight in the bar.⁹⁹

Figure 81 : Tilbury Hotel c.1920. [Author's Collection]

In February 1918, at the Kent Assizes, three teenagers, Harold John Wesley Gurr, Frederick George Blogg and Ernest Cecil Adams, were each ordered to be kept in a reformatory for three years for setting fire and destroying the training ship Warspite at Swanscombe on January 20th.¹⁰⁰ In July of the same year, at the quarterly meeting of the Governors of the Marine Society, it was announced that "the Port of London Authority would lease to the society for three years a sufficient portion of the Tilbury Hotel to accommodate 200 boys who were under training in H.M.S. President, which was lent by the Admiralty when the Warspite was destroyed." ¹⁰¹ Subsequently, the drawing room was converted into a classroom for the boys. Looking at advertisements for the hotel during the Edwardian period, it would seem that the tariffs were reduced to realign the hotel in the market. This may have been a result of the hotel being taken over by the Port of London Authority. It was probably not the high-class establishment of old, the aim being to draw in more custom from those with a lower budget. The addition of 200 boys in the building must surely have dented its reputation as a high-class Thames resort.

In April 1935, at West Tilbury Parish Church, Professor Albert Sutherland Buckhurst, of the Ministry for Agriculture, married Miss Lilian Wright, manageress of the Tilbury Hotel. It was Professor Buckhurst who, while on a holiday visit to Tilbury, discovered a Colorado Beetle on the landing stage. He immediately notified the Ministry, and the Tilbury Hotel was adopted as headquarters for the fight with the beetle. Albert Buckhurst stayed at the hotel with other experts, and so met Lilian Wright.¹⁰²

The Tilbury Hotel took a direct hit from an incendiary bomb during an air raid on February 4th, 1944. With one exception all 150 guests and staff in the building escaped.¹⁰³ With the building constructed on piles and comprising of much timber, the building could not be saved by the fire brigade and it was completely destroyed. The one person to lose their life in the bombing raid was Captain William Ernest Bridges of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps.

Figure 82 : The Ferry at Tilbury from World's End Wharf [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

I took this photograph of the landing stage from the site of World's End Wharf, now the pub car park. There was once a causeway here at the wharf. By the way there is no charge for bicycles should one want to make the river crossing on the ferry which runs every 30 minutes. We had no time for such folly as we were more concerned with the tavern with a rather enigmatic inn sign.

A road south from West Tilbury across the marshes led to an ancient ferry to Gravesend that, in the 16th century, was under the ownership of the Lord of the Manor of Parrock in Milton-next-Gravesend. Inhabitants of the marshes were few and far between in those times, the land given over to sheep grazing. A larger ferry boat may have transported livestock as there was a market that endured until Victorian times. In the 19th century the market was held just to the north of the World's End pub. The remoteness of the area in the 16th and 17th centuries is the possible reason for such an inn sign. However, as a place offering refreshment to the weary traveller, the original building next to the ferry was called the Suttling House, due to its proximity to Tilbury Fort. In 1631 the Commissioner for Ordnance reported: "No man lodgeth within the Fort but the Master-Gunner, who keepeth a victualling house for fisherfolks near adjoining, a disparagement of His Majesty's Services."

Figure 83 : Boat on the Thames. Illustration in Friedrich Rechlinger's Album Amicorum [c.1600], Bodleian Library, MS Douce 244, fol. 49r.

Some, indeed many, claim that the tavern, thought to have been known as The Lamb and also The Ferry House, changed the sign after a visit by Samuel Pepys who it is claimed said: "this place is like the end of the world." Compared to the bustle of the City of London, no doubt Tilbury was rather desolate but I am not buying it, largely because there has been, I believe, a misinterpretation of his last diary entry of Monday 31st May, 1669 ... "And thence had another meeting with the Duke of York, at White Hall, on yesterday's work, and made a good advance: and so, being called by my wife, we to the Park, Mary Batelier, and a Dutch gentleman, a friend of hers, being with us. Thence to "The World's End," a drinking-house by the Park; and there merry, and so home late." And so, all across the Internet and in print, people have made the connection to this remote tavern on the Thames. However, the clue is in the word Park, a reference probably to Hyde Park near to which was an old tavern and noted house of entertainment called the World's End in the time of the diarist. However, it is true that the old soak and party animal visited Grays Thurrock four years earlier in September 1665 and took a boat from there to Gravesend. But again, who am I trying to let the truth get in the way of a good story!

I am not sure of the exact age of the present World's End. When the building was listed in 1974 it was stated that the weather-boarded house was late 17th or early 18th century, with 19th century additions and alterations. In stark contrast with the immediate surroundings that includes a scaffolding yard, the building looks very neat. This is probably a legacy of a fire in the 1990s which caused considerable damage to the property.

Figure 84 : The World's End at Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Unfortunately for us, the place was not open so we could not venture inside. Mind you, having seen photographs of the interior online I do not think we missed out on a pub jewel.

Several refurbishments have done for the old ambience, compounded by a pool table and games machines. Worst of all, the pub does not sell any draught beer. Photographs of the servery do not show any hand-pulls. For such a tavern this is very poor, verging on disgraceful. Lance Bierdrinker was incandescent with rage. The only pub left in town and no beer to be had.

Like many of the pubs visited in West Thurrock and Grays, the World's End Inn formed part of the tied-estate of Seabrooke & Sons Ltd., before passing into the Charrington's portfolio of pubs. The aforementioned livestock and agricultural market was taken up by William Creed, landlord of the World's End Inn from the late 1820s until his death in 1847. He was seemingly a larger-than-life character who made a determined bid to create a popular destination pub next to Tilbury Fort.

Figure 85 : Extract from Page 1 of the "Essex Standard" published on Friday November 16th, 1838.

It would be interesting to know what William Creed thought about the 1838 plan to open a floating bridge from the World's End to Gravesend, particularly as, in 1844, he was recorded as the owner of the existing ferry service. It was in March of that year that a fatal accident took place on the river. The Essex Standard reported that the ferry-boat belonging to the publican left the jetty next to the tavern in the charge of two men, named Bailey and Howard, who were carrying two passengers. The sail was made fast, and a sudden squall upset the boat which was some distance from the jetty from where the accident was observed. The boatmen of Gravesend, it was reported, "vied with each other in their efforts to reach the spot, but before any assistance could be afforded Bailey and Howard, who were dressed in fishermens' heavy boots and linen petticoat trousers, were seen to relax their hold of the boat and sink. The passengers were, however, taken up, but in an exhausted state, and conveyed to the Three Daws public-house, at Gravesend." The two men who drowned were inhabitants of Gravesend and married. Bailey's wife was pregnant at the time, and had three children wholly unprovided for.¹⁰⁴

Figure 86 : Image meld by author including a drawing of Tilbury Fort by S. Owen, engraved by W. Cooke published in May 1809 by Vernor, Hood & Sharpe, Poultry, & W. Cooke, 2 Clarence Place, Pentonville, with "An explanation of the works of the tunnel under the Thames from Rotherhithe to Wapping," by W. Warrington, published in 1838, and a portrait drawing of Ralph Dodd in the collection of the Scottish National Gallery.

The ferry was under threat of being superseded long before the idea of a floating bridge. In 1798 the engineer Ralph Dodd had drawn up plans and a cost estimate for the construction of a tunnel between Gravesend and Tilbury. His plan for "a cylindrical tunnel, to be constructed entirely with key-stones, was to be 16 feet in the clear, illuminated with lamps, and a steam engine to draw off the drainage water, if any should accumulate." He estimated that the undertaking would cost £15,995 for 900 yards of tunnelling.¹⁰⁵ The alternative to the 900 yards was a 50-mile journey to cross the river at London Bridge. The plan was warmly received by subscribers to the scheme who spent many hours in London taverns promoting the project. Investors were no doubt totting up the profits to be gained from the tolls, whilst others considered its military benefits during a period when giving the French a good kicking was on the minds of those in power.

No need for me to apologise for a pun, their use can be fun ... the project was not simply a pipe dream by a mad engineer. Sufficient funds were raised, or what was deemed to be sufficient funds, and following the passing of a bill in the House of Lords in July 1799,¹⁰⁶ work commenced. Did I mention that, up to this date, nowhere in the world had such a subterranean engineering undertaking been completed successfully? Did you, the reader, notice that Ralph Dodd suggested "a steam engine to draw off the drainage water, if any should accumulate?" And did I highlight the folly of his budget? No matter where a bore hole was dug, it filled with water. The committee, instead of having a re-think, simply ordered a more powerful steam engine to drain the water. By the spring of 1801 the press started to compare the project with the Euphrates Tunnel of Babylon,¹⁰⁷ reminding readers that the latter was indeed only a legend.¹⁰⁸ In October 1802, worried investors were starting to think the project was foredoomed to failure when the engine house at Gravesend burned down.¹⁰⁹ Soldiering on, work re-commenced in December 1802. The new steam engine was cranked up to the max and did achieve some success at keeping the water at bay. However, much to the chagrin of the townsfolk of Gravesend, it started to drain the wells of the town.¹¹⁰ It was not long after, with half of the £30,000 subscription expended, that the project was deemed a failure and abandoned. The landlord at the World's End must have chuckled as the threat to the ferry trade did indeed turn into a pipe dream.

Assisting his father in the business, John Creed organised a race meeting on the marshes next to the World's End in April 1845, including one event in which a man competed against a horse in a hurdles race. The prospect of such a spectacle drew a very large audience. The ferry boat was packed on repeat crossings. It was reported that "crowds of persons continually embarked from the Kentish ferry for the opposite shore, and so judiciously were the arrangements made on water and land that Mr. J. Creed, proprietor of the World's End Tavern and Ferry, received the deserved approbation of all present." By the way, the horse only just about won by half a yard! ¹¹¹ At this time trade at the World's End was so busy that the family employed seven servants.¹¹²

Another event to draw a crowd was held in April 1843. An information board close to the sea wall mentions the events after a pigeon shoot held outside, followed by a meal and drinks inside the tavern. I was intrigued to learn more about the violent clash inside the World's End so found the article in the Essex Standard that reported on the events. It was stated that "a quarrel took place at the World's End between some countrymen and a party of soldiers. At one time between 70 and 80 of the latter were in the affray, armed with bayonets, pokers, and other weapons, but the countrymen kept them at bay until the arrival of a strong picquet from the Fort. Several of the countrymen were much hurt, and 11 soldiers were so much injured that it was necessary to send them to the Hospital. During the affray the soldiers procured ladders, and entered the window of an upper room, in which a party were dining who had been shooting in a pigeon match, and one or two of the party were very roughly handled." ¹¹³

Figure 87 : The World's End at Tilbury 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

The remoteness of the marshes meant that it could be a dangerous place to traverse, particularly as one was likely to run into drunken soldiers from the fort. In August 1845 three soldiers from the 95th Regiment of Foot, James Harding, John Conolly and Felix McKeone, were charged with raping Elizabeth Aldred, wife of James Aldred, the village blacksmith in nearby West Tilbury. They had spent the Sunday at the riverside and called into the World's End for refreshments. It was on their way home that they encountered the soldiers on the marshes. The men had been drinking at the King's Head in West Tilbury and had an air of malevolence. They assaulted the blacksmith with a stick, knocking him senseless. Harding and McKeone then assaulted Elizabeth Aldred. Her husband rallied and attempted to come to her aid but the men brutally attacked him again. Elizabeth Aldred made her way back to West Tilbury in the belief that her husband had been killed. The police went in search of the men who had gone to the World's End trying to board the ferry. They had missed the 9pm tattoo at the Fort and were subsequently arrested. At their trial the judge, Lord Denman, stated that they had been convicted of "an offence of a diabolical character, attended by circumstances most atrocious, and almost unparalleled." He wished that he could sentence them to death but, as the blacksmith survived the assault, he could only sentence them to transportation for life. The soldiers were taken to the gaol at Springfield where they twice attempted to escape.¹¹⁴ They were amongst the 200 men who were transported to Norfolk Island in May 1846, the place reserved for the worst description of convicts.

Much of the early trade at the World's End Inn came from across the river. However, following the construction of the railway, advertisements were pitched towards those venturing to Tilbury from London and other places. James Treadwell made the place more respectable for the strait-laced Victorians wishing to take tea in the gardens or simply enjoy a walk.

Figure 88 : Extract from page 4 of the "Gravesend Reporter, North Kent and South Essex Advertiser" published on Saturday August 11th, 1866.

The opening of the canteens at the dock must have had quite an impact on trade at the World's End Inn. The bankruptcy proceedings of James Spencer Chapman suggest it was a tough gig running the tavern at the turn of the 20th century. In reply to the Official Receiver at the Chelmsford Bankruptcy Court in February 1906, the publican said: "he commenced business at the World's End Inn about 6 years ago, with a capital of £400 which represented his life's savings as a foreman engineer." He remarked that "the causes of his failure were bad trade, house going down, and takings consequently reduced." The Receiver said: "the house is not actually falling down, is it?" to which James Chapman replied: "It soon will be; it is suffering from senile decay and was condemned four years ago." He added that "the establishment of Workmen's Clubs had also reduced his trade," adding that "the house was in a bad locality, and he had to keep a strong man as a "chucker-out." He had been kicked all over the body by rascals." In a further explanation of his situation, he told the receiver that "he had paid £800 for the business, which he considered a fair price at the time, but he afterwards found that he had been misled. When the lease of the house was purchased by Messrs. Seabrooke, he had an offer of leaving the house or paying a premium of £150. He agreed to do the latter, and they debited him with a loan of £150, but he received no money." He had become tied to the brewery's products which reduced his profits, remarking that "the "ties" of the tied-house were stronger than those of wedlock," which caused laughter in the court. The Receiver said: "I think they cannot be divorced. I often wonder why they don't charge upon our wives and daughters, as well as everything else." ¹¹⁵

Figure 89 : The World's End at Tilbury c.1960s [Author's Collection]

Before continuing along the estuary, I will just mention the storm of January 1881 in which only one of seven yachts moored outside the World's End Inn remained afloat. The back part of the pub was destroyed, an upper storey of two rooms being blown down completely to the ground. So, whatever date the tavern was constructed, some of the building is Victorian.

Figure 90 : London SE - OS One-Inch Map [1954] © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.

In our bid to stay close to the water, and after cycling along some of the grotty industrial areas, we were looking forward to riding along a greener route towards Coalhouse Fort, a couple of kilometres to the east. But hang on, it is only 300 metres from the pub to the Water Gate of the more famous Tilbury Fort.

Figure 91 : The Water Gate at Tilbury Fort [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

As part of his Device programme, the construction of an earlier fort was ordered by King Henry VIII to assist in the protection of London against attack from France. The authorities' nerves were on edge again during the conflict with the Spanish Armada so the fort was improved in the late 16th century. To appreciate the fort, it is probably best viewed from the air and thanks to Mervyn Rands a fine view has been made available to all ....

Figure 92 : Aerial View of Tilbury Fort 2018 [© Mervyn Rands. Reproduced with kind permission under the Creative Commons Attribution licence]

This aerial view shows the star-shaped bastioned works with double moats that gave superior fire in defence and maximum difficulty for an enemy to penetrate in the centre of the fortress.

In the 1870s earth was mounded up outside some of the bastions to protect the fort against the heavier guns then being deployed. An information board informs the visitor of a mock attack carried out in 1798 when four divisions of men, guns and ammunition wagons landed on the Essex shore under heavy cannon fire to launch an assault on the defence network. Grenadier Guard redcoats stormed the fort and redoubts to the delight of the thousands of spectators. The ecstatic crowd then probably stormed the World's End which no doubt enjoyed bumper trade.

Figure 93 : Opening Ceremony for the opening of Tilbury Fort to the public 1958 [Author's Collection]

In this photograph the Minister of Works, Hugh Molson, is speaking at the Water Gate on the day that Tilbury Fort was opened to the public on May 20th, 1958. After the address, the Minister, assisted by Hugh Delargy, M.P. for Thurrock, and Councillor Ridgewell, Chairman of Thurrock U.D.C., pushed open the Water Gate.

The route to Coalhouse Fort forms part of the Two Forts Way trail, itself a section of the Thames Estuary Path. Leaving Tilbury Fort, the path is smooth-ish tarmac on top of the sea wall. However, although I knew it would be pleasant along the East Tilbury Marshes, I could see the impending power station and sewage works was going to present something of a problem. The power station was being slowly dismantled. The towers of the B station were demolished a couple of years before our trip.

The path meanders in a little at the mouth of Bill Meroy Creek. Formerly known as Pincock's Creek, the name was changed in the 18th century to that of a local cattle farmer¹¹⁶ who, I assume, worked the land of Marsh Farm. A more romantic etymological explanation published in the Port of London Authority Monthly [110/111] stated "Meroy was a smuggler, and others that he was one whose dead body was found in the Creek."

Figure 94 : Collier Signal Station at Meroy Creek near Tilbury 1936 [Author's Collection]

The creek marked the point where tax was payable on coal being transported to London from the northern minefields.¹¹⁷ There used to be a building on the riverside that acted as the coal factor lookout and signal post. The building was known as the Tilbury Collier Signal Station. It was positioned close to the sea wall on top of a concrete searchlight emplacement from around 1904. The look-out collected data of coal loads arriving by ship for delivery to the London wharves. Inevitably, this led to the development of a coal wharf further along the river in order to avoid the tax - hence the name of Coalhouse Point.

Figure 95 : Path and Steps next to sea wall near the Power Station at Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Here are the steps over the sea defences near the power station. Although the path is primarily for walkers, the steps do have a ramp or channel for cyclists to wheel their bikes over the obstacle. In theory that is - try pushing a fully-laden touring bike up one of those steep channels. Moreover, the channel for bike wheels is too close to the railings of the steps so pannier bags will just not fit in such a tight space. There was nothing for it, I carried our bikes over the obstacle. The sea defences here are vital. It was a breach in the sea wall here through which flood waters inundated Tilbury in 1953. I will discuss the terrible floods later on in this journey.

Once over the steps there is a concrete surface just about wide enough to cycle along. I imagine that not many cyclists, especially those riding fully-laden touring bikes, come along this section. But, feeling a little like pioneers, we were chuffed to sticking to our plan of riding as close to the river as possible.

Figure 96 : Path next to sea wall near the Power Station at Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

We rode underneath the pier on which coal was fed into the power station. Plans for the site to be converted into Tilbury2 Port were advanced by the time of our trip so I imagine some form of pier will still be necessary. Perhaps this old pier will go and, if so, I can add it to our list of "lost buildings and structures" that we saw on our trip before they were subsequently removed from the landscape.

Figure 97 : Power Station Pier at Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

After the pier and sea wall the route deteriorates to a dirt track but it is perfectly cyclable on road tyres. This continues until the heavy lorry crossing where huge dumper trucks transport landfill from barges arriving at the pontoon and jetty pier. And here was me thinking we would be in greener territory. In fact, the East Tilbury Marshes have been used as London's dumping ground for decades. In places, coastal erosion has resulted in rubbish and other dangerous forms of waste leaking into the River Thames. Anybody dipping their toes into the water along this part of the Essex shore needs their head examining. I felt a little contaminated just by riding past the pontoon and jetty where an endless supply of household waste arrives on barges. London residents have their own Omertà code over the issue in that they see the barges heading downstream but close their eyes to it and dare not mention it to their neighbours. It looked to my untrained eye that the lorries were transporting ash from the demolition work being done at the power station. Nice.

After the lorry crossing point things get nice and smooth again with tarmac under the wheels. As we were approaching the East Tilbury Radar Tower, we saw a woman with two children rummaging on the water's edge. The trio were scouring the mud and rock on the foreshore. I suspected that they were mudlarking but I stopped just to confirm. They seemed to be having fun but I wondered about their sanity considering the nearby landfill site. Ironically, not long before our cycle trip Lara Maiklem had just published "Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames" and we were fresh from listening to the audio version on Radio 4, a lovely account of discovering treasure or 'old stuff.' We wished them well and pedalled on.

Figure 98 : Radar Tower at East Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

The radar tower was built in the Second World War. This was top secret stuff at the time so the structure was marked as a water tower on maps. Octagonal in shape, the tower was operated by the Royal Navy. Some form of accommodation was in the lower part of the structure, alongside the power plant and electrical equipment. The upper part of the tower contained the aerial array which I believe was used to detect minefield activity - hence it being staffed by the Royal Navy rather than the Royal Air Force.

Figure 99 : Cake at the Engine Room Café of Coalhouse Fort at East Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Close to the radar tower there is a fork in the track and we turned left and headed to the Engine Room Café of Coalhouse Fort. To be honest we were dying for a cuppa, the bonus being that they also sell huge wodges of cake. Lance had not simmered down from the fact there was no boozing in Tilbury. The Yellow Peril was chucking a tizzy, demanding cake to salvage his day. His appetite for cake is almost up there with his capacity for beer. As ever, us saps had to pick up his tab.

Figure 100 : Aerial view of Coalhouse Fort at East Tilbury [© Image courtesy of thurrock.gov.uk]

Piling into the café before looking at the fort is not such a bad tactic. There is a wealth of information dotted around the room so it is a good introduction to the site whilst enjoying a mug of tea.

The aerial photograph of the fortification provides an excellent visual tour d'horizon of Coalhouse Fort. Built between 1861 and 1874 due to tensions with the French, the fort replaced older defences to the south-east of the parish church. The final phases of construction were supervised by Colonel Charles George Gordon of Gravesend, the old soldier who later died in the siege at Khartoum.

No sooner had the fort been completed the guns were obsolete. In subsequent years the fort was adapted to support smaller quick-firing guns that were more effective against fast-moving surface and aerial targets.

Figure 101 : Gun Emplacements of Coalhouse Fort at East Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

With further development of ship design and weapon technology in the late 19th century, a battery of four quick-fire guns were installed to the south of the fort, closer to the river. A battery of six long-range breech-loading 'disappearing' guns were also built to the north of the parish church. This battery was concealed behind a defensive bank which made it almost invisible to enemy ships.

Figure 102 : H.M.S. Champion [Author's Collection]

During the First World War Coalhouse Fort operated as an Examination Service Battery. The wooden Victorian warship, HMS Champion, was moored in the river to help check incoming ships. Gunners from the Royal Garrison Artillery were instructed to fire across the bow of any ship that failed to stop for inspection. London Electrical Engineers operated the searchlights and maintained the engines.

A centrepiece display inside the café is the base on which three Hornsby-Akroyd oil engines were installed, powering dynamos which generated electricity for the fort's searchlights during the First World War. In the 1930s these were replaced by a single Crossley engine which powered the searchlights throughout the Second World War.

Figure 103 : Unveiling of Coalhouse Fort War Memorial [Author's Collection]

This is an extraordinary photograph in that it shows the unveiling of a war memorial midway through the First World War. It is quite a gathering of people, perhaps the full garrison with soldiers from another location brought in for the occasion. However, the Commanding Officer of the London Electrical Engineers reportedly did not support the erection of a cenotaph. Some have suggested that it was deemed to have a negative impact on the morale of the troops. I believe that it was blown up rather than simply removed. Certainly, fragments of the cenotaph have been found in the nearby churchyard.

Coalhouse Fort was decommissioned in 1949, the buildings later being used as a store for the local shoe factory. The fort and surrounding land were acquired and developed into a public park by the council, though the fort became derelict. In 1985 the fort was leased to a voluntary preservation group, the Coalhouse Fort Project, and with the help of a grant from the National Lottery, restored the complex. Further funding was secured from Warner Bros. when the film studio used Coalhouse Fort as a location for the opening scenes of "Batman Begins."

Figure 104 : Stump of Church Tower at East Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Circumnavigating the site alongside the ditch around Coalhouse Fort, brought us to Saint Catherine's Church, historically recorded with a 'K,' but formerly dedicated to Saint Margaret. This image shows the stump of the church tower, a part of the building with an interesting story, though some of it may be folklore rather than fact. Somebody somewhere must have stated that the original tower was destroyed during the second Anglo-Dutch war when ships, under the command of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, raided the shores of England in 1667. This account has been compounded through its inclusion in many articles and books.¹¹⁸ However, in more recent times some doubt has been raised on the matter largely because ecclesiastical records suggest that the church was rather dilapidated by the 17th century and, as a result, the tower may have simply collapsed. The Dutch fable may be more fanciful but it is preferable to the Walter Mitty within me.

Figure 105 : Church Tower Memorial Stone at East Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

The base of a new tower seen above was the work of the No.2 Company, London Electrical Engineers from the neighbouring Coalhouse Fort. With work commencing in 1917, their plan was to completely rebuild the tower as a memorial to those who had been killed in the First World War. Unfortunately, the work was halted by a combination of the military top brass, local authorities and church administrators, possibly because the proper forms had not been submitted and approved. Whatever the reason, this must have been dented the morale of those engaged in the work. The surviving stump of the tower now houses the vestry.

Figure 106 : Church of Saint Catherine at East Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

East Tilbury is an ancient settlement and, despite parts of the parish church dating back to the 12th century, there was an even older place of worship dedicated to Saint Cidd that stood on ground now under the present water level of the river. Of greater antiquity were the English-Romano hut circles discovered in the mud during 1920 when there was an extraordinary drop in the water level. These were dated to the first or second century. Do not go looking for them - they are apparently lost under a landfill site. A Roman burial place was discovered near the Low Street railway station. Extensive Roman potteries appear to have existed in this district, one kiln being discovered close to the churchyard wall.¹¹⁹

St. Catherine's Church is constructed in flint and rubble, along with some Roman and medieval brickwork and Reigate dressings. The Nave and North Aisle of the church were constructed in the 12th century. The Chancel dates from the following century but was possibly a rebuild. The church was re-dedicated in the early-mid 1880s. There are some interesting 20th century additions to the interior, including a Catherine Wheel and a tile fish in the floor by the lectern.

Figure 107 : The Ship at East Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Just along the road from the church stands The Ship. I think it took me until East Tilbury to realise just how many times we would encounter this inn sign on the journey. We had already visited several on the way to East Tilbury. The pub served two real ales and is popular for its food offer. There are two bars and restaurant, or you can sit outside in the beer garden.

For much of the 19th century the Ship Inn was kept by the Archbold family. In the late 1820s Richard and Mary Archbold were in charge of the house. There was no competition for trade in East Tilbury, though the George and Dragon was a short distance away at Muckingford.

In 1846 an inquest was held at the Ship Inn on the body of Josiah Bisby, a former soldier in the 46th Regiment. Serving for some 12 years, including a spell in Belfast, he was discharged from the army after sustaining a leg injury. At the inquest William Hardy, a sergeant in the 46th Regiment, stated that he had known Josiah Bisby since 1834 and regarded him as an "uncommonly odd person, a wild, reckless sort of man." He added that Josiah Bisby had once deserted to join the Queen of Spain's service. He encountered Josiah Bisby a few days earlier when he turned up at Tilbury Fort with a revolver looking to shoot another sergeant in the 46th Regiment, a man with whom he held a long-standing grudge. On being told that he was not at the fort, Bisby remained in the area, acting rather oddly. He drank in The Swan at nearby Horndon-on-the-Hill where the publican, Charles Robinson, noted his odd behaviour. He later assaulted and raped Caroline Brooks of the same village and threatened to kill her if she screamed. The police, being alerted, Constable Joseph Hammond went to Mucking and East Tilbury in search of the former soldier. He and another constable named Cracknell were tipped off that Josiah Bisby was near the saltings. However, when they spotted him and approached, the solider held the revolver to his head and shot himself. He did not die until after he was carried to the Ship Inn where a crowd of 30 patrons had a night they never forgot.¹²⁰

Figure 108 : The Ship at East Tilbury 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

In this photograph, taken in 1930, one can see the older Ship Inn, another house operated by Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. of Grays., before their acquisition by Charrington's. The old building fronted the lane - I would imagine that the new pub was built behind this tavern whilst it was still trading and then demolished to make room for a car park.

When Coalhouse Fort was being constructed in the 1860s a works was established for the men engaged on the site. Eliza Archbold, publican of the Ship Inn, successfully applied for a licence to sell beer at the works. Perhaps she thought it was better than having a load of construction workers piling into her house.

There were a number of inquests held at the Ship Inn during the Victorian period. These cases dealt with a range of accidents and deaths, some of the unfortunate souls being washed up on the foreshore. Another was held for Sarah Clayton, a local nurse, who fell down the stairs and died from her injuries. There were two separate incidents in which soldiers died after falling from the top of the fort whilst on duty.

Figure 109 : The Ship at East Tilbury 1939 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

This photograph shows The Ship around 1957, not too long after the new building was erected. Check out the model of the sailing ship mounted on the arm of the inn sign. The licensee during this period was a local man, Arthur Gladwell. The licensee of The Ship from the First World War almost until World War 2 was James Henry Purser. He had only just retired when he collapsed whilst enjoying a tipple in a pub at Grays.¹²¹

Winding the clock back to the year 1900, I came across a story that is rather unique in that it involves the position of an outside urinal. As these crude facilities were slowly eradicated in the latter years of the 20th century, I rather liked the novelty of pubs that had retained them. These days they are extremely rare. The story of the urinal at the Ship Inn made the local newspaper and it was through this I learned that the pub was once operated by the Writtle Brewery Co. Ltd. It was in July of 1900 that a Mr. Hurst reported that a nuisance existed at the urinal of the Ship Inn. He arranged to meet the manager of the Writtle Brewery, who agreed to do all he could to abate the nuisance. However, following that meeting Mr. Hurst received more complaints as to the indecent use of the place. He wrote to the brewery suggesting that the urinal be moved to the other side of the building. This was rejected by the Writtle Brewery. Dr. Rea Corbet, the Medical Officer for Health, said the urinal was overlooked by the bedroom windows of an adjoining house. The woman living next door complained of the stench, claiming it was awful and had been so for years. The Orsett Rural District Council served a notice to abate the nuisance.¹²²

Figure 110 : Baťa Shoe Factory and Statue of Tomáš Baťa at East Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Cycling north-west away from The Ship it was a tadge disappointing to see that many of the old buildings along the main road had disappeared. Opposite Rose Cottage, however, there is an interesting terrace dating from 1837. For those who are so inclined it is possible to trudge through some undergrowth to look at the East Tilbury Battery, otherwise it is around 1.5km to the former Bata shoe factory, now the Bata Heritage Centre. The factory closed in 2005 and fell into some decay but it has been restored as a visitor centre with information on a quite extraordinary story.

The company was founded by the Baťa family in 1894 in what is now the Czech Republic. The firm's rise was meteoric and an innovative business strategy adopted by Tomáš Baťa during the depression after World War One resulted in a massive increase in sales. This led to further factories being opened in other parts of Europe. The clergyman of Tilbury, Reverend William Charles Bown, invited Tomáš Baťa to the village with a view to him opening a factory to alleviate unemployment. Tomáš Baťa went all-in and brought in Czech architects to design a modernist factory and model town. This part of East Tilbury became known as "Bata-ville" where housing was constructed for the workers, along with shopping and leisure amenities.

Figure 111 : Baťa Cinema at East Tilbury [Author's Collection]

In addition to sport facilities and a lido, the company built a cinema for the village largely occupied by the firm's employees. Located on the corner of Gloucester Avenue, the building now serves as a community centre. Opening on October 14th, 1938, with the musical "Stars on Parade," the cinema could seat 400 patrons and was open for three nights a week. With the exception of the two Phillips projectors and various fittings, the whole of the work was carried out by the firm's building department. It was built throughout with red brick on a steel frame, and included, in addition to the auditorium, vestibule and operating-box, a large stage, fully equipped with lighting effects, tabs and drop curtains.¹²³

Figure 112 : Baťa Shops in the 1950s at East Tilbury [Author's Collection]

Of course, I have simplified the story of Baťa at East Tilbury into a couple of paragraphs but it is worth investigating further if you have time on your journey. It is different to places like Port Sunlight but the complex and housing estate is an important part of manufacturing and social history. We wished we had more time here but, before we headed off, we cycled along Baťa Avenue and other streets to look at the housing built for those who worked in the shoe factory. Speaking to some of the older residents, most people have fond memories of working at the shoe factory, the camaraderie and the social life.

Figure 113 : Baťa War Memorial at East Tilbury [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

We paused at the war memorial erected in honour of the company's employees who died in the Second World War. The large number of people who died was a surprise to us. The Baťa Heritage Centre website has details of the individuals who did not return home.

Figure 114 : Advertisement for Baťa Biker Touring Shoes [Author's Collection]

More recently known as Stanford House, a large block was formerly the Baťa Hotel, though it was originally known as Community House when constructed in the mid-1930s, housing shops and social facilities.

Figure 115 : Advertisement for Baťa Cycling Shoes [Author's Collection]

Figure 116 : East Tilbury Railway Station c.1938 [Author's Collection]

One could go all Paris-Roubaix and get caught out at the level crossing, suffering a capture by the main bunch after being in the breakaway. The railway station here was not opened as a halt until September 1936, principally to facilitate some commuting by workers at Baťa. Indeed, the company partly funded the construction work. Around 4,000 people were employed at the shoe manufactory. Across other Europeans plants, the company had a total of 17,000 employees and controlled over 2,000 shops. The company were producing an incredible 135,000 pairs of boots and shoes a day.¹²⁴

Figure 117 : George and Dragon and neighbouring cottages at Muckingford c.1906 [Author's Collection]

Continuing along Princess Margaret Road, the George and Dragon appears on the right-hand side, close to a mini-roundabout. If one had rolled along to the tavern during the mid-Edwardian period then the scene would have been the same as the above image. The pair of cottages on the right have survived into the 21st century. The pub, listed simply as the George Inn by the 1901 census enumerator, was demolished in later years. The current building faces Muckingford Road. It was along this road that, according to Cary's New Itinerary of 1828, the London coach to Southend travelled, having called at Grays Thurrock and Chadwell St. Mary. The licensee of the George and Dragon at that time was William Dorrington who appeared in the Alehouse keepers' recognizances. There was a smithy on the junction, opposite the pub, which would be handy for travellers needing attention to horse or vehicle. The late 17th century slightly wonky timber-framed house, complete with an original central chimney stack, still stands opposite the pub, though under scaffolding during our visit.

Figure 118 : George and Dragon at Muckingford c.1929 [Author's Collection]

Here, we have drifted from East Tilbury into Muckingford and Linford, part of the parish of Mucking. Some records did, however, occasionally list the George and Dragon under East Tilbury. The earlier George and Dragon is thought to have dated from 16th century, though it appears to be a later edifice in this image. Mind you, an older structure could have been encased in brick at a later date.

Figure 119 : George and Dragon at Muckingford 1936 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

This photograph was taken in 1936, two years after the new pub had opened for trading. The licensee at the time was Percy Snook, a former baker and confectioner.¹²⁵ He managed the George and Dragon for Charrington's with his wife, Adelaide.

The George and Dragon was at the centre of an extraordinary court case in 1892 when the Brown family were running the house. A young woman named Harriet Hindes, 21 years of age, summoned Robert Brown to "show cause why he should not contribute towards the support of an illegitimate child, of whom it was alleged he was the putative father." From the evidence heard in the court it was disclosed that Harriet Hindes was an inmate of the Orsett Workhouse. At the age of 18 she had married, but her husband disappeared so she left for Mucking in August 1890 where she took up a live-in servant's position at the George and Dragon. Soon after she moved into the house, she claimed that Robert Brown, son of the licensee William Brown, "was unduly intimate with her on the 16th August, in the kitchen." The court was told that the same thing occurred a great many times. She discovered she was pregnant towards the end of the following February. She she told Robert Brown of her condition, when he did not deny that he was the father of the child who was born on November 10th, 1891.

Just before the birth, Robert Brown suddenly left for sea, becoming a trimmer on board the steamship Ormuz, leaving Harriet Hindes in the lurch. She subsequently had to go to the workhouse. This is where things took a greater twist. The Guardians of the Orsett Union Workhouse thought that the father of the child was actually the publican William Brown. They wrote a letter to him stating that if his son came home and denied he was the father then it would be put down to him and that he would lose his licence over the matter. The son, who had returned from sea and placed in the dock, denied ever being unduly intimate with Harriet Hindes who also swore she had not been intimate with the publican. Angered that one of them was committing gross purjury, the Chairman made them swear again on oath. He also questioned why Robert Brown had suddenly gone to sea, having no previous experience of the waves. He then called the publican into the dock who deposed that he gave Harriet Hindes notice to leave in consequence of her "unfortunate condition" and there was "not the slightest truth that he had ever been familiar with her." As there was no was no corroborative evidence on behalf of the servant, the Bench were forced to dismiss the case.¹²⁶ However, the court hearing caused rumours to spread around the locality. The Brown's left soon afterwards and were succeeded by the Mott family who kept the George and Dragon until the mid-1920s.

Figure 120 : George and Dragon at Muckingford [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Figure 121 : London N.E. - OS One-Inch Map [1954] © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.

Figure 122 : Shopping Parade at Linford c.1925 [Author's Collection]

Continuing on the East Tilbury Road, the route passes Merrie Loots Nursing Home, an intriguingly-named former farmhouse. 100 metres further along the road, on the left, is a row of shops with the butcher's shop of John York, an emporium selling award-winning sausages and homemade pies. The business was established in 1967 but a degree of continuity is manifest in this 1920s photograph as the premises was a butchery back in those days. The name of William Whitlock can be see above the window. Born at Fulham in April 1879, he followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a butcher. They operated a business in Hammersmith.¹²⁷ He and his wife Annie were still running this shop at the outbreak of World War 2.

Figure 123 : "Smugglers" by George Morland [1794]

A little further on stands the Methodist Church, erected in 1900, replacing an old mission hall. Soon after, there is a welcome escape from the traffic by turning right on Walton's Hall Lane. This part of the cycle route sees a transition from the modernity of East Tilbury to a landscape punctuated with historic buildings. Moreover it follows in the footsteps of smuggling intrigue. We were heading towards the creeks which, combined with foggy marshland, made the area ideal for avoiding the customs officers and shifting illegal booty, some of which went direct to the taverns. Only the most stoic of publicans possessing high morals and ethics could resist the temptation of cheaper sources of liquor and tobacco.

Figure 124 : Church of Saint John The Baptist at Mucking c.1912 [Author's Collection]

200 metres along Walton's Hall Lane stands Sutton's Farmhouse, a late 16th century timber-framed house. A little further on is Walton's Hall, built in the 17th century but altered in subsequent years. It is not easy to look at these buildings as they are hidden away behind trees and bushes. We turned right onto Mucking Wharf Road and over the railway to the hamlet of Mucking, a microcosm of the UK rural life timeline of the 20th century. We have cycled to some many villages where we see buildings marked The Old Post-Office, The Old Bakery or The Old Police Station, all of which engenders a mourning for the loss of a way of life that will never return. Here in Mucking not only has the shop, school and pub gone, but even the church has gone. Well, strictly speaking, they have not vanished but converted into private residences. One key building that has gone is the old Manor House. The ruinous structure was demolished some years ago.

Figure 125 : National School at Mucking c.1912 [Author's Collection]

The Church of Saint John the Baptist is now a private residence. We had to peer from the gate as the churchyard is also closed to the public. This makes it rather difficult to appreciate. I bought an old picture postcard of the building [above] so you can see the church. Although much of the 13th century chancel and nave arcades were retained, most of the church was rebuilt in the mid-19th century. The former National School, with its old post-box, can still be viewed on an adjoining plot. The school was built in 1855 and could accommodate over 50 children but the attendance in the mid-Edwardian period was less than 40. Clearly depopulation of the village nucleus started long ago. The building closed in June 1914, the schoolmistress passing away within a week. Louise Blainey had come to Mucking 17 years earlier, after holding a similar position at Winkleigh in Devon.¹²⁸

Figure 126 : Former Crown Inn at Mucking [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

160 metres along Mucking Wharf Road stands the former Crown Inn, a building that once also traded as the Crown and Sceptre. The Jaggs family kept the tavern in the early 19th century. In January 1841 Philip Jaggs took a nasty idiot, named John Evans, to court where the evil bastard was indicted for stabbing a mare, belonging to the publican. However, he was acquitted and discharged. Two months later, in March 1841, he was again apprehended on a charge of robbery and desertion. It was reported that the police conveyed him to Chatham, and, in the course of a month, Evans was deprived of the power of doing further mischief in the UK for some time, by being sent out to his regiment in India. And there, if there was any justice in the world, he too would be robbed and bayonetted.¹²⁹

There wasn't a soul to be seen in Mucking. The birds on the telephone wires and those hiding in bushes were probably wondering what two Herberts were doing exploring the village that time forgot. Almost a century earlier, a journalist for the Daily Mirror, also venured into deepest Mucking to see what's occurring. In his article entitled "Village Flees From Its Name," he touched on a pattern of migration that would rip the heart out of Britain's rural communities in future generations. Very few, if any, villages are like Ambridge, staging flower and produce shows, or banding together for a Christmas Panto. Most - and we have cycled through a lot of settlements - are soulless ghost villages where all services and community spirit have vanished. The journalist stated that "the most unfortunate village in England is Mucking, which, for centuries, has tried to rise above its unhappy name." He suggested that "some years previously a certain section of the inhabitants living on a higher plane called their little bit of Mucking Muckingford, and have ever since regarded those who grovel in Lower Mucking as persons to be pitied." Later on the Little Muckers, as they were called, began to move up to Muckingford, leaving only a few old people to grace Mucking. As the years passed the number of "Little Old Muckers" grew less and less, and as nobody took up residence in Mucking the village had almost disappeared. He observed that "old houses are crumbling away, and when they disappear nobody builds another. Mucking is dying because of its name, and the native who discovered that it means "much grass" has so far been unable to persuade the authorities and the map-makers to alter it." ¹³⁰

The problem was not in the name. Besides, I rather like "Mooking," the sort of appellation that enchants travel writers like Bill Bryson. But once the aforementioned shopping parade was created at Muckingford, or Linford, along with new housing erected by the council, the school closing and simply the feeling that the action was taking place somewhere else, Mucking spiralled into a generational decline. Actually, the hamlet did have a shop - in the 1840s Edward Coe was recorded as a victualler and shopkeeper.¹³¹

Unlike bicycles, horses can be an unpredictable mode of transport. I have ridden a horse myself and, due to my height and reach, was allocated a rather large steed. A bit like a bike-fit but on four legs. Well, six if you count mine! Thankfully it turned out that my horse was a placid, even-tempered animal but, whilst I was onboard, I was thinking that he could do almost anything with me sat on him. I had visions of hanging on for dear life as my steed considered himself a contender for the Grand National and aimed at any high hedgerow that took its fancy. John W. Eagle, resident of Walton's Hall up the lane, had a rather timid creature in 1889 and it took fright of some sheep and threw him off, breaking his leg and causing several other injures. I mention this, because in June 1882, the publican of the Crown Inn, William Brown, also had a horse that was a bag of nerves. He had parked up near what was called the subway leading to the river at Tilbury Fort when his pony suddenly took fright. The animal, still attached to a cart, suddenly bolted down the passage, onto a barge, and into the Thames. A report in the Essex Newsman stated that "several people ran after the animal, but too late to stop its mad career. The pony and cart sank in the water." Amazingly, when the pony came to the surface, it managed to extricate itself from tbe cart, which was not recovered. A bad day at the office for William Brown but at least the pony was saved, though exhausted after the ordeal. By the way, this is the aforementioned William Brown who later kept the George and Dragon at Muckingford.

Figure 127 : Extract from Page 2 of the "Essex Times" published on Saturday June 29th, 1889.

Oh dear, it looks like we were 130 years too late to benefit from Henry Gill's accommodation for bicyclists. A pity, we could have fancied a glass of Ind Coope beer. The Plaistow-born former stagecoach man must have wondered what he had done by settling in sleepy old Mucking. He kept the Crown Inn with his wife Caroline, the couple doing enough trade to employ a potman.¹³²

Visitors to the hamlet may have noticed the Royal Mail wall box set in the church wall. The monarch on the box is Queen Elizabeth so it was an update on the box installed in August 1888 just before Henry and Caroline Gill moving into the pub. It was stated that the box would greatly facilitate the forwarding of letters from the surrounding farm houses and cottages. A daily free delivery of letters to the Crown Inn was also instituted.¹³³ A farmer may have been heard to say to his wife, "I'm just going to Gill's to see if we have got any mail ... I may be some time." Henry Gill succeeded John Cordall who, in the cold spring of 1891, was visiting a relative at Stanford-le-Hope when the water became frozen in the pipes. He climbed a ladder with a kettle of boiling water to thaw the pipes, when the ladder gave way, and the boiling water poured down his sleeve. The blisters were of such a size that a pint of fluid was taken from them by a doctor.¹³⁴

Figure 128 : Mucking extract from "A Map of the County of Essex from an actual survey taken in MDCCLXXI, LXXIII & MDCCLXXIV. By J. Chapman & P. Andre etc." [1777]

There are legends of smuggling activity at the Crown Inn, though the Excise Board minutes does not mention any landlord up to no good. Then again, the Excise officer was perhaps persuaded with some silver crossing his palm. The above map extract shows just how inviting the terrain was for smugglers, though the wharf may have resulted in the presence of customs officers. However, local legend has it that there was once a tunnel connecting the Crown Inn with Mucking Hall, suggesting that some people were up to mischief.

Figure 129 : Road across the Marshes at Mucking [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

The opening of the Thameside Nature Discovery Park at Mucking Flats and Marshes has resulted in a billiard table surface of tarmac so it was a very nice ride to the visitor centre where we tucked into a pleasant lunch. And what a backdrop in which to enjoy a bit of nosh. The café affords excellent views over Mucking Flats and the Thames Estuary.

Figure 130 : Visitor Centre of Thameside Nature Discovery Park at Mucking Marshes [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

The striking visitor centre has a viewing platform on the roof. People can also poke their noses into one of the hides and witness a bit of twitching excitement. The marshes have been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Protection Area and is home to a large number of wintering wildfowl and waders. Of technical interest is that the visitor centre was built on hydraulic jacks to prevent it sinking into the underlying rubbish. Yes, it is incredible to think that the Thameside Nature Discovery Park was created on top of half a century's worth of rubbish. Once the gravel was exhausted the large holes were filled in with London's trash. The nature centre was officially opened in May 2013 and they nabbed none other than Sir David Attenborough to cut the ribbon. In his crowd-pleasing tones he stated: "What you have done here ... is a monument to what can be done to restore nature."

Figure 131 : Gifts inside the Visitor Centre of Thameside Nature Discovery Park at Mucking Marshes [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

The café sells the unusual gifts and tat, along with cuddly toys. We spotted an opportunity to place Lance here so that he could be re-housed with some other saps prepared to put up with his nonsense. However, he intimidated anybody coming to browse the display and then threw a fit. Embarrassed, we had to pick him up and do a runner as though we hadn't paid for our lunch. We went cross-country for our journey to Stanford-le-Hope. The shale path was a tadge bumpy in places and just about acceptable for skinny road tyres. There is a slight meander to cross the creek via a sluice gate. A thick clay cap was placed on top of the landfill, before the soil was spread and plants established. Apparently, the methane from all the gunk underneath is used to generate electricity.

I knew little of the Mucking Marshes before our cycling journey and whilst it is true that we had an enjoyable experience there is the sceptic within me asking several questions. These include: what about all that landfill and any future impact on the environment? Putting a clay lid on top of the gunk is a little bit like putting spent nuclear rods in concrete at the bottom of the sea. One day something very horrible could happen. In the case of this landfill it has been reported that coastal erosion will undermine the clay cap and release toxic waste. I also wonder if some green-washing has taken place. The visitor centre was apparently funded by Cory Environmental who seem to have come out of the project looking really rosy. However, this is the company that dumped the rubbish in the first place. Nabbing Sir David Attenborough was a coup in terms of PR but did he really know all of the political and environmental issues here? Of course, the whole project could be the best thing since sliced bread. There is no doubt that there has been an increase in plant species - all good news for whitethroat, stonechat and song thrush birds. And, of course, aesthetically speaking, the whole area looks better than it did earlier in the millennium. Something had to be done so why not a nature park? From Mucking Marshes there are views of the London Gateway and oil refineries of Thames Haven, the reason for us heading a little inland. What would the old inhabitants make of the 21st century landscape I wonder?

Figure 132 : Path at Stanford Warren Nature Reserve [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

As the path gets closer to Mucking Creek and heading towards Stanford Warren Nature Reserve the landscape is a little more as it would have been back in the days of the smuggling trade. The saltmarsh, an area of low, flat and poorly drained soil subject to flooding by salt water at high tide, is characterised by a thick mat of grasses or grass-like plants such as sedges and rushes. These days it is not the smuggler one looks out for - the saltmarsh is an important habitat for Marsh Harrier, Bearded Tit, Cetti's Warbler, Bittern, Little Egret and Water Voles. If weight is not an issue with your bike and luggage it is a good idea to pack some small binoculars.

In addition to Stanford-le-Hope, there was a temptation to bundle in a quick meander towards Horndon-on-the-Hill but it is a coastal journey so we have to draw a line somewhere! As part of the once desolate area of Lower Hope, Stanford-le-Hope remained a small village until relatively recent times but, from the evidence of our journey, the urban area of the town is ever-growing.

Figure 125 : The Green at Stanford-le-Hope c.1912 [Author's Collection]

Wharf Road leads to the old village centre, with the Inn On The Green facing the church. The building is to the right of the above image taken from a vintage postcard. It is a relatively recent pub housed within the an old surgeon's house. It is hard to see the place on the outside as the late 18th century building is covered in ivy. Not that we were intending to patronise the place - we were keeping our powder dry for the town's best beer experience at the Rising Sun. Formerly known as the Village Inn, the pub operated by Greene King was opened in 1978. When the building, once known as Stanhope Cottage, was offered at auction in July 1913, it was described as having "three reception rooms, five bedrooms, dressing-room, kitchen, and offices, with excellent modern stabling." ¹³⁵

Figure 126 : The Green at Stanford-le-Hope c.1912 [Author's Collection]

In the vintage photograph of The Green, a building with a corner turret can be seen facing the High Street. The turret of this former bank has gone but the building still stands. The curious-looking development between the Inn On The Green and this former branch of Barclay's was the site of the Cock and Magpie. The tavern closed in 1860 but the premises remained for a considerable number of years, serving a variety of roles. Dating from around 1910, the premises, as seen in the above photograph, was occupied by the ironmonger Samuel Cowell who also served as parish warden. He and his wife Martha had lived here for many years with Samuel operating a blacksmith's shop, premises that once stood on a site later occupied by the bank. In the 1880s part of the former pub was still occupied by the elderly Mary Beckwith, a retired licensed victualler and member of the family who kept the Cock and Magpie before its closure. David Beckwith was not such a smart cookie as he was done for keeping the house open during the hours of divine service, not a sound decision considering the parishioners leaving the church could see the premises as they walked out of the lych gate across the road. The premises were demolished during the inter-war years and, as can be seen from the image below, the site was redeveloped for a branch of Lloyd's Bank.

Figure 127 : War Memorial on The Green at Stanford-le-Hope with former Cock & Magpie and Stanhope Cottage c.1924 [Author's Collection]

The former Cock and Magpie, along with Stanhope Cottage can be seen on this 1920s view of The Green with the war memorial. In front of a large gathering the obelisk of Portland stone n The Green was unveiled on September 26th, 1920. The panel records the names of 82 people who died in the First World War. Twenty more names were added after the Second World War.

Figure 128 : Church of Saint Margaret at Stanford-le-Hope c.1911 [Author's Collection]

Th Inn On The Green and, at one time, the Cock and Magpie faced the Church of Saint Margaret of Antioch. Erected on an elevated position, parts of the building date back to the late Norman period. However, the structure, made with ragstone rubble with some flint and limestone dressings, is largely a 14th century building. When Rev. Dr. Sedgwick was appointed rector in the mid-1870s, he found that his church was "in a most dilapidated condition. The walls were in some places tumbling down, the water coming through the decayed roof, and the tower in such tottering condition tbat it was unsafe to ring ths bells. Dr. Sedgwick therefore lost no time in setting on foot a movement for the restoration." An experienced architect, Mortimer Henry Linklater of Notting Hill, was brought in to examine the building and concluded that "the wall of the tower was so rotten at the base that it was found it would have be entirely taken down and rebuilt." ¹³⁶ Services were conducted in a school room whilst work was undertaken, the church being re-opened by an octave of services in April and May of 1878.¹³⁷ At this point, the tower had not been built, though the buttresses were in place. The architect's career soon followed a different path when Mortimer Linklater took holy orders and entered the ministry.

Figure 129 : The Rising Sun at Stanford-le-Hope [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

As the road bends towards Church Hill there is a road sign indicating that it is a 10% descent which is absurd. Halfway down the slope, on the right, is the Rising Sun. Before our journey we had looked at CAMRA's What Pub? site and clocked that this was a good place for locally-produced real ales. The guide did not mention much about the place other than it is "a much-improved, two-bar, traditional pub in the town." The building would, if not for the mature trees, look across to the parish church.

Figure 130 : Ridley's Rite by Bishop Nick and Urban Myth Premium Ale by the Parkway Brewing Co. [August 3rd, 2019]

Before looking around the Rising Sun, we dived into the bar to order some beer, enjoyed a natter with a couple of locals and generally felt that it was a convivial place to spend an evening. A pity that our visit was all too brief but the schedule of a cycling journey has to be quite disciplined if it isn't to fall apart, or leave us cycling at night to reach our pre-booked destination. We opened our account with a rather nice session pale ale by the Bishop Nick brewery at Braintree, a reborn enterprise named after Nicholas Ridley, the Bishop of London burned at the stake as one of the Oxford Martyrs. His miserable end may have been a tadge better if his 'last drop' was a glass of this beer made with Fuggles and Goldings hops. A pleasant floral aroma starts the fire burning before a surprisingly decent bitter finish fans the flames. We ramped up the ABV a little by ordering some Urban Myth, a premium ale produced by the Parkway Brewing Co., a recently-launched brewery at Somerton in Somerset. Challenger and Colombus hops create the zing in this excellent beer that celebrates those stories that often circulate around the pub after a few pints. Beatles fans will probably be begging the publican for the pump clip as the Abbey Road zebra crossing is featured. However, as the West Country brewers will claim, only three of the fab four are illustrated!

Figure 131 : The Rising Sun at Stanford-le-Hope c.1908 [Author's Collection]

With good beer and friendly company at the Rising Sun what's not to like? Well, technically nothing. However, there is a tinge of sadness that we were unable to sit inside the older version of the Rising Sun. And wouldn't it be great to be able to travel back in time, like Doctor Who, to sample a beer made down the road at the Blyth and Squier brewery. This was one of two public-houses the firm operated, the other being the Red Cow on Canvey Island. It is interesting to note that the dray is delivering firkins in an age when larger casks were the order of the day.

The exact date of the photograph is unknown but was taken from around 1908. The two women are most probably Phoebe and Edith Fitch. Shoreditch-born Phoebe was married to the beer retailer and licensee William Fitch. The couple were assisted by his sister Edith. William and Edith had spent their formative years at the Rising Sun as their father, George Fitch, was the licensee from the 1870s. The Suffolk-born publican and former engine driver was possibly the first licensee in the late 1860s - the cut-off date for a new beer house licence generally being 1869. He would have been a tenant of Blyth and Squier who held the freehold. After an operation in 1908, Phoebe Fitch, a woman respected in the town for her general disposition, had a fatal heart attack at the Rising Sun in 1908.¹³⁸

Figure 132 : The Rising Sun at Stanford-le-Hope 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

The pattern here, familiar throughout the cycle ride so far, is that Blyth & Squier were acquired by Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. of Grays in 1914 who, in turn, were mopped up by Charrington's fifteen years later. These changes occurred whilst the Macklin family were running the Rising Sun. Succeeding William Fitch, who had re-married and moved to the Marquis of Granby at Colchester,¹³⁹ two generations of the Macklin family kept this old beer house until 1959.

The club room of the Rising Sun, we were told, was once used as a boxing gym. It was also the venue in 1890 for establishing a branch of the London and Southern Counties Labour League, an early trade union that by 1893 had a membership of 8,900. However, the body met with aggressive hostility from employers and was forced to join the National Amalgamated Union of Labour in the mid-1890s.¹⁴⁰

Figure 133 : The Railway Tavern at Stanford-le-Hope c.1911 [Author's Collection]

Around 75 metres down the hill, on the corner of King Street, stands the Railway Tavern, though I think this building is going through a change of use. The building can be seen here in a photograph dating from around 1911, in the livery of Ind Coope. This was at a time when there was a noted bowling green to the rear. The fascia also boldly advertises billiards. E. Pipe is featured in the lettering. This was Dunmow-born Emma Pipe, landlady of the Railway Tavern during the reign of three monarchs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The widow was assisted by her brother-in-law Walter Pipe, along with four servants, suggesting trade was good.¹⁴¹

The Railway Tavern is a something of a hotch-potch building, the core of which is thought to date from the 16th century, with additions over subsequent centuries. The curved frontage on the corner is a late Victorian or early Edwardian extension. I am not exactly sure when the building started to trade as the Railway Tavern. The station on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway opened in September 1854 so it could not have been too long afterwards that a tavern was opened to offer refreshments to travellers. It may be that it was initially a beer house but gained a full licence in 1860 following the closure of the Cock and Magpie on The Green, the old victualler's licence being transferred to these premises. However, legend has it that spirits entered the building long before the mid-19th century as there was supposedly a tunnel from somewhere near the creek that led to the cellars of the old building. I am not convinced as that would have been some feat of engineering, along with the risks of flooding.

Before turning up King Street we continued along the London Road - panic not, it is not too far to a couple of interesting locations. The A13 has taken a lot of the traffic from the London Road so it is not too busy. In the old days one could turn right just before the level crossing and view the buildings of Blyth & Squier, a local brewery that operated next to the railway sidings. The brewery is said to have been established in the late 1840s by John Blyth, a farmer of some 200 acres at Hassenbrooke Hall, a 15th century manor house just to the north of the old village centre. However, I have seen no evidence that he was involved in brewing at this early date. By 1861 he was farming some 600 acres, employing a small army of agricultural labourers.

Figure 134 : Former brewery of Blyth & Squier when offered for sale c.1914 [Author's Collection]

John Blyth later formed a partnership with Samuel Squier, another farmer in the locality. It would seem that they merged their agricultural interests as a newspaper article dated August 1862 reported that, on the farm of Messrs. Blyth and Squier, a new reaping machine invented by M'Cormick of Chicago, Illinois, was being trialled on their land with considerable success.¹⁴² It was in the same year that the partnership leased a plot of land from the Eastern Counties and London and Blackwall Railway Company, owners of the London Tilbury and Southend Railway, on which they erected premises. Squeezed between the railway sidings and the stream meant that the buildings were long and narrow. Not such a bad thing for maltings which is what I imagine the partnership planned as a forward extension strategy for the crop yields of Mucking Heath Farm. It is possible that the business planned to ship malt on the railways. Certainly, in later years they opened a stores in Southend for retail products. For some years this was managed by James Went who later kept the Lobster Smack Inn at Canvey Island for a quarter of a century.

Figure 135 : Extract from Page 4 of the "Chelmsford Chronicle" published on Friday July 13th, 1877.

A Post-Office Directory published in 1874 lists Blyth & Squier as contractors for steam trashing and cultivating and draining land, as well as brewers, brick-makers and farmers. The business had clearly diversified considerably by this time. I believe that the brewery was established in 1868. John Blyth died in March 1877 following which the brewery was put on the market [see above advertisement]. The brewery only operated two tied-houses : the Rising Sun on Church Hill and the Red Cow on Canvey Island which was stated to be newly-erected. The Squier family were still involved in the business in later years but I am not sure if they acquired the interests of the Blyth family. The business continued to trade as Blyth & Squier.

The brewery had been run by Thomas, brother of the farmer John Blyth. Some years later in 1902 he was knocked down by a train pulling into the station whilst he was using the level crossing. He had passed through the gate but could not hear the shouts of George Layzell, the station porter, who ran to stop him. However, he failed in his attempt to catch his arm and the elderly Thomas Blyth was knocked down and dragged underneath the train. He managed to emerge from underneath the engine as the wheels did not touch him but his head and face were terribly cut. He was carried to his home and Dr. Corbet was summoned from Orsett. When the doctor got to him he had already died from his head injuries.¹⁴³

Blyth & Squier, may have only operated two tied-houses but the firm had a healthy family trade. The brewery was acquired in 1914 by Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. The brewery at Stanford-le-Hope was closed soon afterwards.

Figure 136 : Level Crossing and Platform of Stanford-le-Hope Railway Station c.1938 [Author's Collection]

In the 21st century the platforms of Stanford-le-Hope railway station are to the south of the level crossing and accessed with a building that looks like a mix of bike shed and smoking shelter. In this photograph one can see that passengers originally boarded trains to the north of the level crossing. I like the newspaper article of 1885 that stated: "the combined waiting room and booking office has been very prettily decorated with evergreens, interspersed with suitable mottoes, the principal one being "A pleasant journey and a safe return," over the ticket counter." ¹⁴⁴ Much better than the modern passage of having to wander through a smoking shelter!

Figure 137 : Cyclists' Rest on London Road at Stanford-le-Hope Railway Station c.1912 [Author's Collection]

I simply had to continue to check out the above building which still stands on the corner of Ruskin Road. From the level crossing it is only 167 to this former refreshment rooms for cyclists. In the early years of the 20th century cyclists could visit Stanford-le-Hope and seek non-alcoholic refreshments at a place called "The Cyclists' Rest," no doubt meeting the approval of the temperance brigade. I was delighted to purchase an old picture postcard of this establishment. In this view, the building stood in isolation but a row of shops would later be constructed along London Road. One man is stood with his hand on the stump of what looks like an oak tree? A post-box now occupies this position on the corner as the post-office traded a few doors away. Three cyclists have rocked up to order some tea, perhaps with a slice of cake baked by the proprietor. The Cyclists' Rest was run by the confectioner Charlotte Medcalf. She died in 1918 which may have seen the end of this building being a destination for cycling adventurers.

Figure 138 : Extract from John Chapman & Peter Andrés map of Essex showing Stanford-le-Hope [1777]

We returned to the Railway Tavern and turned left up King Street, a name to celebrate the historic tavern further along the thoroughfare, but were dismayed by the western side which is rather uniform in style. One can see from the above map extract that, historically, there was a triangle formed by King Street, High Street and Church Hill. This street pattern still exists in the 21st century and forms a one-way traffic route.

It is perhaps surprising that Stanford-le-Hope did not develop earlier as the settlement was on the London Road, sited on raised ground, had its own wharf accessed by the lane running south-east from the village centre, and the arrival of the railway in 1854. And yet Stanford-le-Hope takes up little space in mid-19th century trade directories and it took the census enumerator minimal time to complete a few pages in which the inhabitants were recorded. Speaking to one local person in the Rising Sun, some folks believe that the Railway Tavern previously traded under a different inn sign. At first, this seems credible as a hostelry normally existed on a main road. However, trade directories of the early Victorian era show only two old licences, the King's Head Inn and the Cock and Magpie. The latter was, as discussed, located on The Green and the King's Head Inn and the Railway Tavern were trading simultaneously. Moreover, the 1777 map shows a building on the site of the King's Head Inn and another house on the site of the Railway Tavern. This quandary requires some serious digging by a local historian rather that a cyclist simply passing through. My theory, for what it's worth, is that there was a rethink of the facilities in the village. Apparently, the King's Head Inn was rebuilt in 1860, the same year that the Cock and Magpie closed. It was possibly thought that a larger building with better facilities should be sited closer to the railway station. It is likely that the Railway Tavern only opened as a hostelry in 1860 with William Stevens at the helm.

Figure 139 : The Old Court House [Former King's Head Inn] at Stanford-le-Hope [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

I had plotted the King's Head Inn as a port-of-call but we were disappointed to see that the historic sign had been eschewed for the Old Court House. Whilst this name reflects some of the events that took place on the site, the change of an inn sign can be a madcap strategy and disregards the historic significance of the original signboard. Though local legend has it that a woman was tried for being a witch and hung near the King's Head Inn, an event for which there appears to be no substantive evidence, the most famous hearing at the historic tavern was not a criminal court case but a coroner's inquest. I guess that Enterprise Inns, when rebranding the place, considered that The Old Coroner's Inquest did not have the same ring!

Figure 140 : Representation of Captain William Moir shooting William Malcolm [from the Essex Herald of August 3rd, 1830]

James Osborn was the licensee of the King's Head Inn when an inquest was held following an incident near Hole Haven Creek, on land now occupied by the large oil refineries, a development which forced our slightly inland journey towards Canvey Island. On Michaelmas in 1829 a farm known as Shell Haven was taken on by Captain William Moir, a former soldier. In March 1830 he spotted two men fishing in the creek adjoining the land that he farmed. The men were William Malcolm, a fisherman at Hammersmith, accompanied by a lad named William Dukes, a Wandsworth fisherman. The pair had dropped nets in the creek after leaving their boat at Bawley House in the care of Malcolm's apprentice. Seeing that the men had spread the net across the creek, Captain Moir asked what they were doing. William Malcolm told the farmer that he, and many others had fished in these waters for years, and he therefore claimed a right to do so. There then following an angry exchange during which the ex-soldier threatened to pull up the net and cut it to pieces. As a result, William Malcolm gathered up the net and agreed to leave. Captain Moir quizzed Malcolm as to whether he had come across the marshes, to which the fisherman said yes. Moir told him to go back via the sea walls. He agreed to follow this course and walked with William Dukes to a cottage occupied by Mrs. Baker where he exchanged some fish for potatoes. The pair then walked across the marsh back towards the boat. Captain Moir, already incensed at the men fishing off his farmland took great umbrage at the sight of them taking a route that he had already forbid them to follow. He rode up to them on his horse and attempted to stop William Malcolm but the fisherman said he would continue towards his boat. It was stated that the farmer then drew his pistol and shot William Malcolm in the arm. Exasperated, he shouted that his arm was broke. After threatening to shoot his young companion, Captain Moir said he would send for a doctor. William Malcom returned to the house of Mrs. Baker where he was later treated by a local surgeon named James Dodd.

The doctor procured a horse and cart from the assailant, Captain Moir, and William Malcolm was conveyed to the Cock and Magpie. He remained there for a few days with continued treatment from three different surgeons. However, blood-poisoning set in, followed by lockjaw. Within a few more days William Malcolm died. An inquest was held at the King's Head Inn, a hearing that took six hours, where Captain Dodd was committed to the Essex Assizes.

The trial took place in July 1830 during which Captain William Moir called several military officers who testified that he was of sound character. However, when giving his evidence Dr. James Dodd told the court that, after the shooting when he saw William Moir, the former soldier had stated "my land is my castle, and no man shall put a foot on my land without my leave." This may have had an impact on the jury who, after deliberating for twenty minutes, returned a verdict of "Guilty." The Scottish-born former solider was taken to Springfield Gaol where several members of his family visited him. 1,200 people signed a petition appealing for clemency but this was turned down and on the morning of August 2nd, 1830 he was hung in front of the Governor's House. The journalist who witnessed the execution commented on the calm and composed nature of the farmer. His last words were "God bless my poor wife and children." ¹⁴⁵

After looping around to The Green, we exited the centre of Stanford-le-Hope by heading towards Corringham. There is no route along the river due to the massive sprawl of the logistics hub that is the DP World London Gateway Port. This occupies the former port and oil refinery at Shell Haven and Thames Haven.

Just as one cycles eastwards, close to the garden in front of the recreation ground, there is a junction with Billet Lane, a reference to the Crooked Billet Inn. Part of the recreation ground has a bowling green, home of the United Services Bowls Club. I picked up a picture postcard of this bowling green on e-bay, the front of which shows some matches in progress at the ground [see below]. By the look of things, the photograph was captured in the early 1950s. I bought the card for two reasons - firstly, because bowling greens to the rear of pubs are vanishing, in this town the green to the rear of the Railway Tavern has been lost. And, secondly, the loss of that facility was possibly the reason that this bowling green was laid out?

Figure 141 : The Bowling Green at Stanford-le-Hope c.1953 [Author's Collection]

Figure 142 : Kent IV - OS Six-Inch Map : depicted in 1862, published in 1869. [© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.]

Records for the Crooked Billet are pretty thin on the ground but this name is marked on the above extract from an 1862 Ordnance Survey sheet. Around 880 metres directory east from the aforementioned bowling green, the location was on the corner of High Road and Rainbow Lane. I have not routed the ride to this location as one can only stare into a field where once the buildings marked above have all vanished. The name has been remembered at a bar and restaurant in the nearby grounds of Billet Park. A gate post of the park entrance from Billet Lane features a plaque commemorating the novelist Joseph Conrad. The Polish-born writer and former mariner lived for a brief period in the former Ivy Wall Farm House, a building also marked on the above map extract.

Rainbow Lane, the lane leading from the site of the Crooked Billet, heads to Earl's Hope on Stanford-le-Hope Marshes. It is possible to walk in this area, with a pleasant trudge along the promontory that affords views across to the Thameside Nature Discovery Park. However, cycling is not possible in an easterly direction. But, by winding the clock back, I can offer a glimpse of what the Thames shore would have looked like in former times, a period when it would have been possible to roll along some of the land. It is, after all, my duty to include some details on a couple of public-houses that once traded here though, sadly, have long since been demolished.

Figure 143 : Kent IV.NW - OS Six-Inch Map : published in 1907. [© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.]

One would have needed to go via The Garlands to traverse Carter's Creek to reach Mucking Lighthouse on Rugward Marshes. This structure was marked on the same Ordnance Survey sheet of 1862. I have used an extract from an Edwardian map to show the early industrial development on what became Thames Haven, a term that seems to have emerged in the early 19th century. A share launch for the proposed Thames Haven Railway was advertised in November 1835.¹⁴⁶ The plan was to create a port for importing cattle and fish for onward rail transportation to London markets. The take-up of shares was a tough gig, the original rail plans scuppered, so it would take a couple of decades for the project to be realised, just in time for an impending ban on livestock imports! The railway line can be seen on the above map extract. It was along this line that, in October 1866, the directors of the Thames Haven [Company] Limited, along with invited guests, travelled from Fenchurch Street Station to inspect the works being conducted on the banks of the river. A 200-foot pier and four landing places had been completed, along with a slaughter-house. Railway sidings, connected to cattle pens, were in place to facilitate the loading of three trains simultaneously. The shareholders present for the inspection were probably dreaming of impending riches, only for legislation to crush their greed.¹⁴⁷

Figure 144 : Mucking Lighthouse and Station Buildings at Thames Haven c.1912 [Author's Collection]

Mucking Lighthouse was constructed and staffed by Trinity House, possibly in 1849 but certainly operational in the early 1850s. Despite this signal to shipping, many vessels foundered in the Thames. Little wonder that "The Vigilant" coastguard station was erected at the mouth of Mucking Creek, along with another named the "Prince of Wales" that looked across to the Dock House Tavern, a public-house erected near the railway station to offer refreshments to those arriving by boat or train, along with those employed at what, in 1855, was promised to be a new town.¹⁴⁸

Figure 145 : Kent IV - OS Six-Inch Map : depicted in 1862, published in 1869. [© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.]

The Dock House Tavern was plotted on this Ordnance Survey sheet depicted in 1862 and published in 1869. Note that the actual dock was marked as "unfinished." Not that all the rail and shipping infrastructure would lie redundant. The above Edwardian map extract, showing the site of Mucking Lighthouse, also included an explosives factory and a petroleum wharf, the latter eventually dominating an extensive site at Thames Haven for decades until its closure in 1999. The explosives factory, formally known as the Miners' Safety Explosive Co., was established towards the end of the Victorian era, a key shareholder being Sir George Elliott. The business was registered in 1888 ¹⁴⁹ and, in the following January, was successful in obtaining a licence to erect an explosives factory on the river bank at Stanford-le-Hope. The firm specialised in the manufacture of Ammonite for use in mining.¹⁵⁰ Citing exorbitant freight charges by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway, the Miners' Safety Explosive Co. did consider moving the plant to Macclesfield during the mid-Edwardian period.¹⁵¹ However, the factory was still in operation here in November 1914 when "the whole of the neighbourhood around Corringham, Thames Haven and Stanford-le-Hope, was alarmed by the sound of a terrific explosion at the Miners' Safety Explosive Works, situate on Cury Marsh." The detonation was caused by the steam pan under the mill bursting. It was reported that "the mill was blown to pieces by the force of the explosion, but a man, who was working inside, named Burrill, had a marvellous escape, for he was uninjured, but suffered from shock." Two local men, engaged outside, sustained fractured legs, one of whom was conveyed to the London Hospital.¹⁵²

Figure 146 : Dock House Tavern at Thames Haven c.1912 [Author's Collection]

Although within a restricted secure zone, I have pinpointed the location of the Dock House Tavern on contemporary maps and it is in an area used for the storage of shipping containers. The early days of the tavern was almost certainly to supply ale to the army of labourers digging out the dock. As early as 1839 some 400,000 feet of earth had been excavated by 200 men who were housed in cottages erected by the contractors.¹⁵³

Not too far away from the Dock House Tavern, Jem Mace, defending British Heavyweight Champion, fought Tom King at Thames Haven. The crowd, many of whom sailed from Tilbury, was said to number 10,000. Though considerably smaller in size and weight, Jem Mace had beaten his opponent in a previous encounter. However, the challenger overcame an impending defeat by clobbering Mace in the 19th round with a punch described as "a swinging blow from the right hand, delivered with the apparent force and weight of a sledgehammer full upon the cheek, eye and nose." Mace attempted to continue into a 20th round, but King, who "considerately avoided unnecessary violence," was declared the winner, claiming the prize of £400 and the championship belt.¹⁵⁴

The crowd gathered for the fight possibly resulted in the Dock House Tavern running out of beer. The house was probably still being run by widow Elizabeth Hewlett, who succeeded her husband, Benjamin, who died as landlord in January 1857.¹⁵⁵ She was recorded as the innkeeper during the census of 1861.

Figure 147 : Dock House Hotel at Thames Haven c.1920 [Author's Collection]

I did suspect that the Dock House Tavern did not look like an early 19th century building. Lo and behold, I found an newspaper article, dated October 1896, in which the solicitor of George Partner, of the Dock House, was "granted a licence for a house of the same name at the same place, the present building being dilapidated." ¹⁵⁶ So, the Dock House Hotel, as it became, seen in these photographs, was a late 19th century structure. The dilapidated building was once known as the Pig and Whistle, though the name permeated in newspaper articles, despite the change of trading name.

Richard and Mary Ann Eastabrook were running the newly-built Dock House Hotel at the turn of the 20th century. An indication of how much the hostelry had been enlarged can be gauged in the census taken in 1901 when the enumerator recorded no less than 19 boarders living on the premises, most of whom were labourers.¹⁵⁷ American-born Joseph D'Oyley was of particular note because he was recorded as a whiskey distiller. Hailing from across the river at Dartford, Richard Eastabrook had earlier plied his trade along the Thames as a lighterman, his career path no doubt resulting in him marrying Mary Ann Dyster who grew up in Rotherhithe. The couple lived in London for some years before the lighterman took up a land-based position as superintendent of the neighbouring paraffin works and petroleum wharf. It would be the expansion of this facility that spelled the end for the Dock House Hotel.

The growth of the petroleum wharf inevitably meant that storage tanks were getting closer to the licensed premises. The licensing justices for Orsett referred the Dock House Hotel to the Essex Licensing Committee in June 1921, their objection to the renewal of the licence was, they contended, "in the interests of the public." Their representative argued that "there was a very great danger" in having a licensed house close to such stores of petroleum. It was stated that "in the event of people being about there not in full possession of their faculties, and smoking or lighting matches, there was a very great danger of an explosion, which would result, not only in a great loss property, but would also be a great danger to the people working there." By this period there was around half a million tons of fuel stored at Thames Haven. The police also objected to the renewal of the licence on the basis that the premises was located on a private road, creating an issue of leglislation and police authority.¹⁵⁸ Of course the leaseholders, Seabrooke & Sons Ltd., were not happy about losing the lucrative trade enjoyed by the Dock House Hotel. A solution to the problem was to build new licensed premises away from the danger area but a convenient distance for workers who required the facility. Consequently, plans were put in place to erect a new hotel on a public road, some half a mile from the wharf. The new public-house was to be called the Haven Hotel.

Figure 148 : Essex [New Series 1913-] n LXXXIX.12; depicted in 1939, published in 1947. [© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.]

To spare you the ordeal of cycling to the site of the former Haven Hotel, I can report that an electricity pylon amid bushes and trees is all that one would find in the location. It is close to the Coryton Calor Cylinder Distribution Centre. It was at the meeting of the Essex Licensing Comittee in April 1922 that approval was given for the removal of the licence for the Dock House Hotel to the new site, the freehold of which was also owned by the oil company. In obtaining approval for the transfer, the legal representative atated that "hundreds of tank steamers came to the dock every year, and during discharging the officers were not allowed to leave ship. As the result their wives and families had at present nowhere to stay except about three miles away, so there was a real need, supported by the Marine Service Guild and the Seamen's Union, for which the new hotel would provide." ¹⁵⁹

Figure 149 : The Haven Hotel at Thames Haven 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. spent almost £20,000 constructing the Haven Hotel, an establishment that opened for trading in 1924. The company was acquired by Charrington's five years later, the above photograph being taken in 1930.

That's it for the retro tour of Thames Haven, a place where cyclists are either not welcome or forbidden. The bonus of an inland detour is an opportunity to call at old taverns in Corringham and Fobbing. The busy A1014 can be avoided through use of a cycle lane and Thames Haven Road. The noise of the dual carriageway does, however, detract from the idyllic-looking scene around the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Corringham Hall Farm and The Bull, a tavern with a picture postcard frontage. Well, it would be if it were not obscured by scaffolding ....

Figure 150 : The Bull at Corringham [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Although essential building maintenance scuppered my opportunity for a great photograph, my optimism was on high levels for a lovely traditional pub interior. One can imagine my dissapointment when I found that the old separate bars had been knocked through to create a large room, modern furniture, a lot of white and grey paint, and a laminate floor. I could have gone to Ikea for a more uplifting experience. And only one punter at 14.10hrs on a Saturday afternoon. At least a cask of Purity UBU was attached to the pipe on the one hand-pull.

A frame inside the pub features some history of The Bull. Compiled by Bill Hammond, the source material was from an article by J. K. Payne and published in The Corringham Chronicle. The article states that there was another tavern in Corringham during the 18th century, trading as the Three Compasses. However, despite the navigational aids of the inn sign, nobody is quite sure of the building's location. The Bull Inn vied for custom with the Three Compasses, the house being of some antiquity. The author lists Giles Brown as victualler of The Bull in 1582. Some improvements to the structure were undertaken in the following century for one of the oak beams is thought to date from 1627. It is also stated that a pair of ancient fireplaces were restored in 1837. Such a pity that the old character and soul of the place has been ripped out in order to create a contemporary interior, the like of which can be found in almost any other pub operated by the large pub companies.

Figure 151 : The Bull at Corringham c.1907 [Author's Collection]

The livery of Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. can be seen on this mid-Edwardian photograph of the Bull Inn. With the takeover of this company in 1929, the house become part of the Charrington tied-estate. An Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1865 recorded the house as the Bell Inn, a legacy of when it traded under this sign when owned by the Bell family in the 18th century. Matthew Bell was still recorded as the owner in Land Tax Redemption records of 1798 when Pleasant Buckley was the tenant and licensee.¹⁶⁰ The licensee at the time of the above photograph was James Lester, his name being displayed above the left entrance. Succeeding Albert Boreham, he took over the licence on July 1st, 1898. The Oxfordshire-born former coachman, along with his wife Ellen, would remain in charge of the house until July 1916 when Henry and Catherine Courtman took over.¹⁶¹ The Lester's retired to Leigh-on-Sea. I wonder if that is James Lester stood in the entrance to the right?

Many a coroner's inquest was held inside the Bull Inn during the 19th century and early 20th century. Most concerned bodies being hauled out of the River Thames, or in some cases, accidents on the railway. Connecting with Thames Haven, the Corringham Light Railway terminated at a station on Fobbing Road, not far from Digby Road. The inquest at the Bull Inn that possibly gained most column inches was that concerning Mary Peck, wife of the master of the barge Velindra, a vessel that sank after a large explosion in the cargo load of naphtha. In May 1894 it was reported that just after "the Velindra was loaded and the vessel was preparing to move on its way to Shoreham, near Brighton, a loud explosion occurred off the Thames Haven petroleum wharf, followed by a fire on the barge. The mate, cook, and captain's son were rescued from a buoy, to which the barge was moored, but the captain and his wife jumped overboard, the former being picked up in an exhausted condition by a boat sent out by the wharf superintendent. The woman drifted with the tide about three-quarters of mile, and was picked up dead by a second boat launched from the petroleum wharf. The Velindra drifted down the river to Holehaven burning, and returned with the tide later in the evening still burning. Much excitement was caused along the coast in consequence of the great danger to shipping and the petroleum works, and a guard was kept upon the flaming barge by a tug and the harbour master in his launch. Finally, after burning for 18 hours, the vessel was sunk on the Blyth, nearly opposite the place where the explosion occurred. A verdict of "Accidentally drowned" was returned at the inquest." ¹⁶²

Figure 152 : The Bull Inn at Corringham 1930 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

There was a remarkable incident outside the Bull Inn during the village Whit-sun holiday of 1920. The events led to an extraordinary ruling at the Assize Court in which an Act passed in 1328 was deployed by the prosecuting counsel. An indictment framed under an Act passed during the reign of Edward III. was central in a summons against William Gridley, farmer of Fearings Farm for "going about a public street armed without lawful occasion in such a manner as to be a nuisance to and alarm the public lawfully using the street." The 600-year-old law was known as the Northampton Act, when people were likely to go about settling disputes with swords, battleaxes, and other weapons. The affair kicked-off in The Bull when an argument led to William Gridley striking a man twice on the head. This led to something of a melee during which Gridley and others were pushed into the street. The farmer then waved a stick in a threatening manner before he was tripped up, and knocked down. Gridley got something of a kicking whilst on the ground, the farmer then exclaiming "I will go and fetch my fucking gun and shoot you." Off he went to Fearings Farm before returning with a shotgun. When in range of about 15 yards he fired the gun in the air. The men, apparently afraid when they saw Gridley, all ducked. The shot went high, rattling the tiles of a shed. When questioned by Police Constable Girton, the farmer admitted using the weapon, but merely to frighten his assailants. In court, his Lordship told the jury that "the Act was passed in the year 1328, and was meant to apply to people going about in full armour swinging a naked sword in the streets, and that sort of thing. Here, the prisoner had been most severely knocked about by a crowd of people in the street, and had had a rib broken, besides suffering other serious injuries, and his Lordship held that the evidence intimated did not bring the prisoner within the indictment, and he directed the jury to find him not guilty, leaving it to the parties to bring action for assault if they desired." Accordingly, the jury formally found William Gridley not guilty, and the farmer was discharged.¹⁶³

It is said that the Bull Inn was involved in the smuggling trade, the building being a short distance from the marshes through which flowed creeks and channels known intimately by local men trying to evade the customs officers. It is claimed that the fabric of The Bull featured secret chambers and hidey-holes to store illicit booty and contraband brought in by those in the know. Indeed, J. Wentworth Day, writing for Country Life in 1949, stated that the Bull Inn was "a famous place for smuggled good. There were sunk chambers under the yard .... roofed over with flat stones covered with straw and manure over which a horse and cart could drive with perfect safety. There were other caverns under the hearth, double walls, and concealed chambers in the chimneys as large as bacon lofts, but built to hold brandy instead of bacon." ¹⁶⁴

Figure 153 : Church of Saint Mary the Virgin at Corringham c.1910 [Author's Collection]

It is only a short distance from The Bull to the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, some contending that the inn sign is religious but, given the location of the house, is possibly more of an agricultural reference. Anyway, we nipped across to have a look at the building with a history dating back to the 11th century, perhaps of even greater antiquity for archealogists assert that the herringbone stonework found within the chancel wall is of Saxon origin. The architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, wrote that the building is "one of the most important Early Norman monuments in the county." In 1905, the rector, the Rev. John Greatheed, in describing the tower, penned: "With its walls of rubble, and low pyramidal overhanging roof of timber, it is a perfect specimen of Norman architecture." ¹⁶⁵

Figure 154 : Church of Saint Mary the Virgin at Corringham c.1932 [Author's Collection]

The rector, a man who evidently loved his church, also wrote: "Its Norman windows, save for the glazing are unchanged. In the tower are three excellent bells. One is inscribed 'God is my good speed,' and is dated 1613, with 'T.B.' the initials of Thomas Bartlett, the bell founder. Another bears the founder's mark, and the words, 'Thomas Bartlett made this bell [1622];' while around the first bell runs the legend 'John Dier made me, 1580." Drawing on the knowledge of local inhabitants, the rector remarked that "early in the last century the little church was overgrown with ivy, while there was no arch to the chancel. It had fallen down, together with the south wall, in the 16th century. Under the rector of that day the Rev. J. H. Stephenson, the restoration was begun in 1844, Sir Gilbert Scott being the architect. The south porch was added then, and on its corbels may be seen carvings of the late Queen Victoria, and of the then Bishop of London, Dr. Blomfield [of whose diocese Corringham at that time formed part]. The restoration was completed, and the vestry added in 1864 by the then Rector, the Rev. Samuel Stephenson Greathead [his father], who also inserted the coloured windows. Some very ancient brasses are to be seen in the floor of the sanctuary and of the chantry."

Both St. Mary's and The Bull were damaged by a bomb that landed in the churchyard in 1940. The nearby Thames Haven was a prime target for the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. There is another tangible link with both church and tavern as the initials M.B., together with a seventeenth century date, are several times deeply cut in the screen of the chantry. The rector stated that, "in the kitchen of the Bull Inn, over the fireplace, there is a stone with "M.B. 1637." From the registers this would appear to have been one Matthew Bennett, landlord of the Bull, though why his initials should be on the woodwork of the church is not easily explained, unless he was a carpenter as well as a landlord." ¹⁶⁵

Figure 155 : Church Road and the Post-Office at Corringham c.1910 [Author's Collection]

As ever, we liked using the mounting steps to return to Church Road. The expansion of Corringham in the 20th century was to the north and north-west, eventually merging with the estates of Stanford-le-Hope, the towns sort of being separated by the A1014. Thankfully, within this pocket of Corringham, it is easy to visualise how the village looked in former times, though birdsong is drowned out by the noise of the dual carriageway. Little wonder that it now forms part of a conservation area. The timber-clad buildings seen in the above photograph have survived. The Bull can just be seen to the right of the image. In the foreground was the post-office that, at the time of this photograph, was run by the elderly widow, Emma Jiggens. She, along with her husband, Samuel, had formerly lived at Oil Mill Farm.

Figure 156 : Shop at Dane's Corner at Corringham c.1914 [Author's Collection]

We cycled along Church Road to the junction of Fobbing Road. To the left, Chestnut Walk follows the line of a driveway that led to the old rectory, home to the aforementioned Greatheed family. They played an influential role in the community for generations. One legacy of their period at Corringham is the former reading room and school house on the corner of Chestnut Walk. Across the road on the corner of Fobbing Road is a former grocery shop [above photo] that was probably built for the baker, Israel Alston, a prominent member of The Peculiar People. ¹⁶⁶ The building is called The Pump House and, further along Church Road there are several houses built in the same style, particularly the windows, that were known as Alston Villas. However, despite the Alston family occupying the Pump House and No.1 Alston Villas, the corner building is popularly known as Dane's Corner, an acknowledgement to Alec and Florence Dane who operated a grocery and butchery business here after their marriage in 1930. Alec Dane died in 1944 with Florence remaining at the Pump House until she passed away six years later. She left the business to her nephew, Frederick Coombes. He and his wife, Vera, kept the shop for some years.

Figure 157 : The Duke's Head on Fobbing Road at Corringham c.1920 [© Brewery History Society under CC BY 4.0]

We pointed our bikes in the direction of Fobbing and headed to Smuggling Central. It is less than 200 metres to Ashtree Court at Fobbing Road. It was only in relatively recent times that these flats were erected on the site of the Duke's Head. As can be seen from the above photograph, this looked every inch a pub but the premises that held a beer house licence was actually an off-licence. The premises was an off-licence in the late 1860s when operated by John and Mary Philpot. The Cranham-born son of a farmer tried to obtain a licence to retail beer on the premises at the Orsett Licensing Day of September 1870. It was stated that the required notice had not been served on the superintendent of police so the magistrates refused the application.¹⁶⁷ At the next hearing the Bench refused to reconsider his application. John Philpot continued in vain to obtain an on-licence during the 1870s. I wonder if he had upset somebody in office as the premises were more than suitable. He never did obtain his licence and, following his death, the off-licence was continued by widow Mary Philpot. In addition to retailing beer, she also operated a general shop from the premises. She was still running the business in the early 1890s, though later in that decade the off-licence was being run by Eliza Homes and known as the Duke's Head. Although not unique, it is fairly unusual for an off-licence to display an inn sign. The licence passed from Eliza Homes to Samuel West in November 1897.¹⁶⁸ He and his wife Hannah had run a similar business in North Ockendon. Ironically, that shop was next to a blacksmith's forge, almost the same situation here in Corringham.¹⁶⁹

Figure 158 : Shop and Off-Licence of the Duke's Head on Fobbing Road at Corringham c.1920 [© Brewery History Society under CC BY 4.0]

George Wood took over at the Duke's Head in 1902, a period when there no mod-cons on Fobbing Road. There was no running water or mains electricity. Oil lamps were used to light the premises and water had to be collected from the village pump. George Wood had learned the tricks of the licensed trade when living at the White Lion up the road at Fobbing, a pub kept by his parents. William and Sarah. They had also run the Dog and Partridge at Orsett. A man after my own heart, George Wood would bomb around the lanes of Essex on his bicycle. He was also a keen cricketer and turned out for the village team. He married Kate Savil in 1905, the couple becoming part of a cornerstone of the local community. They were still running the off-licence in the 1950s - an incredible innings, first for Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. and, later, Charrington's Brewery.¹⁷⁰

George Wood also served as the sub-postmaster, the post-office being moved to premises across the road from the off-licence. This was a scene of great drama in July 1937 when four men drove up in a car and broke into the lock-up premises early in the morning. George Wood, who was in bed at the Duke's Head, was awakened by the noise created by the robbers. Looking from his bedroom window he saw the men ransacking his premises. After telephoning the police, one of his sons ran across the road and disturbed the raiders, who made off in their car. This was after George Wood had levelled a shotgun at the men from his bedroom window. The police used a lorry as a road-block which led an exciting chase across the fields. One man, Robert Taylor of Darwin Street, Old Kent Road in London, jumped from the vehicle and was arrested. The car, laden with goods and cash, was later found abandoned.¹⁷¹ One can see the location of the post-office as there is a pillar box near Herd Lane. The box was formerly inset within the wall outside the premises [a tea-room in 2019] which was also a cycle shop run by George and Kate's son, Thomas. Another cycling connection - excellent stuff.

Heading out of Corringham, we passed the Community Church on the left. This is one of 15 Union of Evangelical Churches in the south-east that have their origins in the Christian movement known as the Peculiar People, a term found in the Book of Deuteronomy.

Figure 159 : Lion Hill at Fobbing [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

It is not too far from Corringham to Fobbing, where the journey encountered its first proper hill climb. It is not a slope to get worked up about but it came as a surprise to be pedalling uphill after a few days of almost completely flat terrain. If you are concerned about going slow up the hill and holding up angry motorists, there is an elevated tarmac path to the left. Moreover, there is a refreshments stop before reaching the top of the hill as the White Lion invitingly sucks the passing cyclist inside. Whilst The Bull at Corringham was empty, this place was pretty busy. Plenty of local regulars were in the bar enjoying some real ale. The room to the right was empty so I took my photograph in there to show off some of the old timbers of this historic house. A good atmosphere pervaded and it would seem that the gaffers, Brett and Jennie Rider, had got the White Lion purring.

Figure 160 : The White Lion at Fobbing [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

According to the website devoted to British Listed Buildings, the timber-framed White Lion dates from the late 14th or early 15th century, though extensively altered over the years.¹⁷² In an article published in the Thurrock Gazette in 1976, historian Fred Claro provided a chronological description of the building, stating that "it was an Essex yeoman's house, with the centre part open to the roof. Later, the first floor was put in the former open space, with the roof made higher. The jettied off-shoots were added to the sides." ¹⁷³ A frame inside the pub states that "the cross-wings were added in Jacobean times." Some of the other history within this panel, including a monastery, Daniel Defoe and Ann Boleyn, is rather fanciful so has to be treated with a pinch of salt. Indeed, in the absence of dendrochronology, one can only speculate if any of the building dates back to the 14th century. Therefore, the claimed links with Jack Straw and the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 is perhaps tenuous, though despite the loss of manorial documents for Fobbing, the village was seemingly a hotbed of discontent and Thomas Baker, a leader in the revolt, held land in the parish - hence an illustration of the rebel on the village sign. The plaque or tablet inset within the front wall of the White Lion features a 19th century quotation from the American essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Incidentally, historians are not really sure of the true identity of Jack Straw.

Figure 161 : Village Sign and Plaque on the frontage of the White Lion at Fobbing [Meld of two photographs taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

Figure 162 : The White Lion at Fobbing c.1920 [Author's Collection]

The picture postcard from which this photograph was used was not posted so I am not sure of the exact date it was taken, though I would imagine it is no later than 1920. The large sign above the main entrance shows that the premises was operated by Seabrooke & Sons Ltd., before Charrington's mopped up the brewery and its tied-estate in 1929. A painted sign for Billiards can be seen on the extension to the premises that once formed part of the White Lion's links to the barge and boat trade at the wharf. It was once a sail loft from where work was undertaken on barges operating on the River Thames.

The former Yeoman's house may have started to trade as a tavern in the early 17th century. Records for the 18th century are easier to source and show that Richard Philpot was the landlord in the 1730s.¹⁷⁴ He had married Elizabeth Knapping in 1730.¹⁷⁵ By 1750 Leonard Rust was running the White Lion, along with his wife Martha. The Rust family would be involved with the house for over a century. Their son, William, succeeded them at the tavern. He and his wife Sarah were tenants to Edward Ind of the Romford Brewery. The property had formerly been owned by the Ingatestone Brewery, it being sold in 1795 when that business was wound up.¹⁷⁶ A carpenter by trade, William Rust used part of the premises for a general shop, along with his role as undertaker.¹⁷⁷ Both William and Sarah died in the 1820s but the White Lion remained in the family with daughters Sarah and Elizabeth running the place. The latter had married the barge-owner William Bogue and he officially held the licence but it was the women who were in charge. I wonder if William Bogue started the pub's 'legal' trading relationship with the river.

Figure 163 : The White Lion as a Charrington's House at Fobbing 1939 [© National Brewery Heritage Trust under CC BY 4.0]

White's trade directory published in 1849 recorded William Bogue as a coal merchant, barge owner and victualler. He died during the following year, the census conducted in 1851 listing widow, Elizabeth Bogue, as innkeeper and barge owner. Her sister, Sarah Rust, was recorded as her assistant. Also a bargeman, her son-in-law, William Holt, lived on the premises, along with two servants.¹⁷⁸ The landlady re-married in April 1853, her husband being Samuel Wade, also a barge-owner and coal merchant.¹⁷⁹ A dodgy dealer by the sound of it - he was fined in 1859 for having a weighing machine with unfair balance against his customers.¹⁸⁰

Samuel Wade died in December 1873, followed shortly afterwards by Elizabeth. The Rust name was re-painted on the licensee plate in September 1876 when one of her executors, William Luke Rust, was granted the licence at the Petty Sessions.¹⁸¹ However, it was only a temporary measure and he handed over to the Somerset-born former toll-keeper, John Endall, in September of the following year.¹⁸²

Figure 164 : Interior of the White Lion with exposed timbers [Photograph taken by the author on August 3rd, 2019]

I am not sure why Ind Coope relinquished their interest in the White Lion. Certainly, the house was being operated by Seabrooke & Sons Ltd. in February 1909 when the firm advertised the tenancy. The incoming was £350, a considerable sum for such a house during Edwardian times. Using the Bank of England inflation calculator that equates to almost £30,000.

Figure 165 : Church of Saint Michael at Fobbing c.1920 [Author's Collection]

So what about the smuggling you might ask? Well, tales of such illicit activity are rife in this area but, of course, this is not documented. It is all folklore and hearsay. However, the marshes with all its creeks must have afforded opportunities for the smugglers. From the White Lion it was only a short walk to Fobbing Creek. There are tales of tunnels but these would have been discovered by the Customs officers. There is the remains of one such tunnel beneath the church but it is hard not to imagine the Customs officers keeping a close watch out for suspicious activity. The wharf, hard to describe it as a harbour really, would have seen plenty of officialdom, not ideal for covert operations. Even within a history panel at the White Lion, it states that "there is no record of any major confrontation between Customs men and the bootleggers" ¹⁸³ Within "Essex Heyday," published in 1949, William Addison wrote: "the plain fact is that there are few authentic records of smuggling in Essex in comparison with those of Kent and Sussex. It does not appear to have been carried out on so large a scale here. The shoals' round the Essex coast would make it tricky." ¹⁸⁴

Figure 166 : The Rectory at Fobbing c.1930 [Author's Collection]

One man who had faith in the old tales was the Rev. Ernest Gardner who, in drumming up support for restoration of the church tower, put together some history of the structure. Whilst recognising its strategic importance to the military at times of conflict with European nations such as France and Spain, he remarked that "if you examine the old houses of Fobbing, you will be struck with the size of their cellars. Under the old part of the Rectory is a cellar which I can only describe as indecently large. I could never hope to fill it adequately, and yet some of my predecessors must have done so. Making inferences is a dangerous pastime, but the view from the Tower, the large cellars under the old houses, and especially the accommodation under the Rectory, all point to the one conclusion, that the people of Fobbing were "Fair Traders" to a man, and the Rector, in consideration for the use of the Tower as an observation post, could stock his cellar a good deal more cheaply than I can. A surprise capture by the preventive men was impossible except in very dirty weather. The days are gone for ever when the old Tower served such practical purposes. No longer would watchman on its summit peer out towards the River Mouth to catch the first glimpse of the Spanish Armada. No longer do smugglers lurking down the river look for the "all clear" signal before running their cargoes into Fobbing." ¹⁸⁵

Figure 167 : The Wharf on Fobbing Creek with the White Lion at Fobbing c.1907 [Author's Collection]

Following the terrible floods of 1953, increased sea defences, along with the flood barrier, with subsequent silting and sediment deposition, the old wharf on Fobbing Creek has been lost. Nature is taking a different course today. Here one can see the wharf during Edwardian times. Many think that this is where the main smuggling action took place at Fobbing. Perhaps the Ship Inn benefited from discount prices for duty-free casks of wines and spirits. The old tavern can be seen in the background to the right of the image. The vessel seen here was the spritsail barge "Eliza of Rochester," registered at 34-ton. In the following decade the vessel, moored at Conyer Quay, was sold, along with all her standing and running rigging, gear and stores.¹⁸⁶

As we have seen from the people running the White Lion, coal was being transported along the Thames, probably from up north. Another important industry, but one that was on the doorstep, was brick manufacturing. The land to the south had several clay pits and a brick and tile works. More clay pits were located to the north-east of Fobbing Hall. The Ship Inn no doubt enjoyed good trade with thirsty brick labourers.

Figure 168 : Former Ship Inn on Wharf Road at Fobbing c.1935 [Author's Collection]

The Ship Inn closed many moons ago but the building, since divided into cottages still stands at the 'bottom' of Wharf Road. Like the White Lion, this building can trace its history back to the 15th century, though some extensions were added in the 18th century. One floor joist bears the date 1564, carved into the wood. A plaque on the front of the building has the date of 1652. Dickensian bibliophiles think that the Ship Inn was the house seen by the young orphan Pip when encountering Abel Magwitch on the marshes in "Great Expectations."

The Ship Inn was once operated by the Billericay Brewery, though the company's estate was sold at auction in January 1830. Early in the following Hezekiah Wash was the publican, not long after he had married Matilda Tridget, a servant at the Duke of Wellington at Epping.¹⁸⁷ The couple, assisted by Matilda's sister operated as an inn, offering accommodation to visitors. There was a blip in 1853 where it would appear that the Wash family wished to dispose of the Ship Inn. The building, including a general shop, was advertised with low rent in September 1853. There were either no takers, or Hekekiah Wash had a change of heart for he remained at the Ship Inn. Matilda Wash died in 1860, her husband continuing at the Ship Inn with his daughter, Ann, and his sister-in-law.¹⁸⁸ The publican re-married in 1865 to Sarah Fordham. Things between them seem to have unravelled quite quickly and in the following year she deserted him, leading to a court action in which she petitioned for a restitution of conjugal rights.¹⁸⁹ The couple evidently worked out some sort of domestic arrangement as Sarah Wash remained at the Ship Inn. In the 1871 Post-Office Directory for Essex Hezekiah Wash was listed as publican, grocer and draper, clearly covering all bases in terms of supplying bargemen with their basic requirements.

After running the Ship Inn for around 35 years, Hezekiah Wash died at the house in July 1879. With assistance from her brother, William Fordham, Sarah Walsh continued at the Ship Inn until deciding to give up the house in the autumn of 1883, an auction being held for household furniture including ten beds, stock-in-trade, shop fittings, tools, machinery, along with a pony and cart. The auctioneer would have required some refreshment as he would have been babbling on for hours as there was so much stuff to sell.¹⁹⁰ Sarah Wash was getting on in years, reaching the age of 84 when she passed away at the Essex County Asylum in 1891. She was buried at her hometown, Stanford-le-Hope.¹⁹¹

In October 1885, before the South Essex Licensing Committee, William Rod, living at the Ship Inn, applied for, and was granted, the removal of the licence of this tavern at Fobbing Wharf to the Tilbury Dock Tavern. This may have been the same William Rod who, together with his wife Rebecca, would run the Cross Keys at Chadwell St. Mary.

MORE ROUTE NOTES TO FOLLOW SOON ....

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References
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80. "Transfers" : Essex Newsman; October 29th, 1887. Page 2.
81. "In The Second-Class Bar" : Essex Weekly News; August 30th, 1901. Page 2.
82. "Tilbury Docks - Drink" : Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser; October 22nd, 1891. Page 7.
83. "Tilbury Docks - Drink" : Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser; April 2nd, 1891. Page 2.
84. "Grays Petty Sessions" : Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser; November 10th, 1887. Page 2.
85. 1861 England Census RG 12/1379 Folio 155: Norfolk, Norwich, St. Clement, District 18, Page 10.
86. "UK, Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824" 1910: Piece 14: Surnames M-Z [1875-1879].
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91. "Fatality at Tilbury" : Essex Newsman; June 20th, 1908. Page 3.
92. "Seaman's Horrible Death" : Northfleet and Swanscombe Standard; February 25th, 1899. Page 7.
93. "Fatal Bicycle Accident" : Essex Newsman; June 20th, 1908. Page 4.
94. "Fire at Tilbury" : Northfleet and Swanscombe Standard; January 24th, 1903. Page 2.
95. "50,000 Bombs on Dock Area" : Essex Newsman; October 31st, 1944. Page 1.
96. "Tilbury Docks - The Opening Ceremony" : Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser; April 22nd, 1886. Page 3.
97. 1891 England Census RG 12/209 Folio 66: London, Bloomsbury, Saint George, District 9, Page 18.
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99. "Attacked With a Razor" : Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper; August 11th, 1907. Page 9.
100."The Burning of the Warspite" : Penrith Observer; February 26th, 1918. Page 7.
101."The Warspite Boys" : Faringdon Advertiser and Vale of the White Horse Gazette; July 27th, 1918. Page 4.
102. "A Beetle and a Bride" : Essex Newsman; April 27th, 1935. Page 4.
103. "Guests Saved in Fire at Famous Thames Hotel" : Sunday Express; March 5th, 1944. Page 5.
104. "Melancholy and Fatal Accident" : Essex Standard; March 29th, 1844. Page 2.
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106. "Message from the Lords" : Kentish Weekly Post or Canterbury Journal; July 16th, 1799. Page 2.
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111. "Local Sporting" : Kentish Independent; April 26th, 1845. Page 4.
112. 1851 England Census HO 107/1773 Folio 195: Essex, Chadwell, District 1, Page 4.
113. "Tilbury" : Essex Standard; April 21st, 1843. Page 2.
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119. "Essex Archæological Society" : Chelmsford Chronicle; May 23rd, 1890. Page 5.
120. "The Late Case of Suicide at East Tilbury" : Chelmsford Chronicle; May 8th, 1846. Page 4.
121. "Died In Hotel Bar" : Chelmsford Chronicle; June 2nd, 1939. Page 6.
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123. "Baťa Shoe Co's Own Kinema" : Kinematograph Weekly; October 20th, 1938. Page 19.
124. "Baťa Boots - Mass Production At Tilbury Begins Today" : Daily News [London]; July 31st, 1933. Page 4.
125. 1921 Census : London > Kensington > Kensington North > District Kensington Mb, Enumeration District 60, Schedule 340.
126. "The Guardians Idea of a Father - Extraordinary Case" : Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser; February 11th, 1892. Page 3.
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128. "The Late Miss Blainey" : Barking, East Ham & Ilford Advertiser; July 11th, 1914. Page 2.
129. "January Session" : Chelmsford Chronicle; March 19th, 1841. Page 2.
130. "Village Flees From Its Name" : Daily Mirror; June 4th, 1923. Page 2.
131. White, William [1848] "History, Gazetteer, And Directory Of The County Of Essex" Sheffield : Robert Leader for William White. Page 560.
132. 1891 England Census RG 12/1379 Folio 90 : Essex, Mucking, District 6, Page 6.
133. "Mucking" : Essex Times; August 29th, 1888. p.3.
134. "A Remarkable Experience" : Essex Times; December 2nd, 1891. Page 6.
135. "Messrs, Rutter" : Chelmsford Chronicle; July 18th, 1913. Page 4.
136. "Restoration of Stanford-le-Hope Church" : Chelmsford Chronicle; April 26th, 1878. Page 5.
137. "Stanford-le-Hope Church - Opening Of The Restored Church" : Essex Herald; May 7th, 1878. Page 3.
138. "Death of Mrs. Fitch" : Grays & Tilbury Gazette; September 26th, 1908. Page 3.
139. "Funeral of Mr. William Fitch" : Grays & Tilbury Gazette; March 8th, 1913. Page 3.
140. "London and Southern Counties Labour League" : Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser; September 11th, 1890. Page 2.
141. 1911 Census Piece No.9990 : Essex, Stanford-le-Hope, District 192, Enumeration District 11, Schedule 75.
142. "M'Cormick's New Reaping Machine" : Essex Weekly News; August 22nd, 1862. Page 4.
143. "Terrible Accident at Stanford" : Grays & Tilbury Gazette; June 21st, 1902. Page 2.
144. "Stanford-le-Hope" : Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser; January 2nd, 1885. Page 2.
145. "Trial of Captain Moir for the wildful murder of William Malcolm" : Essex Herald; August 3rd, 1830. p.2.
146. "Thames Haven Railway" : Birmingham Journal; November 28th, 1835. Page 1.
147. "Thames Haven Pier" : Sun [London[; October 27th, 1866. Page 2.
148. "Thames Haven" : Building News; August 1st, 1855. Page 14.
149. "Mining Explosives" : Newcastle Chronicle; May 12th, 1888. Page 6.
150. "An Explosives Factory For Stanford" : Grays & Tilbury Gazette; January 28th, 1889. Page 3.
151. "Contemplated Removal Of A Factory From The District" : Grays & Tilbury Gazette; September 23rd, 1905. Page 3.
152. "Explosion at Corringham" : Grays & Tilbury Gazette; November 7th, 1914. Page 1.
153. "Thames Haven Railway & Dock Company General Meeting" : Chelmsford Chronicle; March 1st, 1839. p.3.
154. "The Fight For The Championship" : Essex Herald; December 2nd, 1862. Page 4.
155. "Died" : Chelmsford Chronicle; January 16th, 1857. Page 3.
156. "Dilapidated House To Be Rebuilt" : Essex Newsman; October 10th, 1896. Page 4.
157. 1901 England Census RG 13/1662 Folio 95 : Essex, Fobbing, District 6, Page 27.
158. "Essex Licensing" : Chelmsford Chronicle; June 17th, 1921. Page 2.
159. "Essex Licences : Confirmations In The County" : Chelmsford Chronicle; April 14th, 1922. Page 7.
160. UK, Land Tax Redemption, 1798 : Essex, Volume 3, Corringham, Page 248.
161. "Transfer" : Grays & Tilbury Gazette; July 29th, 1916. Page 3.
162. "Exciting Scenes" : Chelmsford Chronicle; May 11th, 1894. Page 6.
163. "The Essex Assize" : Chelmsford Chronicle; November 12th, 1920. Page 3.
164. "Haunts of Smugglers" : Country Life; May 6th, 1949. Page 1048.
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177. "Died" : Chelmsford Chronicle; November 14th, 1834. Page 3.
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179. London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1940 : London, Camden, St. George Bloomsbury, 1853. Page 52.
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181. "Petty Sessions" : Stratford Times and South Essex Gazette; September 6th, 1876. Page 7.
182. "Orsett Brewster Session, Sept. 7." : Chelmsford Chronicle; September 14th, 1877. Page 3.
183. "Hotbed of Lawlessness and Rebellion" : Essex Countryside; October 1996. Page 18.
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186. "For Sale" : Faversham Times and Mercury and North-East Kent Journal; March 7th, 1914. Page 2.
187. 1841 England Census H.O. 107/341/2 : Folio 33 : Essex, Epping, District 2, Page 19.
188. 1861 England Census RG 9/1074 : Folio 118 : Essex, Orsett, Fobbing, District 9d, Page 15.
189. England & Wales, Civil Divorce Records, 1858-1918 : 1867, Case No. 00360: Wash.
190. "To Furniture Dealers, Drapers, and Others" : Essex Weekly News; October 26th, 1883. Page 4.
191. "Death Of An Old Inhabitant" : Essex Newsman; October 24th, 1891. Page 4.

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