West Tilbury is a village in the borough of Thurrock in Essex, England. It stands on a high ridge of land overlooking the River Thames. It lies north-east of Tilbury, its post town.
West Tilbury and neighbouring East Tilbury had formed a single territory in Saxon times, which subsequently fragmented into two parishes. Tilbury Fort on the River Thames was built in the reign of Henry VIII as part of London's defences against an attack from France. The fort straddled the parishes of West Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary. The new town of Tilbury grew up around docks built to the west of the fort in the 19th century. Although sharing its name with West Tilbury and East Tilbury, the town of Tilbury was in Chadwell St Mary parish.
The civil parish of West Tilbury was abolished in 1936 on the creation of Thurrock Urban District, which in turn became the modern borough of Thurrock in 1974. The ecclesiastical parish has also been abolished, and the area now forms part of a Church of England ecclesiastical parish called "East and West Tilbury and Linford".
Geography West Tilbury lies in the extreme south of Essex, fronting the Thames. About half of its land surface is Thames alluvium (clay), the inland portion rising as a dramatic gravel ridge (about OD). Upon its northward border with Mucking parish there are limited sandy loams. The substratum is of Thanet Sands, which in turn overlie a considerable depth of chalk. A post-glacial stream valley transects the gravel ridge along the north parish edge, revealing slight surface yellow sands (Thanets), over a generally gravely agricultural surface. Some large nodules of flint, and erratic Bunter pebbles surface on the valley bottom. The rich soils of the southward Thames alluvium have been reclaimed from a former natural (tidal) saltmarsh state, being gradually embanked from the medieval onward. An Inquisition of 1362 refers to one marsh on the manor as already within a 'wall'. The last major 'inning' or reclamation for agricultural land came in the 1720s. A significant creek once ran inland to near the Domesday manor centre at Hall Hill, but this was blocked off, apparently in the mid 16th century. Its inlet, known to rivermen as Bill Meroy Creek, allowed the access of small vessels to the Marsh Farm (near Tilbury Fort) to within living memory.
Earlier agricultural regimes over the parish embraced mixed farming (cattle, grasses, cereals, beans) upon the 'upland' gravel heights, where, before present demands upon the water table, numerous surface springs, brooks and ponds existed, and intensive marshland sheep husbandry (producing ewes' milk and cheeses for the local and wider markets). In the 21st century, the agricultural picture is one of interesting variety within a wholly arable framework, with rotations which include oilseed rapes, barley, potatoes, springreens, salad onions and some maize corn across the high, lighter soils, and rape, potatoes and wheat upon the low lying clays. A few runner beans and small herbs such as coriander are cultivated on suitable loamy patches near the village centre.Bingley, R. (Contributor), Personal Field Observation 2000–2012
History Archaeology The gravel terrace within the parish produces numerous examples of pointed hand axes of the Lower Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age); some evidence of Mousterian (Neanderthal) tools has been found close to the village centre. A massive presence of post-glacial peoples Maglemosian along the northern stream valley abutting Mucking parish is indicated by the finding of flint production-cores and blades, together with the characteristic tranchet axes, adzes and flint picks ('Thames Picks') of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Occupation continued through the Neolithic, doubtless closely associated with the nearby Orsett causewayed enclosure. These early farmers appear to have been more prevalent upon the upper slopes (gravels) above the aforesaid valley than their Middle Stone Age predecessors. A continuity of field systems throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages is apparent. During 2010, excavations north of Mill House uncovered a Later Bronze Age burial mound (barrow) and other pre-Roman features.Excavation Report forthcoming (Archaeological Solutions)
A Claudian period rectangular defensive enclosure on Gun Hill was excavated in the late 1960s (finds at Thurrock Museum). A most important migration period (c.600 AD) grubenhaus – a sunken floored hut – was examined, also in the late 1960s during gravel extraction. It indicates the early Anglo-Saxonisation of the area from c. 450 AD onward and is similar to the numerous other grubenhauser away on the Mucking hilltop.Bingley R. A Saxon Grubenhaus at West Tilbury. Thurrock Local History Society Vol. 16, 1972–3
In 2000, a twisted gold wire torc with decorated buffer finials, probably of 1st century B.C. date, was discovered by an agricultural worker here. It was illegally disposed of and is now lost to the archaeological record,Bingley, Randal, The West Tilbury Gold Torc in Panorama 53 - The Journal of the Thurrock Local History Society but photos taken at the time of finding indicate it was similar to torc-types from the Waldalgesheim chariot burial in the Rhineland.Eluére, C. The Celts: First Masters of Europe. p. 161, 1992
Hedges and woodland
Upon the reclaimed marshland, the traditional division of fields (called 'hopes') was by drainage ditches ('water-fences'). These soon develop effusions of phragmites reed, bramble, and wild sloe but are periodically redug and so do not grow into lasting hedges. The upland fields were formerly criss-crossed by lofty columns of elm. This tree is now decimated, but a continuously reviving (cloning) scrub prevails within hedgerows of more mixed character. In places, very ancient fragments of hedgeline survive, giving beautiful ranges of hazel, spindle, field maple, oak, ash and with representative ground flora such as red campion, stitchwort and bluebell. Regrettably, the introduced herb called 'Alexanders' (Smyrnium olusatrum) is now colonising most of West Tilbury's lanes, to the detriment of the richer mosaic of small plants.
Several notable but very small and vulnerable areas of ancient woodland can still be seen. Known as Ashen Shaw, Rainbow Shaw and Shrove Hill, each adheres to the parish boundary, a noticeable feature of many ancient woodlands in the district. The former takes its name from its outline, being set on the northern edge of West Tilbury in a curve around the stony hill summit. In spring its canopy of wild cherries in blossom is a continuing delight. Its ancient coppice stools include field maple, ash, crab apple, hornbeam and oak (Q.robur), while the woodland floor is prolific with violets, native bluebell and wild arum. Pignut is also present. Shrove Hill, upon the west boundary with Chadwell, is so called from 'shrough', an old word for rough woodland. Another tiny parcel of wood is Coopers Shaw – the latter an elm thicket of more recent origin. The local word 'shaw' derives from a medieval term for woodland which was usually managed as coppice.
Field systems The field enclosures are recorded over the past 400 years or more, beginning with John Walker's manor survey of 1584, to more modern mapsJames Asser’s complete parish, 1804, the Tithe Apportionment mapping, 1838, and subsequent O.S. coverage
Additionally a 'terrier' notebook (an account of land details) dating from the 1780s describes every West Tilbury farm and field with its crops; tallies of livestock etc. The present day field systems have developed as farming needs require from those which the above earlier maps describe, and, apart from hedge removal and general enlargement of the plots, show no marked difference (in some cases, the enclosure shapes of 1584 are still evident).
The common fields Unique to this part of Essex, West Tilbury still has a large expanse of unenclosed (unhedged) land known as 'Great Common'. This was one of the three medieval areas of strip field, on which the manorial farmers worked their individual copyhold ribbons of ground. It lies backing the village Green and public house. There was another comparable area off Low Street Lane, known as the 'Little Common', where similarly the individual strips (called 'dayworks' here in the medieval period) were marked out by posts or other distinguishing features. The last of these posts – of cast iron – were re-erected in 1868 and bear the name of Sir John Cass, whose charity school at Aldgate owned an estate and strip plots here.Surviving example visible, Sir John Cass, 1868, in Blue Anchor Lane, West Tilbury.
Agriculture Unusually for south Essex, West Tilbury continued to operate some open field farming well into the 19th century. Although they were in the open field, individual holdings were freehold. There were occasional disputes as to the location of these holdings. In due course, the two institutional land owners – the Sir John Cass Foundation and the town of Henley on Thames – erected markers to define their holdings.
Earlier agricultural regimes over the parish embraced mixed farming (cattle, grasses, cereals, beans) upon the 'upland' gravel heights, where, before present demands upon the water table, numerous surface springs, brooks and ponds existed, and intensive marshland sheep husbandry (producing ewes' milk and cheeses for the local and wider markets).
West Tilbury Commons Also survivals of medieval manor farming practice, these are the zones of grassland reserved for the commoners of the township – those who held the copyholds (or later freeholds) of the dozen or more farms within the parish. Each was allowed to graze a certain number of bullocks, cows or sheep upon the commons between spring and late autumn. By the 18th century, this regulation of the manor court was being abused, and various unauthorised villagers let their animals onto the grounds to feed. In 1895 an Act of Parliament finally set up a regulatory body known as the West Tilbury Common Conservators, allows the proper use of the several parts of the Commons.
The West Tilbury Commons at present cover above of the parish, the smallest portion being the central area of village Green. This was originally (from about 1257) the market square (held each Wednesday) set up by Richard de Tilbury, the manor lord. Adjacent to it, was the manor pond, doubtless an important feature in an age when rural markets were supplied by pack-horses coming from considerable distances. The annual St. James' fair also took place here, and Walker's mapping of 1584 refers to it as the 'Fayer Green'. The larger areas of common grazing lay farther off: Hall Common (south of the manor house) ; Parsonage Common (near the medieval parsonage house) ; Tilbury Fort Common and ; Walton Common (close to the Tilbury Power Station) ; fringes of Fort Road .
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