Tendring District

Tendring District is a local government district in north-east Essex, England. It extends from the River Stour in the north, to the coast and the River Colne in the south, with the coast to the east and the city of Colchester to the west. Its council is based in Clacton-on-Sea. Towns in the district include Frinton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze, Brightlingsea and Harwich. Large villages in the district include St Osyth and Great Bentley.

Sometimes referred to as the ''Tendring Peninsula'', the district was formed on 1 April 1974 by a merger of the borough of Harwich with Brightlingsea Urban District, Clacton and Frinton and Walton urban districts, and Tendring Rural District. The name ''Tendring'' comes from the ancient Tendring Hundred which is named after the small Tendring village at the centre of the area. The Tendring Poor Law Union covered the same area as the present district.

During the English civil war, the self-appointed Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins carried out many trials throughout this and the surrounding area, especially in the town of Manningtree and village of Mistley on the River Stour.

The largest town in the Tendring district is Clacton-on-Sea, with a population of 53,000.

Etymology

Theories about the origin of its name:
*From Anglo-Saxon ''tynder'' = "tinder": "place where tinder or fuel is gathered"
*From the German placenam
Tündern
in Lower Saxony (old spelling ''Tundiriun'') and Anglo-Saxon ''-ing'' or ''-ingas'': "people who came across the sea from Tündern"

Topography

The highest part of the district is a low (35 metres) ridge running west to east only 3 km south of the River Stour. The greater part of the district is undulating land sloping very gently to the south which is traversed by a number of streams.

Demography

Tendring district contains the most deprived part of England, in the Jaywick area. This area was ranked as the most deprived are in the government's indices of deprivation in 2010, 2015 and 2019 (being the most recent survey as at 2022).

Politics and local governance

As at June 2022, of the 48 members of Tendring District Council, the Conservatives have 21, Independent Group 6, Tendring Independents 6, Labour 6, Tendring First 4, Holland-on-Sea Group 2, Liberal Democrats 2, and UKIP 1. The council is therefore under no overall control, with the Conservatives the largest group. Since 2015, the leader of the council has been Neil Stock, a Conservative.

The council has its main offices and meeting place at Clacton Town Hall.

Parishes

The district is divided into the following parishes. "From" indicates older parishes which have now been merged.
* Alresford
* Ardleigh
* Beaumont-cum-Moze
* Bradfield
* Brightlingsea
* Elmstead
* Frating
* Frinton and Walton (from Frinton, Great Holland, Kirby-le-Soken, and Walton-le-Soken)A Vision of Britain Through Time: Frinton and Walton
/ref>
* Great Bentley
* Great Bromley
* Great Oakley
* Harwich (from Dovercourt and St Nicholas)
* Lawford
* Little Bentley
* Little Bromley
* Little Clacton
* Little Oakley
* Manningtree
* Mistley
* Ramsey and Parkeston
* St Osyth
* Tendring
* Thorpe-le-Soken
* Thorrington
* Weeley
* Wix
* Wrabness

Soken

In the extreme east of the district is an area formerly known as the Soken which was granted special privileges in Saxon times. It is remembered in the place names Kirby-le-Soken, Thorpe-le-Soken and Walton-le-Soken (an older name for Walton-on-the-Naze).

Arms

Notes

External links

Entry in Kelly's Directory of Essex, 1894
* The local water supply company preserves the old name
Tendring Hundred Water Services Ltd

Review of ward boundaries
by the Boundary Commission for England with maps

History notes on the Sokens

Unofficial Frinton website

Tendring Social Network Website
*

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Non-metropolitan districts of Essex