Thorpe Bay is an area of the city of

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

, in the

City of Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

, in the ceremonial county of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. located on the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

. Thorpe Bay is situated within the Thorpe

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Southend-on-Sea. It is around 4 miles to the east of Southend. Originally the area was called Thorpe, but it was renamed Thorpe Bay, after the railway station. The station had been given the name to indicate that it was a seaside settlement. The majority of Thorpe Bay consists of residential properties, mainly built in the 1920s, arranged in a grid pattern.

Location

Thorpe Bay can be defined as the area between the eastern side of Thorpe Hall Avenue to the west (beyond which is

Southchurch Southchurch is an inner city area of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. England. In 1911 the parish had a population of 3954. History In 824 AD, a Saxon thegn, Leofstan pr ...

), Thorpe Bay beach to the south, Maplin Way to the east, (beyond which is Shoeburyness), up to Station Road (beyond which is Bournes Green).

Shopping

The main shopping area, named 'The Broadway' – after the road on which it lies – is a parade of retail shops and restaurants, as well as medical and professional practices.

Transport

Thorpe Bay railway station Thorpe Bay railway station is on the London, Tilbury and Southend line, serving the Thorpe Bay area to the east of Southend-on-Sea, Essex. It is down the main line from London Fenchurch Street via and is situated between and . Its three-lett ...

is the penultimate station on the

London, Tilbury and Southend line The London, Tilbury and Southend line, also known as Essex Thameside, is a commuter railway line on the British railway system. It connects Fenchurch Street station, in central London, with destinations in east London and Essex, including , , ...

served by

c2c Trenitalia c2c Limited,Companies House extract company no 789726 ...

from London Fenchurch Street (the last being

Shoeburyness railway station Shoeburyness railway station is the eastern terminus of the London, Tilbury and Southend Line (Engineer's Line Reference FSS), serving the suburb of Shoeburyness, Essex. It is down the main line from London Fenchurch Street via ; the precedi ...

). Consequently, a large number of London commuters choose to live in Thorpe Bay. Thorpe Bay enjoys good access by bus, provided by Arriva Shires & Essex including the number 1, 4(a), 7, 8 and 9. In 1914,

Southend-on-Sea Corporation Tramways Southend-on-Sea Corporation Tramways served the town of Southend-on-Sea in Essex from 19 July 1901 until 8 April 1942. History Until the 19th century, Southend-on-Sea did not exist as a place, and the established centres of population were at L ...

' network was extended from Bournes Green to Thorpe Bay. The tramway closed in 1942 after being superseded by the motorbus.

Leisure

Thorpe Bay has one of Southend-on-Sea's exclusive golf courses, the Thorpe Hall Golf Club. Thorpe Bay Bowling Club and Lawn Tennis Club are close together on the north side of Thorpe Esplanade (the main road along the seafront). As well as these clubs, Thorpe Bay Yacht Club is also situated along the seafront, to the eastern end of Thorpe Bay. These clubs are private organisations open for annual membership. Thorpe Bay does not have a cinema, a theatre or any other major cultural amenities, but leisure organisations, in addition to those already mentioned, include Thorpe Bay Bridge Club, The Rotary Club of Thorpe Bay and a well-equipped fitness gym.

Politics

James Duddridge MP, representing the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, has been Thorpe Bay's member of parliament since 2005. Thorpe Bay is part of the Thorpe Ward of Southend-on-Sea. The ward currently has three independent councillors. These are Cllr Ron Woodley, Cllr Mike Stafford and Cllr Martin Terry.

Schools

Thorpe Bay has a few schools, such as Bournes Green Infants and Junior School, which lies just above the Station Road northern boundary; and

Thorpe Hall School Thorpe Hall School is a non-selective, coeducational independent school in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The school is a member of the Independent Schools Council. The school admits students from age 2–16. The curriculum broadly follows ...

, a non- selective,

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

day school.

Religion

There has been a church in Thorpe Bay since 1913. The three churches in Thorpe Bay include St. Augustine's Parish Church (

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

) on St. Augustine's Avenue; Thorpe Bay Methodist Church on The Broadway, whose architectural predecessor was erected in 1921; and St. Gregory's Roman Catholic Chapel of Ease, opened in 1928, which sits opposite the Methodist church on The Broadway.

Notable residents

James Duddridge Sir James Philip Duddridge, (born 26 August 1971) is a British politician and former banker serving as Minister of State for International Trade. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochford and Southend East since 2005. He is ...

, MP for Rochford and Southend East, lives in, and is MP for Thorpe Bay. * Mark Foster, lived in Thorpe Bay and was educated at Alleyn Court School. * Jim Peters, marathon runner, was a resident of Thorpe Bay until his death on 9 January 1999, aged 80. *

Rachel Riley Rachel Annabelle Riley (born 11 January 1986) is a British television presenter. She co-presents the Channel 4 daytime puzzle show ''Countdown'' and its comedy spin-off '' 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown''. She is a mathematics graduate. Her t ...

, co-presenter on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

gameshow ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'', also lives in the area.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Populated coastal places in Essex Southend-on-Sea (town)