Thorrington is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

Tendring Tendring is a village and civil parish in Essex. It gives its name to the Tendring District and before that the Tendring Hundred. Its name was given to the larger groupings because it was at the centre, not because it was larger than the other ...

district 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. It lies east of

Wivenhoe Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parish in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two ...

and north of

Brightlingsea Brightlingsea is a coastal town and an electoral ward in the Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, on Brightlingsea Creek. At the 2011 Census, it had a popu ...

. The striking medieval flint church is dedicated to

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

, and the patrons of the church are

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

. Thorrington is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as Torinduna. From handwritten sources held by the Church, Thorrington has also been known as Turituna (1152–71); Torritona (1202), Thurituna (1237), Thurington (1248), Thurinton (1253). Thorinton (1255), Tornidune (1272), Tyriton (1274), Thornton (1285), Thoriton (1295), Thoweryngton (1476), Thurrington (1594).

Geography

On the west side, the Tenpenny Brook forms the parish boundary between Thorrington and Alresford. At the point where the brook flows into the Alresford Creek (a branch of the

Colne Estuary Colne Estuary is a 2915 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Brightlingsea in Essex. It is also a Nature Conservation Review site, a National Nature Reserve, a Ramsar wetland site of international importanc ...

) stands Thorrington Mill. This is a

tide mill A tide mill is a water mill driven by tidal rise and fall. A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir. As the tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one-way gate ...

built in 1831 and now a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The east and northern boundaries of the parish are bounded by the Saltwater Brook. Where the Saltwater Brook flows into Flag Creek (formerly Borefleet Creek or Byrflytt) is the former site of another Tidal Mill. The village is now almost connected by recently-built (2000s) housing to Thorrington Cross, a hamlet of mixed industrial & retail premises, smallholdings and inter-war ribbon development villas at the crossroads of the B1029 (the

road) and the B1027 (

to Clacton). The Colchester to Clacton railway line passes just to the north of the village. Thorrington's station - spelled 'Thorrington' on the Ordnance Survey map, but 'Thorington' as far as the railway companies were concerned - was opened in 1867, and closed in 1957. Great Bentley station is now the closest rail station, located around 2 miles north-east of the village.

Local schools

Great Bentley Primary School is the nearest primary school which serves the catchments of Thorrington, Great Bentley, Frating, Little Bentley and Aingers Green, which caters for around 210 boys and girls aged 4–11.
Great Bentley School, accessed 03 May 2012 This school was built in 1896 and has recently undertaken some rebuilding work in 2003, maintaining its historic front throughout. Currently, this school is rated good or two in its latest Ofsted inspection report.
Ofsted report, accessed 03 May 2012

Governance

There are several elected representatives at different levels of government which act for Thorrington and the surrounding villages.Thorrington find your local MP
WriteToThem, accessed 03 May 2012 There are two Thorrington, Frating, Elmstead and Great Bromley district councillors who represent the area at Tendring District Council. The population of the above ward was at the 2011 census 4,687. The current district councillors are Gary Scott (LibDem) and Ann Wiggins (LibDem). The current Brightlingsea County Councillor who represents the area at Essex County Council is Alan Goggin (Conservative). The current Harwich and North Essex MP who represents the area in the House of Commons is the Rt Hon Sir Bernard Jenkin (Conservative).

Related places

Thorrington was the name of the home of an estate agent, Charles Clark (1824-1906), who arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1856. Presumably he had a connection with Thorrington in England. He was living at this house at the time of his marriage in 1865. It led to the naming of Thorrington Road in the area, and then to Thorrington School,
Thorrington School, accessed 11 Nov 2013 a primary school on Colombo Street, Christchurch.

References

External links

Link to National Archive

Entry in Kelly's Directory of Essex, 1882
*
Thorrington tide mill
{{authority control Villages in Essex Civil parishes in Essex Tendring