Thorpe Bay
Thorpe Bay is an affluent area within the Borough of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, located on the Thames Estuary.
Thorpe Bay is situated within the Southend ward of Thorpe. 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 1920, arranged in a grid pattern.
Contents
Location
Thorpe Bay can be defined as the area between Thorpe Hall Avenue to the west (beyond which is Southchurch), Thorpe Bay beach to the south, accessed by Thorpe Esplanade, Maplin Way to the east, (beyond which is Shoeburyness), and Acacia Drive and Station Road to the north (beyond which is Bournes Green), although many consider this northern boundary of Thorpe Bay to extend up to Bournes Green Chase. The Post Office does not recognise Thorpe Bay as a postal area.
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. This includes a Post Office, two supermarkets and three banks.
Transport
Thorpe Bay railway station is the penultimate station on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line served by c2c from London Fenchurch Street (the last being Shoeburyness railway station). Consequently, a large number of London commuters choose to live in Thorpe Bay. Thorpe Bay enjoys generous access by bus, provided by the Arriva transport company including the number 1, 4(a), 7, 8 and 9. In 1914, Southend-on-Sea Corporation Tramways' network was extended from Bournes Green to Thorpe Bay. The Tramway closed in 1942 after being superseded by the motorbus. It is said that trams did not stop in Thorpe Bay, in order to prevent less affluent members of the public walking through this notably middle-class area.
Leisure
Thorpe Bay boasts one of Southend-on-Sea's main golf courses, the Thorpe Hall Golf Club. Thorpe Bay Bowling Club and Lawn Tennis Club are located in close proximity to each other 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 has been Thorpe Bay's conservative 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 (Leader of the Council), Cllr Mike Stafford and Cllr Martin Terry.
Schools
Thorpe Bay has just one school, 'Bournes Green Infants and Junior School', which lies just above the Station Road northern boundary.
Religion
There has been a church in Thorpe Bay since 1913. The two churches in Thorpe Bay include Saint Augustine's Parish Church on St. Augustine's Avenue and Thorpe Bay Methodist Church on The Broadway.
Miscellaneous
Thorpe Bay has a monthly magazine distributed to residents called The Oracle. It advertises local businesses and contains short articles by residents about a variety of subjects from travel to beauty, food to local issues.
Notable residents
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thorpe Bay. |
- James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, lives in, and is MP for Thorpe Bay.
- Rachel Riley, co-presenter on the Channel 4 gameshow Countdown, also lives in the area.
- Jim Peters, marathon runner, was a resident of Thorpe Bay until his death on 9 January 1999, aged 80.
- Mark Foster (swimmer), lived in Thorpe Bay and was educated at Alleyn Court School.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
 |
This Essex location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
