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Coordinates: 51°30′10″N 0°19′33″E / 51.50277°N 0.32570°E / 51.50277; 0.32570
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Stifford Clays
Housing estate and ward
Housing on Stifford Clays Road
Stifford Clays is located in Essex
Stifford Clays
Stifford Clays
Location within Essex
Population6,755 (2021 census)
OS grid referenceTQ615807
• London22.0 mi (35.4 km) W
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townGRAYS
Postcode districtRM16
Dialling code01375
PoliceEssex
FireEssex
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Essex
51°30′10″N 0°19′33″E / 51.50277°N 0.32570°E / 51.50277; 0.32570

Stifford Clays, historically also known as Flethall and Clay's Hall, is a housing estate and ward in the Stifford area of Grays in Thurrock, Essex, England. It is situated on a 660 acre site north of central Grays and borders North Stifford and Chafford Hundred to the west, Blackshots to the east and Belhus and Orsett to the north. It had a population of 6,755 in the 2021 census.[1]

There is evidence of human settlement or occupation in what is now Stifford Clays during the Iron Age and Roman, Saxon and Medieval periods. The earliest records of Stifford Clays date to the 15th century, when it was a manorial estate held by Maurice Bruyn, who later passed it to John Clay, who gave it its name. Historically home to a farmstead, the land was developed into a housing estate by Thurrock Urban District Council in the 1950s and 1960s.

History

[edit]

There is archaeological evidence to suggest an extensive period of human settlement in what is now Stifford Clays as far back as possibly the Neolithic or Bronze Age, and certainly the Early Iron Age. There is further evidence of human presence in the Late Iron Age and the Roman, Saxon and Medieval periods.[2] According to local legend, there was a settlement in the area that was torched some 2,000 years ago.[3]

The earliest records of Stifford Clays date to the 15th century.[4][5] At that time, Stifford Clays was a manorial estate in the ancient parish of Stifford.[6] In 1462, it was in the possession of Maurice Bruyn.[7] Bruyn passed on the manor to John Clay, for whom the manor was then named after; the name Stifford Clays is itself a corruption of the name Clay's Hall, which became the name of the manor after it came under Clay's possession.[5][6] Stifford Clays was also known as Flethall, after the Mardyke river on which it was situated; the Mardyke river was historically known as the Flete.[7][8] This name was still in use for the housing estate in the 20th century.[8]

After Clay's possession of the manor, Stifford Clays was passed back to the Bruyn family, who continued to possess the manor until it was passed through marriage to Antony Bradshaw, who died in 1636. The manor continued to change hands between different lords until the 1800s, when it was acquired by Richard Wingfield-Baker.[7][9] A 1777 map shows a house, orchards and farmstead at Stifford Clays, which still survives today. Stifford Clays Farm, a second surviving farmhouse located to the south of this site, dates from the early 19th century.[4][10]

By 1887, Stifford Clays had come into the possession of Thomas Charles Douglas Whitmore, who passed it down to his son Francis Whitmore. In 1939, Whitmore sold 30 acres of land at Stifford Clays Farm to Nora Mary Billings so she could build a housing estate. Billings began work on the estate but construction was disrupted by the Second World War, with only a few houses and bungalows built. After the war, Billings sold off the land to Thurrock Urban District Council.[11]

From 1952, the council developed the land and the wider area into a housing estate, building it up in the 1950s and 1960s.[12][10] The Stifford Clays estate was built on a 660 acre site to the north of Lodge Lane in Grays. By 1963, there were 2,039 homes in Stifford Clays, including 1,464 council homes and 575 private dwellings.[13] This period also saw the construction of two churches, a junior school, an infant school and a secondary school.[10] In 1971, work began on a medical centre and dental surgery which was completed and opened in 1972.[14][15]

Geography

[edit]

Stifford Clays is a housing estate in the Stifford area of Grays, a town in the borough of Thurrock in Essex, England.[10][16] It is one of several distinct areas which collectively make up the town, including the West Thurrock and Lakeside areas, Chafford Hundred, South Stifford, Grays Town Centre, Blackshots and Little Thurrock.[16] The estate is situated on a 660 acre site north of Lodge Lane, which forms its southern boundary with central Grays.[13][17] The northern boundary of Stifford Clays follows the Mardyke river and Green Lane, where it borders the wards of Belhus and Orsett, while in the west the estate borders North Stifford and Chafford Hundred at the A1012 road and the Treacle Mine Roundabout. It also borders Blackshots near Connaught Avenue and Blackshots Lane to the east.[17][18]

Politics and governance

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Stifford Clays is in the parliamentary constituency of Thurrock.[19] The local member of Parliament (MP) is Jen Craft of the Labour Party, who was first elected at the 2024 general election.[20] The local authority is Thurrock Council which has held unitary authority status since 1998. As such, the council is responsible for all local government services in the area.[21] Stifford Clays also falls under the jurisdiction of Essex Police and the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service which are overseen by the elected Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex.[22][23] Since 2016, the police, fire and crime commissioner has been Roger Hirst of the Conservative Party.[24]

For the purposes of local elections to Thurrock Council, Stifford Clays forms a single electoral ward which elects two councillors who serve for a term of four years.[25] Until 2004, the estate was united with the rest of Stifford in the Stifford ward, which elected three councillors. In 2004, Stifford Clays was split off to form its own ward to account for population growth in the borough of Thurrock, which is when it took on its current boundaries.[17][26]

Traditionally, Stifford Clays has been a marginal ward.[27] Since 2002, it has had elected councillors from the Conservative Party, Labour Party, UK Independence Party (UKIP) and Thurrock Independents Party (TIP).[28][29][27] In the 2014 council election, the leader of Thurrock UKIP Graham Snell was elected to represent the ward. He left UKIP to found and lead the TIP before losing his seat in the 2018 council election.[30][28] Another councillor for Stifford Clays was Maureen Pearce of the Conservative Party, who served as the deputy mayor of Thurrock from 2008 to 2009 and mayor of Thurrock from 2009 to 2010.[31][32] Jen Craft, the future MP for Thurrock, also unsuccessfully contested the ward as the Labour candidate in the 2019 council election.[28][33]

References

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  1. ^ "Stifford Clays". Office of National Statistics. 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2025 – via City Population.
  2. ^ Wilkinson, T. J. (1988). "Archaeology and Environment in South Essex: Rescue Archaeology along the Grays By-pass, 1979/80" (PDF). East Anglian Archaeology Report (42). Essex County Council Archaeology Section: 17–23, 75. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  3. ^ "William Edwards finds date back to Bronze Age". Thurrock Gazette. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Rural Settlement Assessment of North Stifford" (PDF). Thurrock Council. 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  5. ^ a b Wright, Thomas (1836). The History and Topography of the County of Essex: Illustrated by a Series of Views Taken on the Spot, by Messrs. G. Arnold, A. R. A., Bartlett, Campion, &c. G. Virtue.
  6. ^ a b Palin, William (1872). More about Stifford and Its Neighbourhood, Past and Present ... Taylor and Company.
  7. ^ a b c Palin, William (1871). Stifford and Its Neighbourhood, Past and Present. Printed for Private Circulation. Taylor and Company.
  8. ^ a b Morgan, Glyn (1969). Forgotten Thameside. Letchworth Printers. p. 51. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Fire at Stifford". Essex Chronicle. 22 July 1870. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d Powell, W. R.; Board, Beryl A.; Briggs, Nancy; Fisher, J. L.; Harding, Vanessa A.; Hasler, Joan; Knight, Norma; Parsons, Margaret (1983). "Parishes: Stifford". A History of the County of Essex. 8. Victoria County History: 24–35. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  11. ^ Leach, Norma. "My link with Orsett Hall". Thurrock Local History Society. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  12. ^ Bettley, James; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2007). The Buildings of England: Essex. Yale University Press. p. 751. ISBN 978-0-300-11614-4. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  13. ^ a b Pearce, R. D. (1963). The Thurrock Urban District Council Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the Year 1963. Thurrock Urban District Council. p. 24. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  14. ^ Franklin, J. A. C. (1971). County Council of Essex Annual Report of the Principal School Medical Officer for the Year 1971. Essex County Council. p. 35. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  15. ^ Franklin, J. A. C. (1972). County Council of Essex Annual Report of the Principal School Medical Officer for the Year 1972. Essex County Council. p. 32. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  16. ^ a b "Creating Successful Places: Thurrock Local Plan – Initial Proposals Document" (PDF). Thurrock Council. December 2023. p. 21. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  17. ^ a b c "Final recommendations on the future electoral arrangements for Thurrock" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission. December 2001. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  18. ^ "Thurrock". Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  19. ^ "Thurrock: Seat Details". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  20. ^ "Labour take Thurrock – but it's too close to call in South Basildon and East Thurrock and a recount will follow". Thurrock Nub News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  21. ^ "Borough and council history: From Turroc to modern Thurrock". Thurrock Council. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  22. ^ "Essex Police, Fire and Crime Panel". Thurrock Council. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  23. ^ "What does the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner do for Essex?". Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  24. ^ "Election 2021: Conservative Roger Hirst is new Essex PFCC". BBC News. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  25. ^ "Wards and polling stations". Thurrock Council. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  26. ^ "The Borough of Thurrock (Electoral Changes) Order 2002". UK Government. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  27. ^ a b "Ward by Ward: Stifford Clays". Your Thurrock. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  28. ^ a b c "Ward by Ward: Stifford Clays". Your Thurrock. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  29. ^ "Ward by Ward: Stifford Clays". Your Thurrock. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  30. ^ Speight, Neil (26 May 2020). "Duo back council in secrecy row and rubbish claims that officers acted without consultation as billion pound borrowing was racked up". Thurrock Nub News. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  31. ^ "New mayor appointed for the borough". Thurrock Gazette. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  32. ^ "Election 2011: Ward by Ward: Stifford Clays". Your Thurrock. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  33. ^ Speight, Neil (31 October 2022). "Home town girl Jen tells of her pride at being selected for parliamentary battle". Thurrock Nub News. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
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