Thurrock Memories : The Priory, Horndon on the hill

DOWN Memory Lane this week looks at the Priory, Horndon on the Hill. Our featured photograph is of one of the buildings, which looks a bit ‘Jerry’ built, which forms part of a photographic record of the institution, which we have in the Thurrock Museum collection.



I recently met a lovely lady now living in Stanford-le-Hope, who explained that her family moved out of London and came to live at the Priory until they could find a home locally.

Unfortunately I can find little about who ran the facility and how they came to settle in Horndon, although I do realise quite a few other religious groups did come to Stanford-le-Hope for instance in late Victorian and later times.

Do you have any memories of this place or better, did you ever stay in the Horndon Priory, I am really keen to learn more about this place.

History feed back: I have received a long letter from Mr N.J.O’Nion now living in Nairnshire.

He has early memories of the Tilbury Landing Stage, indeed his father worked on the new landing stage in 1930 driving electrically driven boogie trolleys to transport passengers luggage from the custom hall to the ship and vice-versa!

His own memories start in 1959 and recalls seeing the car ferries, the Mimie and Tessa carrying about 30 vehicles at a time. Cars waiting for the ferry would queue down to the World’s End while they waited for a crossing.

The opening of the Dartford tunnel stopped the service and he thinks the ferries were sold off to Belgium for scrapping.

History fact of the week: August 14, 1877: Destructive Insects Act passes to prevent introduction and spreading of foreign insects in Great Britain.