Orsett Heath is a location and recently built hamlet in the unitary authority of Thurrock

Thurrock

Thurrock is a unitary authority with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council....

, in the ceremonial county of Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

. It is located about twenty miles away from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Nearby settlements include the towns of Tilbury

Tilbury

Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...

 and Grays Thurrock and the villages of Orsett

Orsett

Orsett is a village and ecclesiastical parish located within Thurrock unitary district in Essex, England, situated around 5 km north-east of Grays...

 and Chadwell St Mary

Chadwell St Mary

Chadwell-St-Mary is a dispersed settlement in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England. It is one of the traditional parishes in Thurrock and former civil parish. It is a few miles east of the town of Grays and is located north of the modern town of Tilbury which was part of the parish...

. For transport there is the A13 road (England), the A1089 road and the A1013 road nearby. The nearest railway station is Tilbury Town railway station

Tilbury Town railway station

Tilbury Town railway station is a railway station located in the town of Tilbury in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in the East of England....

. There is also the Gateway Community collage about an eighth of a mile away.

At one time, Orsett Heath was probably part of a large swathe of heathland iterspaced with woodland. This included Biggin Heath (heathland belonging to the manor of Biggin

Biggin, Essex

Biggin is a hamlet and manor in Chadwell St Mary, part of the borough of Thurrock, in the ceremonial county of Essex. It is about north of the town of Tilbury and a similar distance east of Grays Thurrock.-Name:...

), Chadwell Heath (heathland belonging to the manor of Chadwell St Mary, not the place near Romford), Mucking Heath, Orsett Heath, Socketts Heath and Terrel's Heath

Terrel's Heath

Terrel's Heath is, in spite of its name, an area of woodland in Chadwell St Mary named on the 1938 six-inch Ordnance Survey map.-Location and description: Terrel's Heath is adjacent to Woodside Primary School in Little Thurrock...

all of which were on high ground compared to the nearby marsh and had poor sandy soil with underlying gravel and chalk.