Thorpe Bay is an affluent area within the Borough of Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...

 in 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...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, situated on the Thames Estuary

Thames Estuary

The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...

.

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 was renamed Thorpe Bay after its station. The station had been given the name to indicate that it was a seaside settlement. It can be defined as the area between Liftstan Way to the west (beyond which is Southchurch

Southchurch

Southchurch is now part of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. However, it was an independent parish until 1894 and has a documented history going back to the ninth century AD....

), Maplin Way to the east, (beyond which is Shoeburyness

Shoeburyness

Shoeburyness is a town in southeast Essex, England, situated at the mouth of the river Thames Estuary. It is within the borough of Southend-on-Sea, and is situated at the far east of the borough, around east of Southend town centre...

), and Acacia Drive/Station Road to the north (beyond which is Bournes Green).

The main shopping area, named The Broadway, is a parade of shops and restaurants, surrounded by residential houses (mainly built in the 1920s) in a grid pattern. Thorpe Bay railway station

Thorpe Bay railway station

Thorpe Bay is a railway station in Southend-on-Sea, on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway. Train services are provided by c2c. The station is 37 miles distant on the main line from Fenchurch Street.- Layout :...

 is the penultimate station on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway

London, Tilbury and Southend Railway

The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway is an English railway line linking Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London with northeast London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex. It is currently known as the Essex Thameside Route by Network Rail...

 line served by c2c

C2c

c2c is a British train operating company that is part of the National Express Group. It provides passenger rail services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line from Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London to east London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway...

 from London Fenchurch Street

Fenchurch Street railway station

Fenchurch Street railway station, also known as London Fenchurch Street, is a central London railway terminus in the south eastern corner of the City of London, England. The station is one of the smallest terminals in London in terms of platforms and one of the most intensively operated...

 (the last being Shoeburyness railway station

Shoeburyness railway station

Shoeburyness is a railway station located in the small town of Shoeburyness in the borough and unitary district of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. The station serves as the eastern terminus of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway from Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London,...

). Consequently, a large number of residents commute to London. Thorpe Bay boasts one of the main golf clubs in Southend-on-Sea, the Thorpe Hall Golf Club. Thorpe Bay Bowling Club and Lawn Tennis Club are located on the North side of the B1016 (the main road along the seafront) in close proximity to each other and are private annual organisations open for membership, as is Thorpe Bay Yacht Club, a short way further down the seafront. Thorpe Bay has no cinema, theatre or other major cultural sites, but leisure organisations include the golf club, lawn tennis club, bowling club, yacht

Yacht

A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...

 club, bridge

Contract bridge

Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...

 club and a coffee shop / bar with a gallery on the Broadway.

Schools

Thorpe Bay has four schools, Bournes Green Infants and Junior School and Thorpe Greenways Infants and Junior School. Also, it has Thorpe Bay High School (Futures College) and Southend High School for Girls

Southend High School for Girls

Southend High School for Girls is a grammar school situated on Southchurch Boulevard in the east of Southend-on-Sea, England. It has students from the ages 11 through to 18 years old. The current headteacher is Mrs A.D. Clewlow.-Academics:...

Famous People

• James Duddridge MP for Rochford and Southend East, lives in Thorpe Bay.
• Rachel Riley
  Rachel Riley
  Rachel Annabelle Riley is an English television presenter. Since 12 January 2009 she has been the co-host of Countdown. She replaced Carol Vorderman from the 60th series onwards...
  
  , co-presenter on the Channel 4
  Channel 4
  Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
  
   gameshow Countdown
  Countdown (game show)
  Countdown is a British game show involving word and number puzzles. It is produced by ITV Studios and broadcast on Channel 4. It is presented by Jeff Stelling, assisted by Rachel Riley, with regular lexicographer Susie Dent. It was the first programme to be aired on Channel 4, and over sixty-five...
  
  , also lives in the area
• Jim Peters, marathon runner, was a resident of Thorpe Bay until his death on 9th January 1999, aged 80.