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Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England.
It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater London boundary. It was within the traditional Church of England parish of West Thurrock. Some industry is located to the south and the area forms part of the Thames Gateway redevelopment area. Purfleet is one of seven conservation areas in Thurrock.
In the 18th century, Purfleet Royal Gunpowder Magazine was established as a location for the storage of gunpowder together with a garrison to protect it. A constant danger of explosion as a result of lightning strikes existed. Benjamin Franklin was asked for advice on the design of a lightning conductor and a committee of the Royal Society supported his design for pointed conductors. After the American Revolution the powder store was protected from lightning which hit the building, though metal drainpipes actually did the work. When King George III heard of this, he insisted they be replaced with blunt conductors and the president of the Royal Society was forced to resign.Christopher Harrold (editor) Exploring Thurrock (Thurrock Local History Society, 2008)
Magazine number 5, the only one remaining of the original five, is now the Purfleet Garrison Heritage and Military Centre and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is run by volunteers and contains a wide range of local and military memorabilia (including items from RAF Hornchurch) and is open to the public on Thursdays, Sundays and bank holidays.
J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) made sketches of Purfleet in 1805–08 mainly featuring the Powder Magazines. The sketches are collected in the River and Margate Sketchbook which are part of the Tate Britain collection and accepted as part of the Turner Bequest in 1856. Tate website
Other surviving 18th-century buildings include the proofing house (now used for community activities) and the gatehouse clock tower (described by English Heritage as forming "an integral part of the finest ensemble in any of the Ordnance Yards, consistent with the high standards practised by the Ordnance Board in its designs for fortifications and barracks from the C17"). listed building description
In his history of Essex (1848)History, gazetteer and directory of Essex, 1848 W. White describes Purfleet as having 704 inhabitants including 199 from the barracks. "Purfleet is a village and military station...at the mouth of a rivulet, and at the west end of West Thurrock ... sometimes called a township ... and has a pleasure fair on the 13th of June. Near it are the extensive limeade chalk pits of W.H. Whitbread, the lord of the manor. The harbour is often full of shipping business and animation: and joining it is a large government powder magazine, consisting of five detached bomb-proof and well-protected store-houses, barracks for a company of artillery, a store keeper's mansion, and a good quay. The magazine was built in 1781, and has room for the safe keeping of 60,000 barrels of gunpowder."Quoted in Brian Evans (2004), Grays Thurrock, A History, Phillimore
In March 1916, anti-aircraft gunners based at Purfleet shot down the German Zeppelin LZ 48 (also listed as L15) — the first airship to be destroyed by anti-aircraft artillery. In recognition of their achievement, the gunners received a prize from the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Christopher Wakefield. Thurrock Council | Thurrock Heritage | Parish Facts
From 1921 to 1936, Purfleet formed an urban district of Essex, including the parishes of Aveley, West Thurrock and South Ockendon. It covered an area of and in 1931 had a population of 8,511. The parishes and urban district were abolished in 1936 and their former area was used to form part of Thurrock Urban District.
Reflecting its importance as a seaport and storage depot, Purfleet was listed by the Ministry of Food as one of 14 sensitive A-bomb targets in 1955, including an entrepot for the import of tea. BBC NEWS | UK | Nuclear threat sparked tea worry
In Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, first published in 1897, Count Dracula purchased the fictional house called "Carfax" in Purfleet, which was next to a lunatic asylum.Bram: Dracula, Chapter 2, 1897
In 2020, after a two-year campaign, the town's name was officially changed to Purfleet-on-Thames in an attempt to improve its fortunes and attract more investment.
The Royal Opera House's Bob and Tamar Manoukian scene-making facility for its operas and ballets opened on the High House site in December 2010, followed by a Costume Centre in 2015. Creative & Cultural Skills opened The Backstage Centre at the park in March 2013. The Backstage Centre now houses the national headquarters of Creative & Cultural Skills. In July 2013 ACME Studios, opened 43 artist studios in the park.
Local radio stations are BBC Essex, Heart East and Gateway 97.8, a community based radio station.
The Thurrock Gazette is the town's local weekly newspaper.
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