Tendring

Tendring District
—  Non-metropolitan district  —
Tendring shown within Essex
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East of England
Non-metropolitan county	Essex
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Clacton-on-Sea
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Tendring District Council Chairman = Cllr Alan Goggin (C) Vice Chairman = Cllr Danny Mayzes (C)
• Leadership	Leader & Cabinet (Conservative) Leader = Cllr Neil Stock (C)
• MPs	Douglas Carswell (C) Bernard Jenkin (C)
Area
• Total	130.3 sq mi (337.58 km2)
Area rank	129th (of 326)
Population (2010 est.)
• Total	148,500
• Rank	126th (of 326)
• Density	1,139.3/sq mi (439.9/km2)
• Ethnicity	96.0% White 1.3% S.Asian 1.1% Black 1.0% Mixed Race
Time zone	GMT (UTC0)
• Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
ONS code	22UN
OS grid reference	TM170150
Website	www.tendringdc.gov.uk

Tendring is a local government district in North East Essex, England. It extends from the River Stour in the north, to the coast and the River Colne in the south, with the coast to the East and the town of Colchester to the west. Its council is based in Clacton-on-Sea. Towns in the district include Frinton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze, Brightlingsea and Harwich. Large villages in the district include St Osyth and Great Bentley.

Sometimes referred to as the "Tendring Peninsula", the district was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the borough of Harwich, with Brightlingsea, Clacton and Frinton and Walton urban districts, and Tendring Rural District. The name Tendring comes from the ancient Tendring Hundred which is named after the small Tendring village at the centre of the area. The Tendring Poor Law Union covered the same area as the present district.

During the English civil war, the witch-finder general, Matthew Hopkins carried out many trials throughout this and the surrounding area especially in the towns of Manningtree and Mistley on the River Stour.

The largest town in the Tendring district is Clacton-on-Sea, with a population of 53,000.

Etymology

There are these theories about the origin of its name:-

• From Anglo-Saxon tynder = "tinder": "place where tinder or fuel is gathered."
• From the German placename Tündern in Lower Saxony (old spelling Tundiriun) plus Anglo-Saxon -ing or -ingas: "people who came across the sea from Tündern".

Topology

The highest part of the district is a low (35 metres) ridge running west to east only 3 km south of the River Stour. The greater part of the district is undulating land sloping very gently to the south which is traversed by a number of streams.

Parishes

The district is divided into the following parishes. "From" indicates older parishes which have now been merged.

• Alresford
• Ardleigh
• Beaumont-cum-Moze
• Bradfield
• Brightlingsea
• Elmstead
• Frating
• Frinton and Walton (from Frinton, Great Holland, Kirby-le-Soken, and Walton-le-Soken)
• Great Bentley
• Great Bromley
• Great Oakley
• Harwich (from Dovercourt and St Nicholas)
• Lawford
• Little Bentley
• Little Bromley
• Little Clacton
• Little Oakley
• Manningtree
• Mistley
• Ramsey and Parkeston
• St Osyth
• Tendring
• Thorpe-le-Soken
• Thorrington
• Weeley
• Wix
• Wrabness

Soken

In the extreme east of the district is an area formerly known as the Soken which was granted special privileges in Saxon times. It is remembered in the place names Kirby-le-Soken, Thorpe-le-Soken and Walton-le-Soken (an older name for Walton-on-the-Naze).

External links

• Entry in Kelly's Directory of Essex, 1894
• The local water supply company preserves the old name: Tendring Hundred Water Services Ltd
• Review of ward boundaries by the Boundary Committee with maps
• History notes on the Sokens
• Unofficial Frinton website
• Tendring Social Network Website
• Media related to Tendring at Wikimedia Commons