Corringham
Parish facts:
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A chance discovery in Corringham revealed 2000 pre-Roman coins, called Potins, made of a tin-copper alloy, they probably represent trading activities in Thurrock, with northern France (Gaul) and date between 75-100 BC.
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In 1862 on the Thames Haven marshes, Jem Mace and Tom King fought the last British Heavyweight Championship under bare-fisted rules. Mace was the winner after 42 rounds and was rewarded with a 400 gold sovereign purse.
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Kynock & Co built an explosives factory on the Corringham marshes in 1895 and at its height of manufacture in the Great War it employed over 6,000 workers, by 1920 the company sold the site to Cory Bros. who developed oil storage tanks on the site. This site was later developed by, Shell and Mobil as oil refineries.
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'Dr. Quater Mass and the Pit' was filmed in the Oil Refineries at Corringham and industrial pits in Grays during the 1950's, not the first time films have been made in Thurrock. The earliest reference of this use is at Purfleet where 'Westerns' were made at Purfleet, while in the 1920s and 30s epic films like 'The Guns of Loos' in a West Thurrock chalk pit and 'Me and Marlborough' at Grays Wharf were partly filmed. Tilbury Docks has been used for a series of films from the 1930's up to modern times.