South Ockendon
Parish facts:
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The Spurgeon farming families of South Ockendon and Grays purchased the Royal flock of sheep,(presented as a gift to the king by King Philip of Spain) after the death of King George III (Farmer George) in 1820. They continued to breed flocks of Merino sheep for a number of years in Thurrock. The family are attributed to some of the earliest exportation of breeding Merino Rams to Australia and New Zealand.