South Ockendon, a Church of England Parish and a Settlement in the Borough and Unitary District of Thurrock in the English County of Essex
The settlement of South Ockendon is also a Church of England Parish in the Unitary District and Borough of Thurrock in Essex County, in the East of England. To the north of the settlement is North Ockendon. It is located on the Greater London boundary after M25.
This place was a village listed as Wocheduna in the Domesday Book before the Norman Conquest. It is believed that the village name was taken after a Saxon chief named Wocca whose tribe are hill dwellers. The “don” suffix is Old English which means “low hill in open country.” Up to the 1940s, the life of the village was concentrated on the Village Green with a 14th Century tavern called “The Royal Oak” and the Norman Church of St Nicholas of Myra. All roads converge on the Village Green.
Food, Shopping and Accommodation in South Ockendon
There is no spectacular shopping in this town. Residents go to South Woodham Ferrers to do some serious shopping. But despite being a residential suburb, South Ockendon boasts of fourteen places to eat and dine in the town mostly restaurants, bars, pubs and inns and twenty-four hotels.
Things to See and Do in South Ockendon
The Davy Down Country Park offers visitors a quiet walk in the woods or even biking and horse riding. The old St Nicholas Church is also worth a visit. It is such a picturesque historic church with a Norman round clock tower. Then there is the Grangewaters Outdoor Education Centre, a year-round centre covering more than 70 acres of natural woodland, two lakes, open grassland, activity area and visitor accommodation. Another park that is gaining a lot of popularity in South Ockendon is the Little Belhus Country Park.