Chafford Gorges Nature Park

Chafford Gorges Nature Park
Chafford Gorge
Map of Greater London
Location	Chafford Hundred, England
Coordinates	51°29′21″N 0°18′00″E / 51.4892°N 0.3°E / 51.4892; 0.3
Area	200 acres (81 ha)
www.essexwt.org.uk/reserves/chafford-gorges

The Chafford Gorges Nature Park is a 200-acre (81 ha)

Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit has been designated for its biological interest, and Lion Pit for geological interest.^[2]

Facilities

There was a visitor's centre for the nature park on Drake Road. It had a gift shop which sold refreshments and there were toilets and an observation deck.[1] However, it has now closed.

History

The reserve is on the site of three major

quarries – Warren Gorge, Lion Gorge, and Grays Gorge which were worked from the end of the 18th century for around 150 years.^[3]

Lion Pit

In the Lion Gorge are the remnants of an old

wharves.^[4] The tramway ran roughly south from the chalk diggings to the Lion Works – a Portland cement

factory opened in 1874. (Until about 1980, Thurrock was a major centre for cement production.) Part of the course of the tramway can be seen under the bridge where the railway line crosses a path from The Chase to Hedley Avenue and is also visible on London Road between The Chase and Foxton Road.

Wildlife

Animal life includes the

bird's-nest orchid. Trees include beech, oak, ash and sycamore.^[6]

Geology

The nature park has been described as the finest area for geology in south Essex. Fossils show that the area was once a tropical sea.^[7] There is a "geological trail" and a guide is available which describes the development of the chalk deposits over the course of 85 million years.^[8]

Gallery

Looking up at the visitor's centre from the gorge (John Rostron)
The lake in Lion Gorge, looking south
The lake in Lion Gorge, looking north
Lion Pit SSSI, looking south

Notes

^ ^a ^b Chafford Gorges Web page
^ "Map of Chafford Gorges Nature Park" (PDF). Healthy Life Essex. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
^ "Thurrock Council". Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
^ GeoEssex - SSSIs
^ "Chafford Hundred Station Travel Plan" (PDF). thurrock.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
^ SSI listing Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
^ Lucy, Gerald (2012). "Thurrock's Geological Heritage". Panorama: The Journal of the Thurrock Local History Society (50th ed.).
^ GeoEssex

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chafford Gorges Nature Park.

v t e Thurrock
Traditional parishes in Thurrock	Aveley Bulphan Chadwell St Mary Corringham East Tilbury Fobbing Grays Horndon-on-the-Hill Langdon Hills Little Thurrock Mucking Orsett South Ockendon Stanford-le-Hope Stifford West Thurrock West Tilbury
Other places in Thurrock	Baker Street Belhus Biggin Bill Meroy Creek Chafford Gorges Nature Park Chafford Hundred Globe Pit Hangman's Wood High House, Purfleet Linford Wood Lower Horse Mardyke (river) Orsett Heath Purfleet Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve Shell Haven Terrel's Heath Thurrock Thameside Nature Park Tilbury Town
Historic buildings in Thurrock	Baker Street Mill, Orsett Bata Factory Belmont Castle Coalhouse Fort The Dell High House, Purfleet Kings Head, West Tilbury Orsett Hall South Ockendon Windmill State Cinema Tilbury Fort

Biological		Abberton Reservoir Ashdon Meadows Basildon Meadows Belcher's and Broadfield Woods Benfleet and Southend Marshes Blackwater Estuary Blake's Wood & Lingwood Common Bovingdon Hall Woods Bullock Wood Canvey Wick Cattawade Marshes Chalkney Wood Colne Estuary The Coppice, Kelvedon Hatch Cornmill Stream and Old River Lea Crouch and Roach Estuaries Curtismill Green Danbury Common Debden Water Dengie Elsenham Woods Epping Forest Foulness Garnetts Wood and Barnston Lays Garrold's Meadow Glemsford Pits Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit Great Wood and Dodd's Grove Hainault Forest Hales and Shadwell Woods Hamford Water Hangman's Wood and Deneholes Hanningfield Reservoir Harlow Woods Hatfield Forest High Wood, Dunmow Hockley Woods Holehaven Creek Holland Haven Marshes Hunsdon Mead Inner Thames Marshes Little Hallingbury Marsh Mill Meadows Mucking Flats and Marshes Norsey Wood Nunn Wood Pitsea Marsh Quendon Wood Riddles Wood Roding Valley Meadows Roman River Sandbeach Meadows Stour and Copperas Woods, Ramsey Stour Estuary Thorndon Park Thrift Wood, Woodham Ferrers Thundersley Great Common Tiptree Heath Turnford and Cheshunt Pits Upper Colne Marshes Vange and Fobbing Marshes Waltham Abbey Weeleyhall Wood West Thurrock Lagoon and Marshes West Wood, Little Sampford Woodham Walter Common
Geological	Ardleigh Gravel Pit Clacton Cliffs and Foreshore The Cliff, Burnham-on-Crouch Colne Estuary Dengie Globe Pit Goldsands Road Pit Hall's Quarry Harwich Foreshore Holland-on-Sea Cliff Lion Pit Little Oakley Channel Deposit Lofts Farm Pit Maldon Cutting Marks Tey Brickpit The Naze Newney Green Pit Purfleet Chalk Pits Purfleet Road, Aveley River Ter St Osyth Pit Stour Estuary Wivenhoe Gravel Pit

v t e Essex Wildlife Trust
Basildon	Langdon Nature Reserve
Braintree	Brookes Nature Reserve
Brentwood	Thorndon Countryside Centre Warley Place
Castle Point	Little Haven Pound Wood Tile Wood
Chelmsford	Crowsheath Wood Danbury Ridge Hanningfield Reservoir Little Waltham Meadows Newland Grove Phyllis Currie Sandylay and Moat Woods Shotgate Thickets Thrift Wood Woodham Fen
Colchester	Abberton Reservoir Abbotts Hall Farm Fingringhoe Wick Iron Latch Lexden Gathering Grounds Roman River Valley Sergeants Orchard Tiptree Heath Westhouse Wood
Epping Forest	Gernon Bushes Roding Valley Meadows
Harlow	Hunsdon Mead
Havering	Bedfords Park Cranham Marsh Ingrebourne Valley
Maldon	Blue House Farm Bradwell Shell Bank Chigborough Lakes Maldon Wick Oxley Meadow Shut Heath Wood Stow Maries Halt Tollesbury Wick
Rochford	Lion Creek and Lower Raypits
Southend-on-Sea	Belfairs Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges Two Tree Island
Tendring	Cockaynes Wood Colne Point Copperas Wood Great Holland Pits Howlands Marsh John Weston Nature Reserve The Naze Oakfield Wood Skipper's Island Wrabness
Thurrock	Grove House Wood Linford Wood Chafford Gorges Nature Park Fobbing Marsh Horndon Meadow Stanford Warren Thurrock Thameside Nature Park
Uttlesford	Aubrey Buxton Rushy Mead Sawbridgeworth Marsh Shadwell Wood Weeleyhall Wood West Wood