Nestled on the marshes north of the River Thames’ southward curve sits the village and civil parish of Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, which stretches eastwards to Fobbing. With its curious francophonic sounding name and ancient history, Stanford-le-Hope’s riverside vistas and proximity to the rolling landscapes of the Essex countryside has made it an attractive area throughout the Thurrock district. Dominated by mid-1960s housing scattered amongst the occasional 18th century street, Stanford-le-Hope’s fabric is predominantly founded on mid-century housing developments capitalising on the marshy banks of the River Thames.

Similar to many towns and villages spread across the Thurrock district of Essex, particularly towards the River Thames, archaeological excavations have revealed ancient histories. In Mucking, just south of Stanford-le-Hope on the marshes, revealed that human occupation of the area dates back as far as 6,000 years!

It’s uncertain as to how exactly Stanford-le-Hope acquired its name - particularly how the ‘le’ portion came into use. Translating from Saxon, Stanford means something akin to ‘stone ford’ - referring to the Saxon stone river crossing over the streams known as ‘Hassing Brook’ or ‘Hope River’. Some have theorised that the spread of the Normans’ gallicising traditional Saxon names following the 1066 conquest led to the introduction of ‘le’ into the name. Or it could have been a Saxon contraction. By either logic of these explanations; the name is entirely descriptive of the local geography. In John Norden’s 1594 map of Essex, he writes the area as ‘Stanfordhope’, but by 1777 it was recorded as ‘Stanford-le-Hope’. It’s still unsure how in that period the ‘le’ came to be!

Stanford-le-Hope’s train station operates a c2c rail-link service that runs from Stanford-le-Hope directly to London’s Fenchurch Street in 50 minutes. Owing to this rail-link and the space that surrounds the Stanford-le-Hope locale, the area has become a much desirable spot for domestic and infrastructural development in Thurrock. However, the River Hope tributary and various brooks and marshlands present a significant flood risk to the area. The Thurrock District, in the draft local plan for the next phase of the town’s lifecycle, has designated provisions for four new housing estates to be constructed in the area! These estates, as well as a relief road, would provide over 1,000 new homes to the Stanford-le-Hope locale, in the aim of boosting the local economy and desirability of the town!