TILBURY (WEST), a parish in the hundred of
BARSTABLE, county of ESSEX, 3 miles (E.) from Grays-.
Thurrock, containing 249 inhabitants. The living is a
rectory, in the archdeaconry of Essex, and diocese of
London, rated in the king's books at £20, and in the
patronage of the Crown. The church is dedicated to
St. James. The parish is bounded onthe south by the
Thames, and lies directly opposite to Gravesend, with
which town and the interior of Kent there is a constant
traffic, by means of the ferry-boats stationed here for
the conveyance of foot passengers, cattle, carriages, and
merchandise. In a chalk hill near the village are several
caverns, termed Danes' Holes, curiously constructed
of stone, being narrow at the entrance, and very spacious
at the depth of thirty feet. A medicinal spring
was discovered in 1737, which is beneficial in hsemorrhages,
scurvy, diabetes, and some other complaints.
Tilbury Fort, partly in this parish, and partly in that of
Chadwell adjoining, was originally a blockhouse, built in
the reign of Henry VIII.; but after the memorable attack
of the Dutch fleet, in 1667, upon the English shipping
in the Medway, it was converted. into a regular fortification,
to which considerable additions have since been
made. It is encompassed by a deep wide fosse, and its
ramparts present several formidable batteries of heavy
ordnance, particularly towards the river. It contains
comfortable barracks, and other accommodations for the
garrison, which at present consists of a fort-major and
a detachment of invalids. Some traces of the camp
formed in the neighbourhood, to oppose the invasion of
the Spanish Armada, during the reign of Elizabeth, are
still visible. According to Bede, Tilbury, or Tillaburgh,
was the seat of Bishop Cedda, when, about 630, he was
engaged in baptizing the East Saxons.