One Essex village is famed for offering its residents a beautiful blend of convenience, comfort and historical charm – but some areas have a history that not many people would want to remember. South Ockendon is an ideal location for commuters and families alike, complete with lots of amenities and transport links, but also has a strange history.
Nestled in Thurrock, Essex, it’s got its fair share of character. With easy access to London yet far enough to feel suburban, it offers a mix of modern conveniences and lingering old-world charm.
One sought-after housing estate in South Ockendon has pretty much anything you could ask for, which explains why its rather expensive to live there. The 100-acre Brandon Groves Estate was designed to feature lawns, walks and miles of tree-lined, paved roads to give immediate appeal to the mix of buyers as they chose from a range of different size properties, built by several different developers.
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The development forms part of South Ockendon Village, which has its own railway station providing easy city access for commuters. London Fenchurch Street in reachable in just 35 minutes from the village, too, making the estate quite the ideal home, but this wasn’t always the case.
In 1912, “Mollands Farm” to the south of the South Ockendon was acquired for use as a ‘rehabilitation’ facility, and people in the facility were put to useful work on the farm. Over time the farm developed into a major mental hospital (known locally as The Colony) or as South Ockendon Hospital.
The hospital closed in 1994, and most of the buildings were subsequently demolished. The site was then redeveloped as the Brandon Groves Estate, which is what visitors to South Ockendon see today.