East Tilbury is on the N bank of the Thames, alongside a reach of the river known as the Lower Hope. Alongside the river at this point is the Coalhouse Fort, a coastal defence dating from 1861-74 in its present form, and from this a road runs inland to East Tilbury, with the church less than half a mile from the coast. It is a fascinating if not a beautiful building, consisting of a 13thc chancel with stepped E lancets, a nave with a N aisle containing a N porch, and the remains of an arcade visible on the S wall. On the N arcade wall a blocked round-headed window above pier 1 confirms that the aisle is a later addition. At the W end of the former S aisle an arch leads to the lower storey of the former tower, destroyed by the Dutch fleet in 1667. The arcade was blocked and the S aisle removed after this. The ground storey of the tower is now a vestry, but in 1917 another tower was begun by men of the London Electrical Engineers using heavy blocks of Kentish Rag taken from the Coalhouse Fort. In 2015 a timber kitchen extension was built on the W front, and in the course of this work the remains of a 13thc W doorway with dogtooth ornament were discovered and conserved. From the exterior the building is dominated by the enormous tiled roof that covers the nave and N aisle.

Tilbury East and West are not distinguished in the Domesday Survey. The largest holding was a manor of 2 hides, held by Aelfric the Priest in 1066, that was held by Osbern and Ralph from Swein of Essex in 1086. A manor of 45 acres was held in 1086 by Hunald from Theodoric Pointel, and a holding of 30 acres was held in 1086 by Ranulf from William de Warenne, that had been held by Sweting in 1066.

According to Wright (1831) East Tilbury was the manor held by Hunald from Theodoric Pointel, and it passed eventually to Edward Kemeseck or Kewseck who died in 1288.

Wright has the dedication of the church as St Katharine, and RCHME (1923) and the List description have St Katherine, the former adding that it was formerly St Margaret’s. The diocese prefers Catherine as the current spelling, while Arnold Forster (1899) has it as St Margaret’s before the Reformation.

The List Description, RCHME and Bettley (2007) date the N arcade to the later decades of the 12thc. To judge from the base mouldings, both arcades are of a similar date.