About Us
A word from the founders… Hi, it’s Joe and Liam at Beyond the Point (BTP) here. We created this blog to archive and record our adventures and to learn about your experiences and knowledge of Castle Point and the surrounding South-East Essex. Every now and then, we plan out excursions to remote areas of Canvey and Castle Point, discovering old structures and surviving remnants of Canvey Island and around, such as pillboxes and bunkers from the Second World war, Two Tree Island and Canvey’s old Oil Refinery, to name but a few…
We reside on Canvey Island as we have done all our life, and wish to increase awareness of a hidden past, which you wouldn’t even know was there, but also to find out more from your experience, on the illusive background surrounding these locations.
These trips are planned using GPS and satellite images, which are also used to uncover unusual structures, only visible from above. We set out with photography equipment and handheld transceivers, and of course a tasty lunch and protective clothing – after all, we do have British weather! We sometimes take digging equipment to find antique specimens, and BTP Joe here has even contacted the Finds Liaison Officer of Essex and the Archaeological Curator of Colchester Castle Museum.
Since founding Beyond the Point in 2011 we have actively engaged in community events including various stalls, an exhibition in the Bay Museum and also talks to groups such as Leigh Beck Infant school and the Distaff Club. We are very proud of the progress that we have made over the past year, evolving from a .wordpress.com blog, to a .co.uk organization that shows a strong amount of dedication to placing ourself into the local community. Visit our Community Relations sections to learn more about how we are getting involved within the local community as well as press and media articles.
We would like to hear from you on the history of our uncovered structures and locations, and hope that this website is of great interest to you, keeping you regularly updated on upcoming events and adventures…
Meet the BTP Boys: Beyond BTP
Liam Heatherson
Hello – for now, I’m Liam Heatherson, and not BTP Liam! Aside from being interested in local history and outdoor exploring, I have many other interests. Let’s start with the most obivious – history! I am most interested in the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Cold War. I also have alot of interest in the Mediaval era. I have also been into modelling, model painting, and wargaming, for nearly six years now, focusing on ‘Warhammer’ (sci-fi and fantasy) and WW2, as well as Lord of the Rings and Medieval miniatures. I work in a variety of scales, and won Bronze in the Under 15 category at the UK’s most well known Warhammer painting competition in 2010, known as ‘Golden Demon’. I’m not all history and models though, I can’t beat a good session of video gaming! Twitter
Joe Mander
Hello all it’s Joe here! Like Liam, I also have many other interests putting the local history and outdoor exploring aside. My main interesting (and also my virtual life) is my computer! I love technology and gadgets and I’m always up for making a quick video or website! I find it interesting of how many things can be done on the internet, weather it’s Facebook or searching for homework, it’s all possible! My other hobby is filming. I love to explore my imagination and express it visually. It allows you to create a whole new world, where anything is possible! In June 2012, I was shortlisted in a national NHS competition for a film that I had submitted on YouTube and I got into the finals! I was also given a Jack Petchey award for my efforts in BTP and also the charity work that I do. Twitter/Flickr
There was an old rubbish dump located Hadleigh side of the Ray, between Canvey and Hadleigh Downs, below Hadleigh Castle.
I was told that it was actually a dump for London rubbish and barges used to bring the rubbish up from London in the past, true or not, I don’t know?
Back in the 1970′s I saw people digging and poking around there finding China Victorian Dolls heads and various other bits and pieces.
I got the impression at the time that it was a bit of a secret and was told not to tell anyone.
40 years have elapsed – To hell with it – I’ve told someone now.
Good luck with the Website by the way
Thanks for your information – that’s exactly what we’re after! That dump must be what is now Two Tree Island. The dates help allot too, thanks! What do you mean by ‘the Ray’?
I believe the ‘Ray’ is the stretch of water between Canvey and the Benfleet/Hadleigh mainland heading out to the estuary
The area I refer to is not Two Tree Island.
Best way to describe it’s location – Go to Hadleigh Castle – Right hand side, between the Castle and the Sally Army settlement there is a wide stretch of land, including a grass road/path.
follow this all the way down to the bottom. It was in this vicinity.
Warning, this land might belong to the Sally Army.
Suggestion – Go into Hadleigh library and ask there for any information, you might strike lucky…
Also, whilst in Hadleigh – Ask about the Roman Baths – Located on the ‘Downs’
We just bought a new domain name for Beyond the Point, which is the more concise ‘beyondthepoint.co.uk’ .
You can still get to the site via the old ‘beyondcanvey.wordpress.com@ address, and it is currently 2nd on Google, if you search for Beyond the Point!
Liam
Thanks, this information sounds like a good trip – we thought on doing one of the less so ‘unseen’ Hadleigh Castle, but that won’t take long, so we”l fit in the rest of this! Those baths sound interesting, I went through the Downs before, but never know of either of these locations.
Is the dump that marshy section which is surrounded by an earth wall just on the west end after Two Tree Island?
Could you also tell me about the Roman Baths, because I cannot find anything about them on the internet. Thanks
I used to live in benfleet and remember visiting the “roman baths” near Hadliegh Castle as a kid in the 1960′s not sure if they were authentic baths though. I seem to remember a large lake close by too and I actually fished there but that was filled in around 1970
I remember some think of what i think is a roman bath not far from hadleigh castle on the downs at benfleet back in the early eighties it was like picture tiles surround.
its probably cover all over know by bushes and weeds cause it wasn’t exactly in the open back then
Hi there,
if you want to investigate the Hadleigh Dump. I know all about it as I too did dig there.
I also have various shards of Roman Pottery collected from Canvey
Martin
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