Built as a nod to Canvey’s Dutch heritage and the two remaining cottages from the 17th Century, 1930s’ pioneer Lt. Cpl. Fielder built three houses shaped like them yet taller on the ‘Zeeland Estate’. The two survivors, off Long Road down Beechcroft Road, had thatched roofs. The 1930s black and white photographs are from CanveyIsland.org…
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Turn back the clock to 1850 and Canvey Island little more than farmland and a small village, much like the Wild West. Only few of these actually remain today, with Brickhouse Farm being one of the only still in operation. So, where did all the rest go? Well, a majority became left abandoned due to…
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Beyond the Point are good friends and close-working colleagues with the Bay Museum. Like us, they are bringing Canvey’s history into the 21st Century with a team of historians and collectors experienced in encouraging an interest in people of all ages. We genuinely suggest you pay them a visit. We also established their now-thriving website…
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Walking past these bungalows you wouldn’t think anything of them – they’re just someone’s average home, but the buildings are far from average, they were supposedly built to withstand an atomic explosion. Following the end of the Second World War, in 1946, plans were submitted to build ‘atomic bungalows’ on Canvey Island. Whilst this was…
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Another vessel involved in the Second World War marooned on Canvey is the M.V. Bendigo. Historian Robin Howie explains: “The M.V. Bendigo was being towed round the island to a new berth on the western side of the bridge,ironically only about a couple of hundred yards away from its existing one.This was necessary due to…
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When the land was first bought by the RSPB in 2006, one of their first jobs was to sweep the land to see if any unexploded World War Two bombs lie undisturbed beneath the surface. Around £50,000 was spent on an ex-military team who were drafted in to use specialist technology to scan the earth….
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(Left) Replica red hill created at RSPB Bower’s Marsh nature reserve, Canvey Island. (Right) An actual site of a Red Hill. A faint hill remains between Waterside Sports Centre and Cornelius Vermuyden Secondary School (unclear if this is due to Red Hill works). (Bottom) Artists impression Before Dutchman Cornelius Vermuyden reclaimed Canvey from the sea in the…
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Two artist’s impressions (top and bottom: graphic or model and painting) of the proposed refinery, the trademark six-legged dog ENI logo and a map showing land allocation. The square UR Ltd. area is from 1965 suggesting the area further down is from the 1971-3 application. Before Occidental looked to build a refinery on Canvey in…
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Thames North 8, Northwick ( as it was ‘coded’ during the war) was the name assigned to one of the many heavy anti-aircraft batteries across the country. This one, located down Northwick Road on Canvey, amongst what is now a recycling centre, would have been pointed at the skies to blast any German bombers or…
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The Occidental Jetty is a Canvey Island landmark that we quite admire. It was built with the intention of pumping oil from ships into the semi-complete Occidental Oil Refinery, abandoned due to the 1973 Oil Crisis’ legacy. You can see the pipes alongside it today. Two industrial containers rot ontop to this very day –…
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