Grain Dummy Battery, originally known as Grain Battery, was built shortly before Grain Fort, completed in 1865 to support two nearby forts; Grain Fort and Grain Wing Battery. Following the usual design for batteries, it consisted of several gun emplacements with magazines below. Unlike other forts, it’s likely that this one was out of service…
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The Quick-Firing ‘Wing Battery’ just south-west of Coalhouse Fort inland of Coalhouse Point was constructed in 1893 to counter enemy torpedo boat technology which presented itself as a new potential threat to shipping in the Thames. It would have housed four 6-pounder quick firing guns each capable of unloading 25 rounds per minute. These were…
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Scattered along the Kent coastline lie a few giant concrete bowls. Whilst they look like an old satellite dish or part of another structure, they’re actually sound mirrors. The First World War saw the threat of an airborne attack become reality for the first time, leading scientists to try and create something to alert us…
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First visited by BTP Liam in 2011, we returned to the site 7 years later so see what remains of the former RAF site. The most obvious thing about the site is the hangar like buildings – around 7 or 8 of these are still standing, but only just, with the windows and doors smashed…
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At Moat Farm on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent overlooking the Thames lies an unsuspecting grain store of unusual sloped shape. Believe it or not, this is the roof of an airship (zeppelin) shed dating to the Great War, originally situated at Kingsnorth. The fact this is only the top section; already huge, suggests the…
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Located in the heart of Billericay, Norsey Wood is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with history spanning the centuries. Discoveries such as a Neolithic axe head and a Roman cemetery are just a couple of finds to be looked into, following the first investigation in 1865 by J E K Cutts, with…
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Why do Joe and I continue to run Beyond the Point, some seven years after its creation? After all, we earn no money from our work and fit it in entirely in our own free time. Because it is a past-time we enjoy and because we want to educate others about their secret local…
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Whilst on a road-trip through France, I passed through the town of Albert, an old town two hours north of Paris. Albert was founded as a Roman outpost, in 54BC although the town is best known for it’s military past as it was a key location in the Battle of the Somme and many veterans and…
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The last place that you expect to find an Egyptian relic is in central London – but you would be surprised! Known as Cleopatra’s Needle, it actually has nothing to do with Cleopatra, it was brought to London from Alexandria which is known as the royal city of Cleopatra. The obelisk was made in Egypt…
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Beyond the Point has gone on a special tour of the Supreme Court – the highest court in the UK. The court is based in the hear of Westminster in the former Middlesex Guildhall, an impressive Grade II listed building. The role of the court is to make the final decision on civil cases, deciding…
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