The post in 2013 pre-demolition of the access structure Woodham Ferrers is a small village in south Essex, north of the largely later and more well-known development South Woodham Ferrers. On the hill at the south of the village lies the remains of a Cold War observation post, designed to locate and report nuclear blasts,…
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Situated close to Tendring Primary School are the remains are two observations posts which would have been used during the Cold War, should it have actually happened. Shown around by Thomas and Austin, the ROC Post is in a fairly good condition although has been stripped of most of the original furniture. Hundreds of these…
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Pegwell Bay dates back to as far as Roman times and is thought to be the site of where Julius Caesar invaded Britain. In 2017 a fort dating back to 54BC was discovered, confirming this fact. Fast forward the centuries and in 1969 ‘Ramsgate International Hoverport’ was open for business, officially opened by the Duke…
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Many comprehensive histories of the mills have been written online, so here is just a very brief overview of their past, present, and future. The grain mills at Silvertown are perhaps one of the last substantial remnants of London’s docklands and a symbol of their decline in the light of the area’s very contrasting redevelopment….
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The refinery c.2014 (BTP) and 2016 (Slayaaaa) prior to the demolition of its many towers The refinery was built over Coryton village (Kynochtown) and Kynoch’s munitions factory (the site of which still remains just north of the refinery – see here). The explosives factory operated from the late 1890s up until 1919 serving through the…
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The Anti-Aircraft Command Operations Room in Merstham was built in 1951 as part of Pendell Army Camp, which was demolished to make way for the M23. The Operations Room was saved from demolition, being just metres away from the motorway. The Home Office took ownership of the site in the 1960’s before handing it over…
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Canvey Island’s civil defence sirens – used to warn residents of air raids in WWII, potential nuclear bombs in the Cold War, and flood emergencies since the North Sea Floods of 1953, remained installed and frequently tested until around 2014. It is not entirely clear if this siren was from WWII, but even if this…
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H.M.P. Bullwood Hall was a former women’s prison in Hockley, built in the 1960’s initially as a women’s borstal. The site was opened to house minors, although went on to hold female prisoners of any age. In 2002, six-part series ‘The Real Bad Girls’ aired on ITV. The series was filmed at Bullwood Hall and…
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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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