During the early Second World War, Germany bombed British towns, cities, and industries using aircraft. This initially took place in daylight leading up to the Battle of Britain, but when this tactic failed, Hitler decided nighttime bombing would give an advantage. In the Blitz of 1940 and 1941, the daytime was ordinary, but every night…
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It’s the birth place of Beyond the Point; a location that intrigued and mystified us. The massive site is hidden away on Canvey Island and has been derelict since the 1970’s. Resembling an apocalyptic city-cum-European forest, gridded roads and the occasional lamppost amongst what can be rightfully called Canvey’s jungle serve a reminder of the…
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Two Tree Island was reclaimed from the Thames in the late 1700’s and was used as farmland until 1910 when a sewage works was constructed on part of the site. These sewage works were used for the majority of the 20th century. During the North Sea Floods of 1953 two of the sewage workers had…
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At Hampstead Heath in North London lies Kenwood House. Constructed across the 17th and 18th centuries, the house now stands as a symbol of traditional British elite culture. However, only across the road lies the enormous manors built by a new elite class, decaying in a state of neglect. Nicknamed Billionaires Row, this busy road…
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Over a thousand nuclear observation posts were built after the Second World War, but what actually are they? Royal Observer Corps (ROC) Monitoring Posts were underground monitoring stations built for volunteers to monitor the effects of a nuclear blast. The first prototype was built in Surrey in 1956 and was used for a trial to…
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Out of 88 Avro Vulcan’s built, XL426 was the 44th to be built and currently resides at Southend Aiport, maintained by the Vulcan Restoration Trust. Weighing over 90,000KG, the bomber first entered service in September 1962.
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Victoria Avenue in Southend began to be developed in the post-war period as a centre for tall brutalist offices and civic buildings. These remained largely undeveloped until the mid-2010s when work began to revitalise the ugly structures. Liam remembers having his driving theory exam in Baryta House further down the road in 2015, only to…
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The Shell Haven Oil Refinery existed behind the Coryton refinery that dominates the skyline of the surrounding area, which ceased oil production in 2012. It closed in 1999 having been operating since 1916. Prior to this, the area of Shell Haven was scraped by Kynoch’s Munitions Factory which stood near the site of Coryton village…
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Brutalism is an architectural style that resulted from post-war space-age and post-modernist design influences seen in buildings from the 1950s up to 1970s and rarely later. It is notable for its iconic bare concrete finish and angular block-like shapes. Southend’s second central library was built in 1974 to replace the 1905 library which is now…
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Who are Dr. Feelgood? Dr. Feelgood are a band formed in 1971 originating from Canvey; headlining the pub rock genre which was a revival of blues and rock and roll music popular in the 1950s and 60s from band such as the Rolling Stones. The scene’s back to basics attitude and intense energy; displayed by Dr. Feelgood,…
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