The Bee Ness jetty was part of the Berry Wiggins & Co Oil refinery, formed in 1922 to supply bitumen (asphalt). By 1924 the company was producing bitumen from a plant at Sharnal Street on the Isle of Grain and in 1929 the company expanded, becoming a public company with premises at several locations including…
View More
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…
View More
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…
View More
80 years ago, HMS Belfast was first launched, in a career spanning WW2, D-Day, the Cold War and many more historical events. Today the armoured 11,000 tonne floating museum welcomes tourists and visitors alike to explore across all 9 decks, allowing people to explore a warship like never before. From the bomb store to the…
View More
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…
View More
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.
View More
The Canvey Island Monster has been classed as a ‘cryptid’ – an unidentifiable species of creature, inline with the Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot, as a few examples. In November 1953, a strange marine creature was washed up on Canvey at the beach, soon after the Canvey Floods. It was described as being 73cm/2.4ft in…
View More
Please note: Some of the terms used in this report are used in a historical context and reflect people’s attitudes and language at the time and may now be considered derogatory or offensive. As part of our coverage of Severalls Hospital, a former asylum in Colchester, we’re taking a look back at the history of…
View More
Cliffe Fort is one of five coastal forts to survive along the River Thames/Meadway, in addition to Coalhouse, Garrison Point, Hoo and Darnet. Shornemead, Tilbury and Grain fort still survive however are inland more. Cliffe Fort was strategically positioned to be on a narrow bend of the Thames and also directly opposite Coalhouse Fort; just…
View More
In 1891 plans were submitted to build explosive stories, a tramway and cottages south of the River Thames on land known as St Mary’s Marshes. Whilst only an acre of land was required, an exclusion zone of 324 acres, where “no houses should be build” was also needed. The Thames Storage Company was established in…
View More