Two busts that stood in ‘Poets Corner’ of the Winter Gardens, today in the Canvey Heritage Centre. Photographs of Frederick Hester, and his monrail before & after electrification. Also images showing interior of his winter gardens. Have you heard of Frederick Hester, the man who promoted Canvey in the early 1900s to make it a…
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Shornemead Fort was one of many built along the Thames to protect London from an invasion. The fort was built on the site of a previous battery which started to be built in 1847 however after six years of intense building, the marshes couldn’t support the weight so a new re-designed fort, Shornemead, was built instead. The…
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A few metres out into the river at Chalkwell Beach lies a peculiar obelisk stranded in the water. From the shore, it looks like a mysterious ruin of an ancient civilisation, although it is in fact the ‘Crowstone’ installed in 1836/7. It replaced a smaller stone post that was set in place in 1755. The…
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Overlooking the surrounding marshes, St Michael’s Church has been stood on Pitsea Mount for centuries having been build around the 16th century, with extensive rebuilding taking place in 1871. Although once the whole church would have stood on this spot, today just the tower and alter remains with the perimeter marked out. It was during…
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Whilst working in the area, I decided to go on a walk and stumbled across this purely by chance. Just a few minutes walk away from the Olympic Stadium, this Second World War pillbox was built around 1940 and forms what would have been part of the outer London defence ring – one of the…
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“Aviation pioneers and their workforce founded Britain’s aircraft seaplane and flying boat industry” Dating back as early as 1897, the Short Brothers had always had an interest in aviation. At the turn of the century they were already selling coal-gas filled balloons for people to fly, but it was the first flight by two brothers…
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British Troops have been pushed back to Dunkirk; all that lies between the Germans and Britain is the English Channel. With the threat of German troops soon being on British Land, orders were sent out across the land to built defences in towns, near main roads, railways and key areas. Starting along the coast 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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Located on a vantage point ontop of Leigh Hill, and adjacent to an old wide path for travelling up and down the hill, St. Celement’s Church stands proud on the horizon and can be seen for miles around. The tower is 80ft high and the current church was built around 1500 with Victorian and Edwardian…
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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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