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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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…
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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…
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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…
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In the Second World War, access to the River Thames was controlled by two defensive ‘booms’. The first at its very mouth ran from Shoeburyness to Sheerness, whilst the second lesser-known but still substantial boom ran from Scars Elbow Battery on Canvey Island to St. Mary’s Bay in Kent. This was a kind of floating…
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Close to High Halstow on the vast historic marshes on the Kent side of the Thames Estuary lies a peculiar diamond-shaped pool of clear man-made origin. This is a duck shooting decoy pond constructed around the late 17th Century with signs of alteration over the following 200 years. The four channels called ‘pipes’ at either…
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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…
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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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Canvey’s list of historic pubs have declined over the years, most have been converted into retail space (Silver Jubilee and the King Canute) however the Jellicoe hasn’t been fortunate enough to survive. The pub, and once a hotel, is thought to date back to the late 1920’s or early 1930’s and even survived the floods of…
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