Located near the village of Dailly on the western coast of Scotland, Dalquharran Castle is a category A listed building which was completed in 1790. Two castles actually exist on the site, an older one which was abandoned in the 19th Century and this one which was in use until the 1960’s. The estate, including…
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Grain Fort was constructed in the 1860s to defend the mouth of the River Medway and Thames against the threat of French naval attack. It was designed to support both Grain Tower out at sea, built from 1848-55, and Garrison Point Fort at Sheerness. It was altered and upgraded during proceeding conflicts, including the First…
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The Rainham/Purfleet area has been in use by man since the days of the so –called ‘Cavemen’. You can see some of the petrified tree trunks still remaining today from a 6,000 year-old Neolithic forest, opposite the very northern end of Wennington Marsh, in the Thames foreshore. However, much of Rainham came to use in…
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Sutton Hospital opened as a cottage hospital in 1899, split across two semi-detached houses with just 6 beds between them. Just 3 years later it was moved to a new site with 12 beds across 4 wards and in 1930 moved again to its current location, which was named Sutton and Cheam District Hospital. As…
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According to Historic England, this Bofors light anti-aircraft gun tower was constructed circa 1940 at the start of World War Two as an outlying defence for RAF Kenley; a nearby fighter airfield. It is of the concrete pier design of which few survive nationally, and hence is Grade II listed. It is split down the…
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Also known as ‘Curtis & Harvey’s Explosive Factory’ this massive site feels somewhat like the Wild West and is accompanied by loads of sheep. It covers an enormous area of the southern Thames Estuary once threatened by Boris Johnson’s plans for an airport, but now remains as a private farm known for its historical significance….
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Established in 2012, the Slough Fort Preservation Trust (SFPT) was formed from a group of volunteers who all had an interest in history, and the fort. Forming a trust, the group work tirelessly to care for the fort by maintaining it and restoring it to become a public museum. In 2016, Beyond the Point attended…
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This Royal Observer Corps observation bunker was constructed in 1959 and closed with the first wave of posts in 1968 (unlike those remaining in operation into the 1990s). As a result, it has been exposed to the elements and vandals for longer and appears to have suffered an arson attack. An original bed survives as…
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Once the Second World started in 1939, Britain was keeping a close eye on the east-coast of the country to prevent any German invasion. Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex was little more than a small yacht town before World War Two however the town became much more important when Germany invaded France. With Kent and South-Essex heavily…
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Built close to Dagenham East Station, these anti-tank cylinders were built in World War Two to slow down any German tanks, should they have made it that far. The row of these concrete defences can be seen on Google Maps and spans over 80 metres, with a Type 22 pillbox at the eastern end. On…
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