Grain Beach Anti-Tank Defences
The Isle of Grain is scattered with historic remains and it’s prime location means that it would be essential for protecting the capital from invasion. …
Chelmsford Spigot Mortar Pit
The Spigot Mortar, or a Bombard as it’s also know. They were developed in the 1930’s although it wasn’t until the Second World War that …
Winchester Palace
Winchester Palace was built in the 12th-century and served as the London townhouse for the Bishops of Winchester. The Bishop of Winchester was a major landowner …
Chelmsford Anti-Tank Pimples
These anti-tank defences have been in the same spot since the Second World War. Turn back the clock and these dragons teeth acted as a …
D-Day Embarkation Hards
The D-Day allied invasion of France, 1944, was an enormous logistical project which saw Essex overrun by military preparations to send off thousands of allied …
Occidental Oil Refinery
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 …
Two Tree Island Heritage
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 …
Two Tree Island Old Sewage Works
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 …
Two Tree Island Pillbox
A pillbox can be found, which is located on the very eastern most point of Two Tree Island (just before the marshland), facing out at …
Rainham Marsh Concrete Barges
Left abandoned in Rainham, several concrete barges were placed here at Coldharbour Point as flood defences in 1953 and have formed part of the coastline …
Wing QF Battery, East Tilbury
The Quick-Firing ‘Wing Battery’ just south-west of Coalhouse Fort inland of Coalhouse Point was constructed in 1893 to counter enemy torpedo boat technology which presented …
Coalhouse WW2 Defences & Radar Tower
Radar Tower On the river Thames foreshore just south of the fort lies an early radar tower built in the Second World War. There was …
Brennan Torpedo Station
Brennan Torpedo Station – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA The Brennan torpedo was invented by Louis Brennan in 1877. Two propellers were rapidly spun by …
Benfleet Pillbox
Benfleet’s pillbox stands overlooking East Haven Creek – the channel of water separating Canvey Island from the mainland. Built at around 1939/1940, the Second World War …
Shoebury Anti-Submarine Boom
Redesigned to block off Russian subs in 1950-53, the boom was originally built on a smaller scale out of wood in 1944 during World War …
Sudbury Anti-Aircraft Pillbox
First visited by BTP Liam in 2011, revisited 2017. “I went on a day trip to Lavenham, in Sudbury back in 2011, and came across some relevant, although …
Sound Mirrors
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 …
The Vange Wells, No. 5
During the 1920s a London publican, Edwin Cash, decided to run a ‘get rich quick’ scheme in which he sunk five wells to the rear …
St Mary’s Church, Benfleet
St. Mary’s is located at the top of the hill in Benfleet highstreet. After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, a small church was …
Norsey Wood WW1 Trenches
Located in the heart of Billericay, Norsey Wood is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with history spanning the centuries. Discoveries such as …
Canvey’s Dutch Sea Walls & Reclaimation
Sometime roughly around 1622, a Canvey land owner known as Sir Henry Appleton called upon expert Dutch engineer Cornelius Wasterdyk Vermuyden to reclaim Canvey’s constantly …
Strood Anti-Tank Traps
Down Canal Road in Strood lies these anti-tank defences. Built at the start of the Second World War, they were intended to slow down any …
Metropolitan Drinking Fountains
Dotted around the city, it takes a keen eye to spot these cattle troughs disguised amongst the bustling traffic. Nowadays they’re mainly used as flower …
Cleopatra’s Needle & WW1 Damage
The last place that you expect to find an Egyptian relic is in central London – but you would be surprised! Known as Cleopatra’s Needle, …