Lower Hope Battery
This battery is perhaps one of Cliffe’s least well-recognised pieces of ruined defence heritage. The initial Lower Hope Battery was built to defend the Thames …
Salt Lane Air Raid Shelters
Along Salt Lane in Cliffe lies an overgrown pair of air raid shelter tunnels installed to protect industrial workers of the Alpha cement works in …
Grain Fort & Tunnels
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 …
Cliffe Explosives Factory
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 …
Slough Fort
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 …
SS Richard Montgomery Wreck
The SS Richard Montgomery was a US Liberty Ship, constructed in 1943. In 1944 it was part of a convoy delivering explosives with 7,000 tonnes …
Medway UB-122 Submarine Wreck
SM UB-122 was a World War One German submarine, or U-Boat, in the German Imperial Navy which was first commissioned in March 1918 after a …
Cooling Radio Station
As the world entered the 20th Century, technology was advancing at a rapid rate and communication between the UK and America was already wired with …
Shornemead Fort
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 …
Grain Tower
Known as 1, The Thames – this 19th century fort is situated 500 meters out into the mouth of the River Medway and was built …
Grain Dummy Battery
Grain Dummy Battery, originally known as Grain Battery, was built shortly before Grain Fort, completed in 1865 to support two nearby forts; Grain Fort and …
Grain Power Station Chimney
It’s been apart of the Kent skyline for almost 40 years although in mid-2016 the time was up for this iconic structure when it demolished …
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. …
Nore Fort Remains
Nore Fort was a set of towers out in the very mouth of the River Thames, between Great Wakering and Sheerness. The fort designed by …
Hans Egede Shipwreck
Hans Egede Shipwreck – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA What would be a seemingly insignificant shipwreck actually actually has a fascinating history. Dutch-built ship ‘Hans …
Cliffe Cement Kilns & Slit Trench
The desolate expanse of Cliffe on the Southern side of the Thames has seen little use over history beyond agriculture, defence, and the cement industry. …
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 …
Bee Ness Jetty
The Bee Ness jetty was part of the Berry Wiggins & Co Oil refinery, formed in 1922 to supply bitumen (asphalt). By 1924 the company …
Allhallows QF Bomb Decoy
The Allhallows decoy was constructed sometime between 1940 and 1941 to defend oil storage facilities nearby on the Isle of Grain. It was one of …
Cliffe Fort
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 …
Canvey to Hoo Inner Thames Boom
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 …
Halstow Decoy Pond
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 …
St Mary’s Marshes Explosives Magazines
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. …
WW1 Airship Shed
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, …