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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Warley Hospital was the first County Asylum to be built in Essex, following the passing of the County Asylums Act. The first patients were first admitted in 1853; 130 out of a capacity of 300 although by the turn of the century the site had expanded and accommodated just short of 2,000 patients. Psychiatric Hospitals…
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Moated sites are as the name suggests – wide ditches full of water that would have surrounded an island which would have had a domestic or religious building on it. They were mostly built during the medieval period around central and eastern England, often to show wealth and status in the countryside. The Howbury moated site…
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Behind Fairleigh Court in Leigh on Sea remains an impressive set of six Anderson shelters. Anderson shelters were issued free to all householders earning £5 a week, and cost £7 for those earning more. They were issued from February 1939 prior to British declaration of war, and throughout the Second World War. When the war…
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If you happen to be walking past the orangutan enclosure at Colchester Zoo, keep an eye out for the ruins of the All Saints’ Church. Although a church or temple had existed on this site since the Roman era, the current church was built in the late 13th century, used to serve Stanway Manor, which…
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The HMS Wilton was a Royal Navy minesweeper and minehunter ship built in 1970. It was the first ever warship constructed from fibreglass which gave the vessel a very low magnetic signature against magnetic mines. It was armed with a single Bofors gun. In 1974 the ship took part in Operation Rheostat, to clear the…
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Beyond the Point has gone on a special tour of the Supreme Court – the highest court in the UK. The court is based in the hear of Westminster in the former Middlesex Guildhall, an impressive Grade II listed building. The role of the court is to make the final decision on civil cases, deciding…
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Cooling Castle is a 14th-century castle situated 6 miles north of Rochester. The castle was built in the 1380’s by the Cobham family to protect the Thames from the threat of invasion from the French. The castle has an unusual layout, comprising two walled wards of unequal size next to each other, surrounded by moats and…
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Essex Police first dates back to 1840 when it was established as the Essex County Constabulary, based in the old military barracks in Arbour Lane, Chelmsford. Initially only one hundred constables and fifteen superintendents were appointed to the force, a fraction of the officers that the force has today. Constables were provided with a basic uniform…
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Photos from Offshoreechos.com and Thevoguevibes.com Radio Caroline, one of the most famous radio stations in the UK was launched 50 years ago today, just off of the Essex coast. Founded in 1964 by Ronan O’Rahilly, it is considered the first proper kick-start of popular music broadcast however Radio Caroline was unlicensed by any government for…
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