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 ever since. Used primarily in the Second World War, these steel and concrete ships are also known as ferro cement barges, or FCB’s. Barges of these type were particularly important during…
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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 itself as a new potential threat to shipping in the Thames. It would have housed four 6-pounder quick firing guns each capable of unloading 25 rounds per minute. These were…
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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 also once a searchlight emplacement here, now lost to erosion, but a tripoded MG pillbox does survive further west along the foreshore. Because radar was a very secret British technology…
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Brennan Torpedo Station – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA The Brennan torpedo was invented by Louis Brennan in 1877. Two propellers were rapidly spun by wires wound up inside the torpedo being released. Once launched from a land station, the weapon could potentially hit a target 1,800 metres away, travelling up to 31mph. Whilst Louis…
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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 pillbox is not in the best condition – decaying and crumbling yet thankfully isolated from any bustling areas. The five sided defence has four loop holes, designed for a Bren…
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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 Two to block off enemy vessels from entering the Thames and attacking anchored shipping. It was also used as a possible mounting point for anti-aircraft guns and searchlights. It has…
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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 distant, material. On the A130 and A12 motorways, I spotted tons of pillboxes, most being either standard rectangular or 50p shapes, many identical (along the GHQ line). Despite not being…
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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 of Hovells Farm, near what was Vange Hall Estate. Despite the well’s name, it was actually situated nearer to Laindon than Vange, actually within the parish of Fobbing. The ironically…
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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 built on the site of the current one (c.1067). Its western wall still forms part of the church today. In the 1100s the church as we know it was built…
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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 a Neolithic axe head and a Roman cemetery are just a couple of finds to be looked into, following the first investigation in 1865 by J E K Cutts, with…
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