During World War 2, the Deepdene hotel and grounds were taken over by Southern Railway who had chosen the site to be its emergency wartime headquarters. Making use of some existing caves, which had been there for some 300 years, building work started to turn the chalk tunnels into a bomb-proof underground control centre. In…
View More
As aerial bombing emerged during the Second World War so did the defences. In addition to anti-aircraft batteries the Government started to build more discreet defensive positions with a new decoy programme launched in 1940 with some 839 decoys built. Potential targets such as airfields, factories or oil refineries had decoys built in the nearby…
View More
Shooters Hill is one of the highest points in London with a summit of 432 feet. The name is thought to date back to 1226 when the land was used for archery practise; either that or a common area for highwaymen. During the Second World War several defences were built in the area to protect…
View More
The history of ‘Henley’s’ dates back to 1837 when WT Henley opened a worksop in London, manufacturing covered wires, and went on to become one of the leading electrical companies – most notably for their role in the development of submarine cables. In 1863 they won a contract with the Indian Government to build a…
View More
We visited these structural remains in 2018 and 2020 . The first visit consisted of an initial exploration with photography to identify if these remains existed following prior research. The second visit consisted of a return to film them (video below), joined by Exploring with Em & Stu. Amazingly, we are perhaps the first to…
View More
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 battery which started to be built in 1847 however after six years of intense building, the marshes couldn’t support the weight so a new re-designed fort, Shornemead, was built instead. The…
View More
Back in Easter 2014, the two BTP boys, and occasional accomplice Jack, set off to investigate pillboxes once defending Rochford airfield – now Southend airport. This is when the article was written and most of the photographs taken at this time – since then, ongoing development has changed much of the farmland but the pillboxes…
View More
So we began blowing up an inflatable canoe on the side of Regents Canal footpath much to the confusion and amazement of passers by. When it was finally ready, we hopped in and nearly got crushed by a large tourist boat why proceeded to tell us ‘we were on the wrong side’, despite having seen…
View More
Beyond the Point has visited Wat Tyler country park on numerous occasions over the years, and the photographs below range from 2011, when much of the article was written, to Autumn 2022. However, we would like to thank Alistair MacRae from the education team, and a ranger who specialized in the wildlife side of the…
View More
Tonedale Mills in Wellington was once the largest woollen milk in South West England. It famously produced Taunton serge fabric and later produced the khaki dye used in British Army service dress following the Second Boer War. The factory opened in 1790 under the Fox Brothers at the height of the industrial revolution, but the…
View More