Butlers Farm HAA Battery, Shopland
When Britain came under aerial attack in the Second World War, thousands of Heavy Anti-Aircraft batteries and associated army camps were built across the country. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Shoeburyness 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 …
Rochford Anderson Shelter
Whilst exploring the site of Rochford Airfield, extending around the current London-Southend Airport, we came across what appeared to be an overgrown Anderson shelter used …
Avro Vulcan XL462 Bomber
Out of 88 Avro Vulcan’s built, XL426 was the 44th to be built and currently resides at Southend Aiport, maintained by the Vulcan Restoration Trust. …
The Canvey Island Monster
The Canvey Island Monster has been classed as a ‘cryptid’ – an unidentifiable species of creature, inline with the Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot, as …
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 …
Admiral Jellicoe Pub, Canvey
Canvey’s list of historic pubs have declined over the years, most have been converted into retail space (Silver Jubilee and the King Canute) however the …
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 …
Fisons Fertiliser Factory, Stanford-le-Hope
Fisons Plc was a British pharmaceutical, scientific instruments and horticultural chemicals company established by Edward Packard in 1843. In 1863 he was joined in business by his son, …
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 …
Carby House, Victoria Avenue, Southend
Victoria Avenue in Southend began to be developed in the post-war period as a centre for tall brutalist offices and civic buildings. These remained largely …
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 …
Fairleigh Court Anderson Shelters, Leigh-on-Sea
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 …
Oozedam Farm & WW2 Defences, Fobbing
We visited Oozedam Farm in January of 2018, on a trek across Fobbing Marshes which saw us head from the farm to discover a lost …
HMS Wilton
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 Peasants Revolt of 1381
Pictured above are a set of eerie wooden sculptures of the rebels at Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea, Essex. Whilst the park does not in …
Canvey 2000 Seafront Project
‘Canvey 2000’ was an attempt to rejuvenate Canvey Island’s seafront in 1997, hoping to restore it to reflect some of the glory as a tourist …