The ranges at Shoeburyness have a long ever-changing history, from the 1840s until present day. The ‘old ranges’, now Gunners’ Park near the Garrison, were in heavy operational through the Victorian and Edwardian eras and wartime up until probably the early Cold War. These ranges also saw use as coastal defences in the Second World…
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At the eastern end of Gunners Park; the site of the old Shoebury ranges, lie the area’s two oldest ancient and modern military installations. These are the 1852 Powder Magazines and the Viking rampart from AD 894 (some kind of defensive earthen wall) which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. This ancient earthwork was created possibly…
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The New Empire theatre had what might initially appear to be an Art Deco-style frontage. However, it was in fact built in a vaguely Neo-Classical style in 1896 by Frederick Marlow. He owned a public hall previously on site which became the original Empire Theatre in 1892, but this burnt down in 1895 hence its…
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Situated on the opposite side of the River Thames to Tilbury Fort, New Tavern Fort was one of several built to protect to London and the surrounding area. Built on the site of ‘New Tavern Inn’, construction started in the 1780’s and lasted some 13 years. In the following century, between 1865 and 1879, the…
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In 1891, the Salvation Army established a Home Farm Colony in Hadleigh where the Hadleigh Downs Country Park lies today. The Salvation Army Jetty was used in the early 1900s to load off and on goods, mainly bricks, made at the Salvation Army brickworks located at the bottom of Chapel Lane. The bricks were then…
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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…
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A few metres out into the river at Chalkwell Beach lies a peculiar obelisk stranded in the water. From the shore, it looks like a mysterious ruin of an ancient civilisation, although it is in fact the ‘Crowstone’ installed in 1836/7. It replaced a smaller stone post that was set in place in 1755. The…
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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…
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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…
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For Halloween this year, we thought we would investigate the vast and endless folklore of one of the most isolated and eerie places in Essex. Carrying on from last year’s Halloween coverage on the Leigh Witch Trials, this lonely village has similarly sinister connections. Even on our brief visit we were greeted by the footsteps…
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