Those of you who travel past West Ham station on the C2C train line will be familiar with the sight of Bromley-by-Bow gas containers. Upon closer inspection, you will see that these ugly industrial monstrosities are in fact works of art from the bygone era of the Industrial Revolution. The first industry known to be…
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Valence House is an old manor house in Becontree, Dagenham. It is the last survivor of Dagenham’s five manor houses. Whilst the Becontree estate of many miles of houses cropped up almost entirely as a ‘homes for heroes’ housing scheme for Great War veterans and their families in the 1920s, the area was once originally…
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North of Butlers Farm in the Shopland, Sutton rural area north of Southend lies what was once thought to be a Romano-British burial site by local historians. The mound is roughly 5ft x 16ft in size and is similar in shape to other local barrows which exist on Foulness Island and Mersea Island; both dating…
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Gravesend West Street Pier is the only remnant surviving of Gravesend West Railway Station. This station served as the terminus of the Gravesend West Line, with the platform and station situated on the raised structure that continued out onto the pier in the River Thames. The first station on the line after Gravesend West was…
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What was Rosherville Gardens? The far western section of Gravesend on the River Thames is known as Northfleet. Whilst today this lies as an industrial wasteland, it was once the site of an extravagant pleasure garden set at the foot of the cliffs of a disused chalk pit during the nineteenth century. Tourists would travel…
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The desolate expanse of Cliffe on the Southern side of the Thames has seen little use over history beyond agriculture, defence, and the cement industry. The construction needs of the Industrial Revolution called for cement development, and ‘artificial’ Portland cement which we still use today emerged in the mid 19th Century as a development from…
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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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Please note: Some of the terms used in this report are used in a historical context and reflect people’s attitudes and language at the time and may now be considered derogatory or offensive. As part of our coverage of Severalls Hospital, a former asylum in Colchester, we’re taking a look back at the history of…
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Cliffe Fort is one of five coastal forts to survive along the River Thames/Meadway, in addition to Coalhouse, Garrison Point, Hoo and Darnet. Shornemead, Tilbury and Grain fort still survive however are inland more. Cliffe Fort was strategically positioned to be on a narrow bend of the Thames and also directly opposite Coalhouse Fort; just…
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Close to High Halstow on the vast historic marshes on the Kent side of the Thames Estuary lies a peculiar diamond-shaped pool of clear man-made origin. This is a duck shooting decoy pond constructed around the late 17th Century with signs of alteration over the following 200 years. The four channels called ‘pipes’ at either…
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