Coalhouse Fort
Coalhouse Point where the Thames suddenly narrows was home to several defences since 1402, and a D-shaped artillery battery fort stood here from 1539. The …
Wells Firework Factory
Now an overgrown brownfield site, this was once the factory for one of the leading fireworks companies in the whole of the UK. Joseph Wells …
Tilbury Fort
Tilbury Fort has been defending London from the threat of invasion for over 500 years. Since the fort was built in 1539, under the rein …
Highgate’s Abandoned Railway: Parkland Walk
Parkland Walk allows people to walk along the abandoned tube line between Finsbury Park and Highgate and has been dubbed London’s version of New York’s …
Woodhouse Farm, Rivenhall
Woodhouse Farm dates back to the early 17th century and is Grade II listed, despite being modified over the years. It lies derelict next to …
North Woolwich Station
North Woolwich Station opened back in 1846, making it one of London’s oldest surviving stations. The Grade II listed building in East London was using …
Garrison Point Fort
Garrison Point Fort is a rare two-tiered fort in Sheerness, built in the 1860’s over concerns of a French invasion. The fort was constructed in …
Essex County Hospital
‘The Essex & Colchester Hospital’ was opened in 1820, following a plan by the Colchester Archdeacon to open a hospital for the poor. Along with …
River Ravensbourne, Bromley
Joined by explorer Sam, we ventured into a culvert running through a suburban town on the border of south-east London and Kent. This drain, covered …
Shoebury Old Ranges – Gunners Park
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 …
Shoebury Powder Magazines & Viking Camp
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 …
New Empire Theatre, Southend
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 …
New Tavern Fort & Milton Chantry
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 …
Hadleigh Salvation Army Colony
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 …
Shornemead Fort
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 …
Chalkwell Crowstone & Hard Paths
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 …
Explosives Industry at Wat Tyler Park
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 …
Tonedale Mills
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 …
Paglesham Oyster Beds
Paglesham’s flourishing oyster-farming industry dates back to the late 19th Century. Whilst oysters have been farmed around the Essex coastline as far back as the …
Shoebury Garrison
The history of the garrison dates back to 1849 when the land was first purchased by the Board of Ordanance. Woolwich Common was usually used …
Benfleet Explosives Magazines
Seven Victorian tunnel-like magazines were built on the Benfleet waterfront near Jotmans in the late part of the 19th Century. They would have been used …
Grain Tower
Known as 1, The Thames – this 19th century fort is situated 500 meters out into the mouth of the River Medway and was built …
Grain Dummy Battery
Grain Dummy Battery, originally known as Grain Battery, was built shortly before Grain Fort, completed in 1865 to support two nearby forts; Grain Fort and …
French Cannon Bollard, Bankside
Walking along you wouldn’t bat an eye lid at this rather bollard – that’s unless you knew the history of it. In October 1805 the …