161-409: Coalhouse Fort is an artillery fort in the eastern English county of Essex . It was built in the 1860s to guard the lower Thames from seaborne attack. It stands at Coalhouse Point on the north bank of the river, at a location near East Tilbury which was vulnerable to raiders and invaders. It was the last in a series of fortifications dating back to the 15th century and was the direct successor to
322-475: A demi-cannon and sakers . The invasion threat passed and in 1553 all of the blockhouses were ordered to return their guns; Milton and Higham were demolished. In the summer of 1588, however, there was a fresh threat of invasion by the Spanish Armada . An army was mobilised to protect the mouth of the estuary and emergency improvements to the fortifications at Tilbury Blockhouse were made by Robert Dudley ,
483-432: A palisade . A boom was stretched across the river to Gravesend at a cost of £305. In the early 1600s, England was at peace with France and Spain and as a result the coastal defences received little attention; surveys reported multiple problems with Tilbury Fort including flooding caused by the estuary tides, and ferry passengers and animals making their way uninvited into the fort. In 1642 civil war broke out between
644-499: A ravelin , which is in turn linked to the inner defences by another replica bridge, protected with two drawbridges . The ravelin formed a physical barrier to incoming artillery fire aimed at the entrance to the inner defences and could also have directed fire against enemy forces that breached the outer defensive line. On the south side of the outer defences, facing the river, are the West and East Lines of gun positions. These were built in
805-488: A " device ", in 1539, giving instructions for the "defence of the realm in time of invasion" and the construction of forts along the English coastline. The River Thames was strategically important, as the city of London and the newly constructed royal dockyards of Deptford and Woolwich were vulnerable to seaborne attacks arriving up the estuary, which was a major maritime route, carrying 80 per cent of England's exports. At
966-500: A coal store during a miners' strike. Thurrock Urban District Council (now Thurrock Council) purchased the fort in 1962 and still own it. The council turned the area around the fort into a riverside park but the building itself decayed badly through neglect and vandalism. Coalhouse Fort and the adjacent artillery defences to the south of the fort were collectively designated as a scheduled monument in 1962, in recognition of their status as "a remarkable group of defensive sites". The fort
1127-423: A commander and his deputy, a porter, two soldiers and four gunners. The blockhouse may have been altered in 1545 but in 1553 it was disarmed. Although the corresponding blockhouse at Gravesend continued in use and that at Tilbury was eventually incorporated into Tilbury Fort between 1670 and 1683, the one at East Tilbury seems to have been abandoned before the end of the 16th century. By 1735 it had been inundated by
1288-418: A complex pattern of ramparts, protecting a covered way stretching around the defensive line. There are bastions on the north-west and north-east corners, and two triangular spurs, originally equipped with cannons, project from the defences on the west and east sides, with assembly points for infantry soldiers on the inside. A replica wooden bridge runs from the outer defences over the water to an island called
1449-433: A cumulative explosion. The construction of concrete gun emplacements on the fort's roof necessitated the installation of circular concrete pillars within the casemates to support the extra weight on the roof. The ammunition lifts were also extended to serve the new roof-mounted guns. The magazines, situated deep under the casemates, consist of alternating pairs of shell and cartridge rooms accessed via an ammunition passage at
1610-506: A few weeks of hot, balmy weather with prolonged warm to hot temperatures. The number of summer storms from the Atlantic, such as the remnants of a tropical storm , usually coincides with the location of the jet stream . The East tends to receive much less rain than the other regions. Autumn (mid-September – mid-November) is usually mild with some days being very unsettled and rainy and others warm. At least part of September and early October in
1771-546: A list including these four. The term does not appear to have been used in taxation since the 18th century. East Anglia is one of the driest parts of the United Kingdom, with average rainfall ranging from 450 to 750 mm (18 to 30 in). The area receives such low rainfall amounts because low pressure systems and weather fronts from the Atlantic lose a lot of moisture over land (and therefore are usually much weaker) by
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#17328519320341932-582: A local event, resulting in minor injuries. Witnesses described the event as unexpected, noting that such phenomena are rare in the area. In the 2015 general election there was an overall swing of 0.25% from the Conservatives to Labour and the Liberal Democrats lost 16% of its vote. All of Hertfordshire and Suffolk became Conservative. The region's electorate voted 49% Conservative, 22% Labour, 16% UKIP, 8% Liberal Democrat and 4% Green. Like other regions,
2093-605: A modest role in building and maintaining fortifications, and while France and the Empire remained in conflict with one another, maritime raids were common but an actual invasion of England seemed unlikely. Basic defences, based around simple blockhouses and towers, existed in the south-west and along the Sussex coast, with a few more impressive works in the north of England, but in general the fortifications were very limited in scale. In 1533, Henry broke with Pope Paul III in order to annul
2254-478: A possible third airport for London. A new airport was not built, but a former Royal Air Force base at Stansted , which had previously been converted to civilian use redeveloped and expanded in the following decades. The East of England succeeded the standard statistical region East Anglia (which excluded Essex , Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire , then in the South East ). The East of England civil defence region
2415-625: A revision of the Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England, was published on 12 May 2008. It was revoked on 3 January 2013. The official region consists of the following subdivisions: In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), the East of England was a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKH", which was subdivided as follows: After the UK's departure from
2576-517: A second line of defence along the river, but further changes in technology meant that it had become obsolete by the end of the century. Instead Tilbury became a strategic depot, forming a logistical hub for storing and moving troops and materiel throughout the First World War . The fort had only a limited role in the Second World War and was demobilised in 1950. Tilbury Fort is now operated by
2737-560: A sergeant were shot dead, and a soldier was bayonetted, before both sides fled the scene. It is uncertain how accurate the newspaper account was, although the historians Andrew Saunders and Charles Kightly give it some credence. During the American Revolutionary War there were fears of a French attack on London. In 1780, the Army carried out a practice attack on the fort with 5,000 soldiers, but there were less than 60 guns left at
2898-399: A single gateway on its west side, protected against landward attackers by a caponier . The front of the fort was surrounded by a dry ditch, in which there were originally four caponiers to provide musketry defence. A very wide outer wet ditch blocked access from the riverside. The roof of the fort, accessed via steps up from the open battery, was altered substantially during the first half of
3059-448: A smaller mid-19th century fort built on the same site. Constructed during a period of tension with France, its location on marshy ground caused problems from the start and led to a lengthy construction process. The fort was equipped with a variety of large-calibre artillery guns and the most modern defensive facilities of the time, including shell-proof casemates protected by granite facing and cast-iron shields. Its lengthy construction and
3220-635: A strategic depot. From 1889 onwards it formed a mobilisation centre to support a mobile strike force in the event of an invasion, part of the wider London Defence Scheme, and large storage buildings were built across the site to store materiel. Fresh concerns grew that the Thames might be vulnerable to attack from torpedo boats and armoured cruisers , and in 1903 four quick-firing 12-pounder, 12 cwt (5.4 kg, 50.8 kg) guns were positioned on Tilbury's south-east curtain wall, supplemented in 1904 by two 6-inch (15 cm) breech loading guns . In 1905, however,
3381-401: A triangle of artillery batteries to guard the entrance to Gravesend Reach and the next reach of the river, Lower Hope Reach. Two of the batteries would be located on the south bank at Shornemead, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Higham; at Lower Hope Point, about 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north-west of Cliffe ; and on the north bank at East Tilbury, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of
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#17328519320343542-521: Is a pioneering hospital in the UK, based at Cambridge Biomedical Campus . The most famous university in the region is the University of Cambridge . The university has been officially rated as the best in the world in 2010. It has the second-best medicine course in the world, and in 2010 became the only university outside of the US to raise over £1 billion in charitable donations. There are eight universities in
3703-452: Is taken up by the parade ground, an area covering 2.5 acres (1.0 ha). The central parade ground was raised to its current height in the 17th and 19th centuries using chalk and dirt, and by the early 20th century much of it was occupied by four large warehouses, since destroyed. Moving east from the Water Gate, the south-eastern curtain defences and the south-east bastion were rebuilt at
3864-538: Is the airfield from where SOE secret agents for Europe took off, with 138 Sqn which parachuted agents and equipment and 161 Sqn which landed and retrieved agents. 19 Sqn at Duxford was the first to be equipped with the Spitfire on 4 August 1938. The 81st Tactical Fighter Wing was at RAF Bentwaters from January 1952 and also at RAF Woodbridge ; in the late 1980s some of the aircraft went to RAF Alconbury . Alconbury closed in 1992 and Bentwaters closed in 1993, with
4025-460: Is well-preserved and the emplacements, ready-use lockers and magazines are all still largely intact. After being decommissioned, Coalhouse Fort was leased and used as a storage facility by Bata Shoes , which operated the nearby Bata shoe factory in East Tilbury. It was also used for a while for emergency housing for demobilised servicemen and their families. In 1959, the parade ground was used as
4186-693: The A10 and north of Royston . UK Trade & Investment for the region is in Histon with its international trade team based next to Magdalene College . The Greater Watford area is home to British Waterways , Vinci (which bought Taylor Woodrow in 2008), the UK of the international firm Total Oil , retailers TK Maxx , Bathstore , Majestic Wine , Mothercare , Costco and Smiths Detection , Iveco , BrightHouse (at Abbots Langley ), Leavesden Film Studios , Sanyo , Europcar , Olympus , Kenwood and Beko electronic goods manufacturers, Wetherspoons pub chains,
4347-506: The A1303 in the east of the town, towards Teversham . South of the airport, Carl Zeiss NTS makes scanning electron microscopes in Cherry Hinton. Syngenta is to the east of Cambridge, on Capital Park at Fulbourn . Premier Foods has a large plant in Histon making Robertson's and Hartley's jam, Gale's honey, Smash instant potato , and Rose's marmalade . Addenbrooke's Hospital
4508-451: The A134 ; Multiyork makes furniture and Baxter Healthcare has a manufacturing plant in the south of the town. Aunt Bessie vegetable products (roast potatoes) are made by Heinz at Westwick , in a factory built by Ross Group . Around Cambridge on numerous science parks , are high technology (electronics and biochemistry) companies, such as ARM Holdings on Peterhouse Technology Park in
4669-521: The Cambridge-Ipswich railway , on the eastern edge of Cambridge. The East of England Ambulance Service is on Cambourne Business Park on Cambourne , of the A428 (the former A45 ) west of Cambridge. The East Anglian Air Ambulance operates from Cambridge Airport and Norwich Airport ; Essex Air Ambulance operates from Boreham . The former electricity company for the area, Eastern Electricity , has
4830-575: The Earl of Leicester . Queen Elizabeth I visited the fort by barge on 8 August 1588 and rode in procession to the nearby army camp, where she gave a speech to the assembled forces. Fears of invasion continued even after the defeat of the Armada, and over the course of the next year the Italian engineer, Federigo Giambelli , reinforced the blockhouse with probably two concentric earthwork ramparts, with ditches and
4991-556: The English football league system today are Ipswich Town , Norwich City , Watford and Luton Town , who have competed in the top flight at various points. Alongside teams Peterborough United , and Cambridge United . Children's author Dodie Smith lived near the town of Sudbury in Suffolk , and part of her famous novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians which inspired the Disney animated film of
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5152-536: The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and smaller batteries were constructed further up the river in 1794. Tilbury continued to be an essential part of the capital's defences because of its control of the crossing point on the Thames, and the guns were upgraded with new traversing platforms; the Gravesend Volunteer Artillery was formed to man the forts on both sides of the river. During
5313-585: The Hemel Hempstead relay transmitter is a relay of the London services from Crystal Palace , bringing London television into parts of Hertfordshire. Northwestern parts of Norfolk including Kings Lynn receive a better TV signal from the Belmont transmitter that broadcast BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Calendar . Some editions of Look East and ITV News Anglia broadcast split news programming for
5474-514: The Heritage at Risk Register . English Heritage provided an emergency grant in 2009, supplemented by Thurrock Council and the filming fee from Warner Bros. for Batman Begins , to help make £200,000 worth of repairs to the gatehouse. These were completed in 2011. Grants from Veolia Thames and Thurrock Council, via the Heritage Lottery Fund, have funded the construction of a new block outside
5635-456: The Kent shore. Over time, as batteries and forts further downriver became the front line of the Thames defences, Coalhouse Fort was stripped of its main weapons and it was altered to support smaller quick-firing guns intended to be used against fast-moving surface and aerial targets. Its last military use was as a training facility for a few years after the Second World War . Decommissioned in 1949,
5796-530: The Pool of London .) As the American Civil War was soon to show, it was quite possible for the warships of the day to run past forts and attack up coastal rivers. The new weapons meant that the existing coastal and riverine forts were rendered largely obsolete. The American Civil War was soon to demonstrate that traditional brick and masonry forts could be reduced to rubble by rifled guns. The government's response
5957-661: The Thermitage Bulwark and the West Tilbury Blockhouse , is an artillery fort on the north bank of the River Thames in England. The earliest version of the fort, comprising a small blockhouse with artillery covering the river, was constructed by King Henry VIII to protect London against attack from France as part of his Device programme . It was reinforced during the 1588 Spanish Armada invasion scare, after which it
6118-761: The Toddington services ). Luton is home to EasyJet ,(based at the airport ), Hain Celestial Group (which makes Linda McCartney Foods and is based on the B579 in Biscot ), Eurolines (UK office), Thomson Holidays (based at Wigmore on the eastern edge of the town) and Chevrolet (at Griffin House, the Vauxhall head office). At the 85-acre Capability Green off the A1081 and junction 10a of
6279-542: The United Kingdom . This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire , Essex , Hertfordshire , Norfolk and Suffolk . Essex has the highest population in the region. The population of the East of England region in 2022 was 6,398,497. Bedford , Luton , Basildon , Peterborough , Southend-on-Sea , Norwich , Ipswich , Colchester , Chelmsford and Cambridge are
6440-460: The inter-war years , the government concluded that the fort was no longer militarily useful and there were unsuccessful attempts to sell it off for development. During the Second World War , the fort initially housed an improvised anti-aircraft operations room, controlling the defences of the Thames and Medway (North) Gun Zone between 1939 and 1940. Trenches were dug across the surrounding area to prevent an airborne attack. The enlisted barracks and
6601-634: The pager in 1956, for St Thomas' Hospital ; and Snap-on Diagnostics makes diagnostic tools for garages. British Sugar's Wissington is the world's largest sugar beet factory in Methwold , on the B1160 near the River Wissey . Lotus Cars and Team Lotus are on the eastern edge of the former RAF Hethel , east of Wymondham (A11) at Hethel ( Bracon Ash ). Jeyes Group makes household chemicals in Thetford , off
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6762-466: The 14th and 15th centuries, although little is known about their design. Under the King's new programme of work, the Thames was protected with a mutually reinforcing network of blockhouses at Gravesend , Milton , and Higham on the south side of the river, and West and East Tilbury on the opposite bank. West Tilbury Blockhouse, part of the inner line, was initially called the "Thermitage Bulwark", because it
6923-478: The 1840s led to a modernisation of some of Britain's coastal defences. The batteries at Shornemead and Coalhouse Point were reinstated and upgraded, though the one at Lower Hope Point was never restored. In the case of the Coalhouse battery, it was substantially expanded between 1847 and 1855 to convert it into a fort. The work was slow as the marshy ground caused the foundations to crack and the structure to subside, and
7084-431: The 1850s, the advent of steam ships meant that enemy vessels could sail up the Thames far more quickly than before, reducing the time available for forts to intercept them. Rifled guns and turret-mounted weapons and new armour-plating meant that enemy warships could fire on forts such as Tilbury from downstream more easily while being protected from their guns. Fears of a potential invasion by Napoleon III of France led to
7245-582: The 18th century and have been subject to considerable erosion and silting ; 12 of the original 14 gun positions on the West Line remain but only one of the East Line has survived. In between the lines is a quay, designed to allow the delivery of supplies from the Thames, and the remains of the tracks from the narrow gauge railway built during the First World War. A sluice gate in the south-west corner managed
7406-654: The 1950s, RAF Wyton was an important reconnaissance base for the RAF, mainly 543 Sqn . The base is now home of the Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre , previously known as JARIC, or the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre from 1956. NHS East of England , which was the strategic health authority for the area until the abolition of these areas in 2013, is on Capital Park, next to Fulbourn Tesco, Fulbourn Hospital , and
7567-439: The 20th century to accommodate new guns and other structures. These include emplacements for 5.5-inch and 6-inch guns as well as 12-pdrs, searchlight positions, shelters, an observation post, a fire control building, a machine-gun parapet on the north caponier and a Royal Navy monitoring station. The fort was linked to a jetty, Coalhouse Wharf, on the riverside a short distance to the south. A standard gauge railway track led from
7728-432: The 21st century, the fort is controlled by English Heritage and operated as a tourist attraction, receiving 16,154 visitors in 2014. The site is protected under UK law as a scheduled monument , with the officers' barracks a grade II* listed building . Tilbury Fort remains largely unaltered from its reconstruction in the late 17th century under the direction of Sir Bernard de Gomme, with some 19th century additions. It
7889-748: The American air forces being in the area for 42 years; the USAF aircraft subsequently moved to Spangdahlem Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany. At RAF Marham in west Norfolk, 214 Sqn with the Vickers Valiant developed the RAF's refuelling system; later the squadron would be equipped with the Handley Page Victor . Work on refuelling had also taken place at RAF Tarrant Rushton in Dorset . From
8050-478: The Atlantic or North Africa ) but chill if coming from further east than Spain. Spring (mid-March – May) is a transitional season that initially can be chilly but is usually warm by late-April/May. The weather at this time is often changeable (within each day) and occasionally showery. Summer (June – mid-September) is usually warm. Continental air from mainland Europe or the Azores High usually leads to at least
8211-707: The EU, the UK NUTS regions were renamed as International Territorial Level regions in 2021. The East of England was a major force and resource for Parliament and, in particular, in the form of the Eastern Association . Oliver Cromwell came from Huntingdon. Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex played host to the American VIII Bomber Command and Ninth Air Force . The Imperial War Museum at Duxford has an exhibition, commemorating their participation and sacrifice, near to
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#17328519320348372-471: The East have warm and settled weather, but only in rare years is there an Indian summer where fine weather marks the entire traditional harvest season. Dust devils were reported in Essex and Cambridgeshire on 17 August 2024, causing minor injuries and some disruption. These small whirlwinds, which form from the ground up, are less powerful than tornadoes. In Essex, they caused tents and gazebos to be lifted during
8533-1186: The European HQ of the Hilton hotel group and Nestlé Waters; in Garston is the UK headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church , on the A412 and the Building Research Establishment . Comet Group and Camelot Group (owners of the National Lottery ), on the A4145 , are in Rickmansworth . Ferrero (maker of Nutella and Kinder Chocolate ) is in Croxley Green . Renault and Skanska (construction) are in Maple Cross . Moto Hospitality has its headquarters at Toddington in Bedfordshire (at
8694-661: The French La Gloire and the British HMS ; Warrior . Such vessels posed a serious threat to the important naval installations on the Thames, including the victualling yards at Deptford , the armaments works of Woolwich Arsenal , the shipbuilding yards at North Woolwich , and the magazines at Purfleet . It was not possible for large warships to reach central London, as the river was not yet deep enough to take ships of more than 400 tons above Deptford. (Capital dredging later enabled much larger ships to reach as far as
8855-523: The Hardwick Industrial Estate at the A47/ A149 junction is PinguinLutosa the UK, which packs frozen vegetables , and Caithness Crystal . Foster Refrigerator is the UK's leading manufacturer of commercial refrigerators and blast chillers , owned by Illinois Tool Works , based on the industrial estate; with Multitone Electronics , which has a manufacturing plant there, and which invented
9016-466: The London docks, so Tilbury was used instead. Two large magazines were built, able to hold 3,600 barrels of powder each, and the old blockhouse and other buildings were converted to act as further magazines. Eventually the fort could hold more than 19,000 barrels of gunpowder. It was also used as a transit depot for soldiers and, after the Jacobite rising of 1745 , as a prison to hold 268 Highlander prisoners of war. The Jacobite prisoners were kept in
9177-471: The M1, is the Stonegate Pub Company (owner of Scream Pubs , Yates's , Slug and Lettuce and Hogshead ), InBev UK (which bought most of Whitbread's beer brands), Chargemaster ( electric vehicle network under the POLAR brand), AstraZeneca 's UK Marketing Company division and Alexon Group (ladies clothing). Vauxhall produced its last Vauxhall Vectra in March 2002 at the plant near the A6/A505 roundabout, and now makes vans ( Vivaro / Renault Trafic ) at
9338-427: The M11 south of Cambridge. Stansted Airport was RAF Stansted Mountfitchet , home to the 344th Bombardment Group . The de Havilland Mosquito was mainly assembled at Hatfield and Leavesden, although much of the innovative wooden structure originated outside the region from the furniture industry of High Wycombe ; the Mosquito entered service in 1942 with 105 Sqn at RAF Horsham St Faith . RAF Tempsford in Bedford
9499-403: The Pope and the Catholic Church , which led to fears that the Catholic powers of Europe would seek to invade so as to reimpose Papal authority. Five blockhouses were built along the Thames between Gravesend and Higham – two on the north bank at Tilbury and East Tilbury and three on the south bank at Gravesend , Milton (near the present New Tavern Fort ) and Higham. The East Tilbury Blockhouse
9660-414: The Thames and separated by a ring of defensive ramparts. The inner moat is 50 metres (160 ft) wide but relatively shallow and the banks have been repeatedly strengthened with piles to protect them from erosion. The fort is entered from the north through a triangular defensive work known as a redan , with a redoubt to defend the entrance. A causeway links the redan to the outer defences, which form
9821-410: The Thames were raided by the French in 1379 during the second phase of the Hundred Years' War . The attack prompted the building of Cooling Castle on Kent's Hoo Peninsula between 1380 and 1385 but there was initially no corresponding move to improve the defences of East Tilbury. Appeals from the local people led to the Crown agreeing in July 1402 to build an earthen rampart and towers to protect
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#17328519320349982-451: The Thames, in the 18th century Tilbury also began to be used as a transit depot and for storing gunpowder . It continued to be essential for the defence of the capital and a new artillery battery was added in the south-east corner during the Napoleonic Wars . The fort became decreasingly significant as a defensive structure as military technology developed in the 19th century. It was redeveloped to hold heavy artillery after 1868, providing
10143-425: The Thames, with an arc of granite-faced casemates, reinforced by iron shields. These, it was believed, would be virtually invulnerable to enemy fire. It was originally envisaged that the fort would have two tiers (in a design similar to that of Garrison Point Fort at Sheerness ) mounting around 56 guns; 28 in casemates and the rest in barbettes on the fort's roof. Construction began on this basis in July 1861 but as
10304-449: The Thames. The fort's defences were also enhanced with two light anti-aircraft guns, including a Bofors 40 mm gun installed on the roof in August 1943, while the fort's perimeter was surrounded by barbed wire and trenches. Two spigot mortars were installed at the fort's rear; their bases can still be seen today. A detached concrete observation tower was built just north of the fort for use as an Extended Defence Officer's Post, to control
10465-443: The West (Home Counties) and East (East Anglia/Essex) of the region, with the West subregions broadcasting from Sandy Heath; the BBC's Western opt-outs are broadcast from studios in Cambridge, also the base of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire , whilst both versions of the ITV Anglia output have broadcast from Anglia House in Norwich since the split service was introduced in 1990. Tilbury Fort Tilbury Fort , also known historically as
10626-421: The area's distribution now looked after by UK Power Networks at Fore Hamlet in Ipswich . UK Power Networks also looks after London and most of the South-East. Business Link in the East of England is near to the headquarters of Ocado in Hatfield, at the roundabout of the A1057 and the A1001 on the Bishops Square Business Park. The region's Manufacturing Advisory Service is at Melbourn in Cambridgeshire, off
10787-415: The barracks had a veranda facing towards the fort's interior and supported on cast-iron pillars. The barracks provided accommodation for a wartime complement of six officers and 180 NCOs and men, though in peacetime only small maintenance detachments occupied the fort. It also accommodated storerooms and a hospital with room for fourteen patients. Although much of the barracks is now in poor condition, two of
10948-419: The charity English Heritage Trust as a tourist attraction, receiving 16,154 visitors in 2014. Many of the more modern military features were demolished during the 1950s, with further restoration work taking place during the 1970s ahead of the site opening to the public in 1983. The 17th-century defences are considered by the historian Paul Pattison to be the "best surviving example of their kind in Britain", and
11109-416: The city, Colman's makes a wide range of mustards, and Britvic makes Robinsons squash, which was owned by Colman's until 1995. Across the River Yare near the A47/ A146 junction in Trowse with Newton is May Gurney , the construction company. Bernard Matthews Farms has a large turkey farm on the former RAF Attlebridge in Weston Longville . Campbell Soup was made in Kings Lynn until 2008, and on
11270-400: The commandant's horses. It now holds the Bernard Truss collection of military memorabilia. The north-east bastion was redesigned after 1868 and contains an earth-covered magazine, as well as emplacements for 9-inch (22 cm) rifled muzzle loading guns. On the north side of the parade are two early 18th century magazines, altered in the 19th century. These were specially designed to avoid
11431-442: The contractor was unsatisfactory. The new fort was built as an extension to the north-west of the existing battery, and thus took an irregular plan. The rampart was extended to accommodate more guns – a total of seventeen 32-pdrs. – and a much enlarged interior replaced the old barracks and magazine. Caponiers at the east side and firing positions on the other sides facilitated musketry defence against land-based assailants. The fort
11592-534: The division of seats favours the dominant party in the region and the Conservatives had 52, Labour 4 ( Cambridge , Luton South , Luton North and Norwich South ), UKIP 1 ( Clacton ) and 1 Liberal Democrat ( North Norfolk ). In the 2019 United Kingdom general election , the Conservatives gained Peterborough and Ipswich from Labour. They also gained North Norfolk from the Liberal Democrats but lost St Albans to Daisy Cooper . The East of England Plan,
11753-452: The east; the following year there were reported to be 161 guns in total at the fort, although 92 of these were in poor repair and inoperable. In addition to its role in protecting the Thames, the fort had various military uses during the 18th century. From 1716 onwards, the Board of Ordnance began to use it as a gunpowder depot ; there were safety restrictions on moving gunpowder in and out of
11914-478: The electrically detonated mines that had been laid in the river. A radar tower manned by naval personnel was also built south of the fort by 1941 to cover the approaches to the minefield, and an anti-aircraft battery was built 1,100 metres (1,200 yd) to the north-west at Bowaters Farm in August 1939. It was frequently used in defence of the eastern approaches to London and was bombed on more than one occasion. By 1944
12075-421: The end of the war, it was proposed in 1924 that Coalhouse Fort should be re-equipped with 4-inch guns but post-war defence cuts meant that this plan was abandoned. Instead, the fort was reduced to care and maintenance status and East Tilbury Battery was decommissioned in 1930. The continuing development of artillery firepower meant that the forts and batteries further downriver took on an increased responsibility for
12236-475: The entrance from the north. Two gun lines of gun platforms, facing the river, stretched alongside either the side of the fort. The Henrician blockhouse was incorporated into the defences, but the Elizabethan earthworks were destroyed. The interior of the fort was raised up above the level of the marshes to prevent flooding, and barracks and other buildings were constructed inside. The writer John Evelyn praised
12397-554: The establishment Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom in 1859. The Commission reported the following year and recommended that new, more powerful forts be built further downstream, with defences such as Tilbury Fort forming a second-line of defence. Work began on strengthening Tilbury in 1868, under the direction of the then Captain Charles Gordon , focusing on adding heavier gun positions able to fire upstream to support
12558-451: The facilities block, as well as probably the sutler's house, were bombed and damaged, being demolished after the war. The fort was transferred out of military use relatively early in the post-war period, and in 1950 the Ministry of Works took over the site. Restoration work took place in the 1970, including the construction of replica wooden bridges. It was opened to the public in 1982. In
12719-819: The far southwestern corner of the region in the Ivinghoe Hills . Communities known as New Towns , responses to urban congestion and World War II destruction, appeared in Basildon and Harlow (Essex), as well as in Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire), in the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1960s, the Roskill Commission considered Cublington in Buckinghamshire, Thurleigh in Bedfordshire, Nuthampstead in Hertfordshire and Foulness in Essex as locations for
12880-448: The fire from Shornemead and Cliffe Forts on the Kent shore, this would ensure that constant fire could be maintained from three different sides. The rapid development of artillery weapons in the late 19th century meant that the casemate style of fortification had become virtually obsolete within a decade of the fort's completion. Its original purpose of defending the river against large warships
13041-568: The form of new works at Gravesend and Tilbury built in the 1780s, but even then the potential of forward defence – to prevent enemies accessing the lower Thames – continued to be neglected. It was not until the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars that the need for effective forward defence was addressed. Lieutenant Colonel Hartcup of the Royal Engineers carried out a survey of the Thames in 1794 in which he recommended building
13202-667: The former Bedford Vehicles plant, based in the north of the town at the GM Manufacturing Luton plant. The economy in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk is traditionally mostly agricultural. Norfolk is the UK's biggest producer of potatoes. Nationally known companies include the RAC , Archant (publishing), Virgin Money and Aviva (formerly Norwich Union ) in Norwich. In Carrow, to the east of
13363-417: The fort and many of these were in poor condition. Thomas Hyde Page inspected Tilbury in 1788 and reported that the defences facing the Thames were seriously inadequate. As a consequence, a new battery was built in the south-east corner of the defences, armed with 32-pounders (14.5 kg) pointing down-river, and a new battery, New Tavern Fort , was built along the river to the east. Fears continued during
13524-463: The fort entrance to house a cafe, toilets and information centre. A four-mile (6.4 km) riverside walk known as the Two Forts Way links Coalhouse Fort with its older counterpart Tilbury Fort; it is described as "a challenging route suitable for able bodied walkers and experienced cyclists." Funded by the newly restructured Historic England (formerly English Heritage), a survey of the heritage site
13685-517: The fort has featured both in the BBC series Restoration and in the 2005 film Batman Begins , in which it stood in for a Bhutanese prison in the first five minutes of the film. The British director Christopher Nolan had seen the TV series and decided that he wanted to set the film's opening scenes in the fort. The poor condition of parts of the structure and its state of slow decay led to it be listed in 2008 on
13846-615: The fort includes the only surviving early 18th century gunpowder magazines in Britain. The first permanent fortification at Tilbury in Essex was built as a consequence of international tensions between England, France and the Holy Roman Empire in the final years of the reign of King Henry VIII . Traditionally the Crown had left coastal defences to the local lords and communities, only taking
14007-523: The fort was used as a storehouse for a shoe factory before it was purchased by the local council. The surrounding land was developed into a public park, but the fort itself fell into dereliction despite its historical and architectural significance. From 1985 it was leased to a voluntary preservation group, the Coalhouse Fort Project, which had been working to restore the fort and use it for heritage and educational purposes. Funding for its restoration
14168-484: The fort was used during the Second World War as an Extended Defence Officer's Post to control the minefield outside the fort. It could also serve as a pillbox . A corresponding post stood on the Kent shore. A small concrete structure a further 148 feet (45 m) north-east of the fort may have been an electrical power house. The minefield was overlooked by a hexagonal radar tower about 1,300 feet (400 m) south of
14329-446: The fort's interior to the jetty and was used to bring guns and supplies from the wharf. The heaviest guns were transported to and from Coalhouse Fort (and other Thames forts) aboard two specialised gun barges called Gog and Magog , built in 1886 and 1900 respectively and used until the 1960s. The remains of the jetty are still visible, as are sections of the track within the fort's entrance. A two-storey concrete structure just north of
14490-584: The fort's last military designation, it was used after 1946 by the Admiralty for training Sea Cadets and nautical youth groups. It was decommissioned in 1949. Coalhouse Fort is exceptionally well-preserved; it provides one of the finest surviving examples of a mid-Victorian armoured casemate fort. It has twelve casemates arranged in a semi-circle facing south and east towards the river, with an annexed open battery facing south-west. The casemates are faced with massive slabs of granite and have iron gun ports to protect
14651-400: The fort's roof. The larger guns were intended to support those at East Tilbury Battery while the smaller ones provided a defence against fast-moving vessels such as destroyers and torpedo boats. Despite their obsolescence, two of the old 12.5-inch RMLs remained at the fort until as late as 1912. They were to be used as "giant blunderbusses" to spray torpedo boats with grapeshot if they got past
14812-411: The fort's structure towards the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th. Closely packed casemates of the type built at Coalhouse Fort were vulnerable to new and more powerful types of explosive shells. To alleviate this threat, massive concrete traverses were constructed in the 1880s to isolate each casemate, preventing a shell bursting inside one casemate from affecting its neighbours and causing
14973-431: The fort, consisting of a concrete structure on a metal frame on which the radar array was mounted. This stands atop a brick building in which the power plant, electrical equipment radar screen and personnel accommodation were located. It was only used for a short time between 1941 and 1943 and is now considered structurally unsafe. Situated nearby is the detached battery built in 1893 to mount four 6-pdr. quick-firing guns. It
15134-548: The forward defences of the Thames. The forts on Gravesend Reach were relegated to a second line of defence. Coalhouse Fort became an "emergency" battery during the anti-invasion preparations of the early Second World War . The existing 6-inch guns were replaced in July 1941 with two 5.5-inch guns which had been removed from HMS Hood during a refit in April 1940. These had a range of 12,500 yards (11,400 m) and were installed in two of
15295-403: The front and a lighting passage behind. Great care was taken to reduce the possibility of an accidental explosion. The magazine workers wore special clothes and shoes to eliminate the risk of striking sparks and the floors of the cartridge stores were covered by wooden battens . The lighting was provided from oil lamps situated behind glass windows and accessed only from the lighting passage, which
15456-465: The government decided that the Royal Navy and the forts downstream gave sufficient protection for the capital and removed the artillery, leaving only machine-guns in place. Tilbury continued to function as a mobilisation store and, after the outbreak of the First World War, it was used to house up to 300 transit soldiers and to supply the new army camps established at Purfleet and Belhus Mansion . It
15617-444: The government to improve the defences along the Thames and mount 80 guns on the forts. In the wake of the conflict, the King instructed his Chief Engineer, a Dutchman called Sir Bernard de Gomme , to develop Tilbury Fort's defences further. De Gomme prepared several plans for the King in 1665; a further iteration of the designs was submitted in 1670 and given royal approval. Work began the same year but it took until 1685 to complete
15778-488: The gun crews. The guns were controlled from a Battery Commander's Post on the roof, from where commands to the gun detachments could be relayed via voice pipes . Three depression range finders were installed on the roof by the late 1890s to aid the guns' targeting. A well-trained crew could fire each gun once every two minutes. Rather than firing all the guns at once, the guns were positioned so that they could be fired in sequence as an enemy ship passed by. When combined with
15939-415: The gunners from splinters dislodged by incoming fire. Although the casemates have been altered over the years, many of their original features survive. None of the guns remain in situ but the metal rails on which they traversed are still in place. The casemates were divided into two sections. During periods of high alert the gun crews would live next to their weapons in the casemates' rear, an area known as
16100-433: The gunpowder magazines and 45 died from typhus before they were sent on to London for trial. The living conditions at the fort were poor. It was surrounded by marshes, with a poor road network, and the garrison had to survive on collected rainwater . A trader called a sutler built a house inside the southern entrance, growing vegetables within the south-west bastion and enjoying an effective monopoly on selling food to
16261-402: The guns presented significant challenges; the 12.5-inch RMLs weighed up to 38 long tons (39 t) apiece, used a charge weighing 172 pounds (78 kg) to fire a shell weighing 827 pounds (375 kg) to their maximum range, and broke windows half a mile away when they were fired. The detonations and clouds of choking black smoke generated when firing them presented a serious physical hazard to
16422-516: The invasion scare of 1803, the Royal Trinity House Volunteer Artillery manned ten armed hulks placed across the river as a barrier at Tilbury. The size of the garrison varied during the first half of the century, but in 1830 the fort had space for 15 officers and 150 enlisted men. Despite the construction of a new range of facilities in 1809, the living conditions of the soldiers remained poor, with four men sharing each of
16583-406: The kitchen ranges still survive and two rooms still contain service crests painted on their walls during the Second World War. An irregularly shaped parade area occupies the middle of the fort, which is divided by a sloping ramp leading up to the casemates. A small brick building – originally used as a laboratory or shell-filling facility – stands to the right of the ramp. The fort is entered through
16744-577: The long-standing marriage to his wife, Catherine of Aragon , and remarry. Catherine was the aunt of Charles V , the Holy Roman Emperor, and he took the annulment as a personal insult. This resulted in France and the Empire declaring an alliance against Henry in 1538, and the Pope encouraging the two countries to attack England. An invasion of England appeared certain. In response, Henry issued an order, called
16905-481: The mouth of the estuary, the Thames narrowed considerably, forming a natural hub for communications: the "Long Ferry" took passengers into the capital, and the " Cross Ferry " moved traffic across the river. This was also the first point that an invasion force would be able to easily disembark along the Thames, as before this point the mudflats along the sides of the estuary would have made landings difficult. Temporary defences had been constructed at Tilbury as early as
17066-492: The mouth of the gun. These were dispensed from the magazines below via lifts on either side of the emplacements. The guns mounted in the open battery were lighter than those in the casemates and were not enclosed but traversed on rails in the open air. A covered section between each emplacement led to an ammunition lift shaft up which the shells and cartridges were raised using lifting gear that still survives. Improvements to artillery technology necessitated significant changes to
17227-492: The navigable channel. Friendly ships could thus pass freely but the mines could be detonated by a shore-based observer if an enemy ship tried to use the main channel. Coalhouse Fort took on the role of an Examination Battery controlling the river traffic in conjunction with the River Examination Service. Incoming vessels were checked by tugs based alongside the old HMS Champion , moored in midriver, and if any vessel
17388-411: The new fort as "a Royal work indeede". Further work after 1694 replaced the wooden gun platforms alongside the river with more durable stone equivalents. By the start of the 18th century, Tilbury Fort was one of the most powerful in Britain. The number of artillery guns varied; in 1715 there were 17 demi-cannon and 26 culverins mounted on the west gun platform, and 31 demi-cannons and one culverin on
17549-438: The new forts. The west, north-east and east bastions and the south-east curtain wall were altered to house thirteen rifled muzzle-loading guns , protected by brick walls, earthworks and iron shields. Initially 7-ton, 7-inch (7,112 kg, 17 cm) guns were deployed but these were upgraded to 9-inch (22 cm) weapons by 1888, supported by a heavier 25-ton, 11-inch (25,401 kg, 27 cm) gun. The old Tudor block-house
17710-453: The old 6-inch emplacements. A steel shelter was constructed on the fort's roof to protect the guns, which were also camouflaged with netting. A brick observation post on the roof provided range-finding, and two remotely controlled searchlights installed on the roof of the north caponier could illuminate the riverside below. The purpose of these installations was to protect against raids by cruisers and torpedo boats and to counter any landings in
17871-464: The old Henrician blockhouse. The batteries would have a maximum range of about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and their arcs of fire would overlap, enabling them to support each other. The new battery was constructed during 1799 on marshy ground a short distance south-east of St Catherine's Church. It took its name from the nearby Coalhouse Point, which was named for a coal wharf that once existed there to serve East Tilbury. The soft soil caused many problems but
18032-403: The other guns. Coalhouse Fort was manned during the First World War by No. 2 Company, Royal Garrison Artillery , which manned the guns; the 2nd Company London Electrical Engineers operated the electric searchlights. A minefield was installed in the river between Shornemead and Coalhouse forts, with mechanically operated mines in the shallower parts of the river and remotely detonated mines in
18193-433: The planned bastions at Tilbury, originally planned to face the river, was cancelled in 1681, in part to save money. The total cost of the project is unknown, but was significantly more than the original estimate of £47,000. The result was a large, five-sided, star-shaped fort with four angular bastions, revetted in brick, with an outer curtain of defences, including two moats and a redoubt ; two new gatehouses defended
18354-433: The project. The work was carried out by skilled contractors, who were supplemented by large teams of pressed men brought in from across the region; during 1671, up to 256 workers were employed on the site. Around 3,000 timber piles had to be brought from Norway for the project in 1671 to support the foundations in the marshy ground. The resources needed for the King's multiple defence projects became stretched, and one of
18515-433: The rapid pace of artillery development at the time meant that it was practically obsolete for its original purpose within a few years of its completion. The fort's armament was revised several times during its 70 years of military use, as its role evolved in the river's defensive system. It was initially a front-line fortification, supported by Shornemead Fort and Cliffe Fort located to the south and east respectively on
18676-438: The region do. The largest university by student numbers is ARU, and the next biggest is Cambridge. The smallest is Essex. For total income to universities, Cambridge receives around £1 billion—around six times larger than any other university in the region. The University of Bedfordshire receives the least income. Cambridge has the lowest drop-out (discontinuation) rate in the region. Once graduated, over 50% of students stay in
18837-507: The region include University Centre Peterborough , University of Suffolk and Writtle College . . The University of Cambridge receives almost three times as much funding as any other university in the region, due to its huge research grant—the largest in England (and the UK). The next largest, by funding, is UEA in Norwich. The University of Essex and Cranfield University also have moderately large research grants, but no other universities in
18998-574: The region's most populous settlements. According to Census 2021 , Peterborough is the largest city in the East of England at 215,000. The southern part of the region lies in the London commuter belt . The East of England region has the lowest elevation range in the UK. Twenty percent of the region is below mean sea level, most of this in North Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and on the Essex Coast. Most of
19159-665: The region, with 25% going to London and 10% going to the South East. Very few go elsewhere—especially the North of England. During the nineteenth century, several formulations of the laws of football, known as the Cambridge rules , were created by students at the University. One of these codes, dating from 1863, had a significant influence on the creation of the original laws of The Football Association . East of England's top representatives in
19320-640: The region. Cambridge hosts two universities: the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University . It is also the home of the Open University 's East of England branch. Norwich also hosts two universities: the University of East Anglia and Norwich University of the Arts . There are also other towns and cities in the region which have universities including Bedford and Luton ( University of Bedfordshire ), Colchester ( University of Essex ) and Hatfield ( University of Hertfordshire ). Other higher education centres in
19481-461: The remaining area is of low elevation, with extensive glacial deposits. The Fens , a large area of reclaimed marshland, are mostly in North Cambridgeshire. The Fens include the lowest point in the country in the village of Holme : 2.75 metres (9.0 ft) below mean sea level. This area formerly included the body of open water known as Whittlesey Mere . The highest point in the region is at Clipper Down at 817 ft (249 m) above mean sea level, in
19642-576: The river and was in ruins. Its site by the shoreline has since been eroded away by tidal action, though it is possible that remains from the blockhouse may still survive under the river mud. The June 1687 Raid on the Medway by the Dutch fleet during the Second Anglo-Dutch War exposed the weaknesses of the Thames defences. It took another hundred years for the defences on Gravesend Reach to be improved, in
19803-459: The river on either side of it; ancillary buildings were placed at the rear and the whole site was protected by a rampart and a ditch, with extensive marshlands and creeks giving additional protection to the east. It was initially commanded by Captain Francis Grant and his deputy, and garrisoned with a porter, two soldiers and four gunners, equipped with up to five artillery pieces including
19964-639: The same name takes place in the town at St Peter's Church. Much of the region receives the BBC East and ITV Anglia television services, both based in Norwich (the BBC moving from All Saints' Green to The Forum in 2003, and Anglia remaining at its original base, Angia House.) These services broadcast from the Sandy Heath , Sudbury and Tacolneston transmitter groups. Some areas in close proximity to London, including Luton and south Essex , may receive their service from BBC London and ITV London ; in addition,
20125-406: The same time, a new threat had emerged in the shape of the fast and highly manoeuvrable torpedo boat . Large guns were virtually useless against such vessels, so the fort was supplemented with another new battery built in 1893 some 365 metres (399 yd) to the south where 6-pdr. quick-firing guns were installed. Similar batteries were built on the opposite shore at Shornemead and Cliffe Forts. By
20286-417: The settlement. The site of these early defences is not known but might have been near where St Catherine's Church now stands. A ditch of unknown date in that vicinity may represent a fragment of the medieval defences. Henry VIII ordered the construction of an artillery blockhouse at East Tilbury in 1539–40 as part of a major scheme to fortify the coastline of England and Wales. It followed his break from
20447-469: The soldiers. New barracks for the officers and enlisted men were rebuilt in 1772, but the officers often preferred to live across the river in the more urban setting of Gravesend, near the military headquarters there. A cricket match in 1776 between men from the Kentish and Essex sides of the Thames reportedly ended in bloodshed when guns were seized from the guardroom; newspapers recounted how an Essex man and
20608-401: The south, the fort is entered through the Water Gate. This two-storeyed gatehouse dates from the late 17th century with a monumental stone facade featuring carved displays of classical and 17th-century weapons; when first built, the now-empty niche at the front probably held a statue of King Charles II. The building originally acted a house for the master gunner. Most of the inside of the fort
20769-690: The south-east of the town, Adder Technology ( KVM switches ) at Bar Hill at the A14 /B1050 junction north of the town, Monsanto , Play.com on the Cambridge Business Centre. The Wellcome Trust Genome Campus has the European Bioinformatics Institute at Hinxton east of Duxford near the M11 spur for the A11. These form the so-called Silicon Fen . Marshall Aerospace is at Cambridge Airport on
20930-587: The start of the 20th century the fort's casemates had been put out of use as they were too vulnerable to modern artillery. Instead, part of the fort's front was covered with a sloping glacis made of earth, blocking the casemates and filling the inner defensive ditch. At least one of the front caponiers was also demolished around this time. Most of the old RMLs were retired and replaced with four Mk. VII six-inch BL guns and four 12-pdr quick-firing (QF) BL guns , with ranges of 7 miles (11 km) and 4.5 miles (7.2 km) respectively, mounted on concrete emplacements on
21091-422: The start of the 20th century to hold emplacements for four quick-firing guns and two 6-inch (15 cm) guns, with tunnels linking to an underground magazine. Four artillery pieces, dating from 1898 to 1942, are on display. Facing the parade ground are the officers' quarters, a terrace of houses probably dating in its current form to the late 18th century, with a stables at the northern end, originally used to hold
21252-551: The steel in their hulls had been demagnetised to a sufficient extent to make them undetectable by German magnetic mines . If they were detected, they would be recalled for further degaussing. As one of the Wrens later recalled, they found themselves "surrounded by a wonderful array of young men, soldiers and marines of all ranks – and we were the only girls in sight." HMS St Clement became a Combined Operations base and evolved into HMS St Clement I , II and III . As HMS St Clement III ,
21413-478: The supporters of King Charles I and those of Parliament . Tilbury was controlled by Parliament, who placed the Tilbury and Gravesend forts under the command of a military governor, using them to control traffic entering London and to search for spies; it saw no military action during the war. Tilbury remained in use during the interregnum, having a garrison of three officers and sixty-six men in 1651. After Charles II
21574-476: The threat of invasion had abated and the fort was handed over to the Home Guard 's No. 356 Coast Battery detachment. Its complement at this time was a captain, two lieutenants and 103 other ranks. They were supplemented by a detachment of Wrens who operated a degaussing range established at Coalhouse Fort in 1943 under the name of HMS St Clement . Outbound ships passed over submerged sensors which detected whether
21735-470: The time they reach Eastern England. Winter (mid-November – mid-March) is mostly cool, but non-prevailing cold easterly winds can affect the area from the continent. These can bring heavy snowfall if the winds interact with a low-pressure system over the Atlantic or France . Northerly winds also can be cold but are not usually as cold as easterly winds. Westerly winds bring milder and, typically, wetter weather. Southerly winds usually bring mild air (if from
21896-428: The two-bed rooms in the barracks, and no running water on the site. During the 19th century, a pump was installed to bring water up from a well 178 metres (584 ft) below the surface. Nationwide investigations into the standard of Army barracks during 1857 led to investment in better facilities at Tilbury; piped water was run into the site in 1877, and improved amenities and sanitation were installed after 1880. By
22057-473: The use of iron, which might have generated sparks and set off an explosion, instead being built using wood and copper; they are the only remaining examples of their type in Britain. The Landport Gate lies behind the magazines, and has a gatehouse, called the Dead House, above the passageway leading into the interior of the fort. Past the north-west bastion, the soldiers' barracks would have stood opposite those of
22218-406: The war accommodation. The front of the casemate was the gun emplacement proper, where the loading and firing took place. The iron shield protecting each casemate was fitted with iron bars from which two mantlets made of thick lengths of rope were hung. These protected the gun crew from splinters and smoke. A loading bar above the gun-port enabled the crew to lift the heavy shells and cartridges up to
22379-455: The water in the moats, and allowed them to be drained completely should the surfaces begin to freeze over in winter and provide an advantage to any attackers. To the west of the outer defences is the World's End pub, originally the local ferry house, dating from 1788. The inner defences largely follow a pentagonal design, with four defensive bastions positioned around a central parade ground . From
22540-431: The wholly new Cliffe Fort opposite Coalhouse Point, which would replace the abandoned 18th-century battery at Lower Hope Point. The locations of the forts would enable interlocking arcs of fire from their guns. A boom defence and a minefield would be installed off Coalhouse Point in wartime to further boost the strength of the defences. The design of the new fort was similar to that of the other Royal Commission forts on
22701-423: The work progressed the design was changed, leaving the fort with only a single tier of casemates. Like its predecessors, its construction was seriously affected by the poor ground conditions and was disrupted by shifting and cracking foundations. Colonel Charles George Gordon , who was later to die in the siege of Khartoum , supervised its final phases of construction. The fort cost a total of £130,000 to build. It
22862-493: The work was completed by July of that year. It was equipped with four 24-pounder (pdr.) cannon mounted on traversing carriages, which enabled the gunners to track targets much more easily than had been the case with traditional garrison carriages . The battery faced the river with a semi-circular earthen rampart on which the guns were mounted. A walled-off area to the rear enclosed a barracks, magazine and shot kiln (for heating shot to set wooden ships on fire). The whole structure
23023-436: Was built partly with stone taken from St Margaret's Chapel in Tilbury, which was dissolved in 1536. Its form is not known but it probably consisted of a brick and stone structure, perhaps in a D-shape, with a rampart and ditch to enclose its landward side. It was recorded as having fifteen iron and brass cannon of various calibres in 1540; these had been increased to 27 by 1539–40. It had a small permanent garrison, consisting of
23184-422: Was completed in early 2017 and repairs to make the fort watertight were expected to begin in late 2017. In January 2020, the Coalhouse Fort Project was discontinued in recognition of its success in saving and restoring the fort, leaving the site's future direction to Thurrock Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund. East of England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England in
23345-489: Was deemed suspect or refused to stop, the fort was authorised to fire across its bows. The fort's armament was reduced during the war as other forts and batteries took over some of its duties. Two of the six-inch guns were shipped across the river to Cliffe Fort in 1914 and the QF guns on the roof were withdrawn. An anti-aircraft battery was established north-west of the fort for defence against Zeppelins and enemy bombers. Following
23506-494: Was designed in a predominantly Dutch style, with a ring of outer and inner defences intended to allow the fort to attack hostile warships, while being protected from attack from the land. The heritage agency Historic England describes it as "England's most spectacular" example of a late 17th-century fort, and the historian Paul Pattison considers the defences the "best surviving example of their kind in Britain". The outer defences comprise outer and inner water-filled moats, fed by
23667-403: Was destroyed to make way for the new guns. Naval and defensive technology continued to improve over the next few decades, rendering Tilbury Fort's bastion design out-moded. The government considered the defences further down the Thames to be sufficient and Tilbury was therefore not improved; it was largely redundant as a defensive fortification by the end of the century, although still in use as
23828-546: Was identical to today's region. Essex, despite meaning East-Saxons, previously formed part of South East England , along with Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, a mixture of definite and debatable Home counties . The earliest use of the term is from 1695. Charles Davenant , in An essay upon ways and means of supplying the war , wrote, "The Eleven Home Counties, which are thought in Land Taxes to pay more than their proportion..." then cited
23989-499: Was initially manned by the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers until 1916, and by various reserve units for the rest of the war. The fort itself was used to store munitions while a depot for remounts was built just to the west; a pontoon bridge was built across the Thames for troop movements, guarded by the fort's guns. Until 1917, also used to house the headquarters of several infantry battalions. Electric lighting
24150-534: Was installed, and a narrow-gauge railway and a steam crane on the quay were added to help to move material in and out of the fort. After the Zeppelin raids of June 1915, anti-aircraft guns and searchlights mounted at the fort and they played a role in the shooting down of the German Navy Zeppelin, L15 , although it is disputed as to which site in the area fired the shell that brought down the airship. During
24311-504: Was leased to the Coalhouse Fort Project, a heritage charity operated by volunteers between 1985 and 2020. The project undertook the gradual restoration of the fort and held regular open days. Various items of 20th century military equipment were displayed in the interior of the fort; the casemates housed reconstructions and small military-related museums. The project was highly commended in the British Archaeological Awards and
24472-462: Was on the site of a hermitage dissolved by the King in 1536. It was designed by James Nedeham and Christopher Morice , supported by three overseers; prior to the work, the estimated cost had been given as £211, allowing for stone, timber, 150,000 bricks and 200 tonnes (200 long tons; 220 short tons) of chalk. The D-shaped blockhouse was curved at the front, with two storeys of gun-ports , and probably had additional gun platforms stretching along
24633-538: Was originally intended that Coalhouse Fort would be armed with 68-pdr. smooth-bore guns, but these had become obsolete by the time it was completed in 1874. More powerful armour-piercing weapons were required, so the casemates were provided with four 12.5-inch and thirteen 11-inch RMLs with a range of about 5,500 yards (5,000 m). A further three 9-inch RMLs were emplaced in the open battery. They were mounted on metal traversing platforms that could be elevated and traversed using hand-operated gearing devices. Operating
24794-498: Was physically separated from the rest of the magazine. Sets of lifting gear enabled the workers to winch the cartridges and ammunition up to the casemates, with which they could communicate via voice tubes. A defensible barracks made of brick, faced in Kentish ragstone on the fort's exterior, closes off the gorge. Its line is indented to facilitate small arms fire from loopholes and windows with armoured steel shutters. The first floor of
24955-561: Was provided in part by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Warner Bros. film studio, which used the fort as a location for the opening scenes of the 2005 film Batman Begins . The group closed in 2020. East Tilbury, which stands at the western end of the section of the Thames known as Lower Hope Reach, was fortified long before the building of Coalhouse Fort due to its vulnerability to seaborne attackers. Settlements on both sides of
25116-540: Was reinforced with earthwork bastion , and Parliamentary forces used it to help secure the capital during the English Civil War of the 1640s. Following naval raids during the Anglo-Dutch Wars , the fort was enlarged by Sir Bernard de Gomme from 1670 onwards to form a star-shaped defensive work, with angular bastions , water-filled moats and two lines of guns facing onto the river. In addition to protecting
25277-505: Was restored to the throne in 1660, he began a wide-ranging programme of work on the coastal defences. The Dutch fleet then attacked up the Thames in June 1667, but were deterred from going further for fear of the Tilbury and Gravesend fortifications. In reality, the forts were poorly prepared to resist a Dutch attack; at Tilbury there were only two guns ready for action. The Dutch struck the English fleet at Medway instead, giving enough time for
25438-448: Was surrounded by a polygonal water-filled ditch . It was modified in 1810 to raise the height of the rampart and to add a small expense magazine where ammunition was stored for immediate use. The French did not test the Thames defences, despite an invasion scare in 1804, and the battery was abandoned along with those at Lower Hope Point and Shornemead following Napoleon 's final defeat in 1815. Renewed tension between Britain and France in
25599-416: Was surrounded by a wide water-filled ditch. A bridge on the west (landward) side provided the only access route. By the late 1850s, Britain and France were locked in an arms race. A new generation of increasingly accurate and powerful guns had been developed (of the rifled muzzle loader (RML) and rifled breech loader (RBL) types), mounted on fast-moving, manoeuvrable steam-powered ironclad warships such as
25760-458: Was taken over by a new East Tilbury Battery , constructed in 1891 about 600 metres (660 yd) to the north-west just outside East Tilbury village. This contained six much more powerful breech-loading (BL) guns on Moncrieff disappearing carriages within concealed emplacements facing east up the river. A similar battery was built at Slough Fort on the Hoo Peninsula a few miles downriver. At
25921-408: Was to appoint a Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom , which published a far-reaching report in 1860. The Royal Commission recommended that a triangle of forts should be established on the lower Thames, east of Gravesend . This would involve replacing the existing Coalhouse Fort on the Essex shore with a new fortification, similarly replacing the existing Shornemead Fort and building
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