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 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 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 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, 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 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.
CoalhouseFort 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....
fortification (Tilbury Fort) and CoalhouseFort was built further down river, close to the second blockhouse. The importance of the forts in defending the country...
abandoned. It was rebuilt in the mid-1840s, along with CoalhouseFort. The second Shornemead Fort was constructed between 1848–52 to a polygonal plan inspired...
Thatcher, Paul O'Grady, and Lee Ryan. For the series 10 episode from CoalhouseFort, the team were joined by Scottish paranormal investigator Ryan O'Neill...
and People. In the 1860s, CoalhouseFort was constructed on the bank of the Thames, close to the parish church. This fort was an active part of the defences...
The Palmerston Forts along the north bank of the Thames River and East Anglia include: Beacon Hill Battery, Harwich CoalhouseFort, East Tilbury East...
design was modified to make it a purely casemated fort with a very similar aspect to CoalhouseFort on the other side of the river. A moat and earthworks...
ditch Fort Manoel Fort Ricasoli Boden Fortress in Sweden Brest-Litovsk fortress, Camden Fort Meagher, Crosshaven, Cork Harbour, Ireland CoalhouseFort, Essex...
Tilbury Fort, also known historically as the Thermitage Bulwark and the West Tilbury Blockhouse, is an artillery fort on the north bank of the River Thames...
341–362. Smith, Victor T. C. (1985). CoalhouseFort and the Artillery Defences at East Tilbury. London, UK: CoalhouseFort Project. OCLC 866642339. Spurgeon...
Historian Parapsychologist Original air date UK viewers (millions) 138 1 "CoalhouseFort (Night 1) recorded November 2007" Thurrock, Essex Karl Beattie Unknown...
trains serving it are operated by c2c. It is located close to CoalhouseFort, an artillery fort dating from the 1860s. As of the December 2023 timetable the...
forts guarding the Thames downstream from Gravesend, at New Tavern Fort in the town, Shornemead Fort on the Thames's south bank, and CoalhouseFort on...
established along the Thames. Three forts would be constructed or rebuilt - Shornemead Fort and Cliffe Fort in Kent and CoalhouseFort in Essex - to provide an outer...
foreshore; Romano-British huts (1920s) Bronze Age ring ditch (1959–60) CoalhouseFort; post medieval military features (two excavations and fieldwork, 1984–2000)...
the Island Yacht Club as it was considered dangerous. Along with the CoalhouseFort at nearby East Tilbury, Thorney Bay on the southern coast of the island...
moved to Bawdsey 10 February 1942 356 Bty – joined 31 December 1940, at CoalhouseFort 419 Bty – formed 21 September 1940, joined 31 December 1940, at Shoeburyness...
stranding. On 24 September 2018, Benny was first sighted by people near CoalhouseFort, Essex. Ecologist Dave Andrews reported that it had been feeding near...
ISBN 1-84415-221-9. Victor T.C. Smith, CoalhouseFort and the Artillery Defences at East Tilbury: A History and Guide, Thurrock: CoalhouseFort Project, 1985. Thomas,...
Dartmouth, England, Combined Operations Boat Training HMS St Clement at CoalhouseFort, Tilbury, Essex, England, Combined Operations base Amphibian engineers...
example, No 2 Company London Electrical Engineers was positioned at CoalhouseFort in East Tilbury. By an agreement between the Admiralty and War Office...
The Device Forts, also known as Henrician castles and blockhouses, were a series of artillery fortifications built to defend the coast of England and...
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