Coalhouse Fort

Restored fort on the banks of the Thames at Tilbury.

Location: Princess Margaret Road, East Tilbury, RM18 8PB

Description: This Victorian coastal defence fort was built between 1861 and 1864, near the foundations of an earlier Henrician blockhouse costing about 130,000.

It provided armament between 1874 and the end of World War II when it became a degaussing station.

It was originally built as part of the Palmerston Folly Forts to defend against Europe after Henry VIII abolished Catholicism in England.

Forts were also built on the opposite side of the Thames, in Kent, at Cliff and Shorne.

This first line of defence was backed up by two more upgraded forts at Tilbury and Gravesend.

Themes: Military Military Theme