Thurrock Local History Society 21 October 2016
Stories of Coalhouse Fort and Park by Hazel Sacco
WE were pleased to invite the newly appointed Museum and Heritage Officer Hazel Sacco for our October meeting. She gave a very informative and interesting talk, complete with illustrations, on Coalhouse Fort.
The present fort was built 1860-1874, designed by Captain Charles Sibborn, later supervised by Gen Charles Gordon, as a defence for London against France, although there had been a blockhouse at Coalhouse Point since Tudor times. The original site is now engulfed by the Thames and is now just a ruined jetty. The battery was constructed in 1799 and incorporated into the fort in 1855, when more land was bought. By the time the fort was finished the guns were obsolete and two 12½” guns were moved; they were gone by 1912 and quick firing guns were installed on the roof.
In WW1 the London Electrical Engineers were stationed there, trees were planted to disguise the fort and the Searchlight Magazine provided news and gossip. The troops used the floating bridge to go across to Gravesend and many humorous letters in the magazine were from a Norah and Gladys from the Gravesend cafe. There were also jokes and letters from women looking for suitors. Motor cycling was very popular, together with other sports, including cricket between the fort detachments. The men seemed to have had an easy time, so to relieve boredom they built a garage, and a workshop was opened in June 1916. They also built a war memorial, but this was later blown up as it was not thought a good idea to advertise deaths. However, the headstone still survives.
WW2 saw ditches dug. The Royal Naval detachment was stationed there, also the Home Guard and Wrens who signalled ships going up and down the river. The ships had to be degaussed, making them safe against magnetic mines. The Wrens lived in St Catherine’s vicarage and apparently enjoyed their time there, complete with parties.
In the 1960s the fort was acquired by Thurrock UDC. From 1980 Coalhouse Fort Project has worked to repair the fort with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund. New findings were made during restoration work by Historic England. The tunnels and magazines were extremely wet, so vegetation was cleared and the ditch excavated to real the old stone walls.
Parts of St Catherine’s Church dates from the 12th century. It was on the main road for pilgrims and there is an Iron Age settlement nearby. In WW1 it was planned to build a tower using recycled stone from Coalhouse Fort and Blockhouse, but this was stopped half way as it didn’t seem good use of the army’s time. A plaque inside commemorates WW1 deaths. 2014 saw a mini excavation when stone from the old tower was discovered.
This was a very well researched light-hearted talk, well received by our members. Our next meeting is at 8.00pm at the Adult Community College, Richmond Road, Grays on Friday 18th November when our speaker will be Linda Rhodes, entitled “Scandals at sea – sad tales of Barking fishing apprentices”. Visitors are very welcome.
