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COALHOUSE FORT PROJECT
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PICTURE GALLERY
(All pictures on this site are copyright to Peter Appleton and Roy Reynolds)
COALHOUSE FORT
EAST TILBURY
ESSEX
RM18 8PB
Registered Charity 289952
Just a Thought:
"If we fail to learn from history, then we will continue to make the same mistakes as our forefathers"
Coalhouse Fort Needs You!
As Coalhouse Fort is becoming more popular with visitors from far and wide, we are on the look out for more voluteers to help with open days as well as behind the scenes work. If you would like to join us as a working member it will cost £10 per year and you can help preserve this 'scheduled ancient monument'. If you enjoy history and meeting members of the public, you could join us and train to become one of the guides. The guides take parties of visitors around the magazines, casemates and roof batteries and bring the history of the fort to life. For more information please contact us using the link below. We look forward to seeing you at one of our open days.
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Click Here For Open Days 2007
Sunday 25th November, our last open day of 2007
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Click Here To Go To The Official Website
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Contact Us
This picture gallery will be an on going project, with more pictures being added after each event takes place throughout the year.
The early pictures show Coalhouse from 1983 when The Coalhouse Fort Project was started, and improvements made in subsequent years. Please return later to view up to date pictures.
Over a number of years, I have visited an assortment of Forts and Batteries all over Southern England. I will be adding pictures of these as well as pictures of pillboxes and tank traps that I have found during my travels. Where possible I will include a National Grid Reference.
Recent Updates (most recent at bottom)
25th March 2006
New page added showing photographs of Landguard Fort in Felixstowe, Suffolk.
28th March 2006
Following a successful visit to Newhaven Fort, Sussex I will be posting photos shortly of this impressive Palmerston Fort. Thanks also go to the staff for their enthusiasm and kind hospitality.
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1st April 2006
Two pages showing pictures of Newhaven Fort, East Sussex, a Palmerston Fort run be Lewes District Council. Another page showing the Newhaven 6" Emergency Battery to be added soon.
2nd April 2006
Pictures added of Newhaven 6" Emergency Battery. This battery is for three guns and is in very good condition with a large number of buildings still intact, although sealed up.
7th April 2006
Added pictures of Puckpool Mortar Battery, Isle of Wight including the only Armstrong Protected Barbette position in England
12th April 2006
A new forum has been added to the Official Coalhouse Fort Website. To have your say please follow the link below.
Coalhouse Fort Forum
19th April 2006
Page added showing directions to Coalhouse by road, rail and bus.
How to Find Us click here
23rd April 2006
Pictures posted of the Victory in Europe Day hosted at Coalhouse in 2005.
Victory in Europe 2005
Victory in Europe (page 2)
24th April 2006
Pictures posted of Brean Down Fort, Somerset
Click Here to go to Page
1st May 2006
Pictures posted of the military vehicles that attended the open day on 30th April 2006
Click Here to go to Page
11th May 2006
Photographs added of the Classic and Vintage Bike Meet held on our first open day 2006
Click Here to go to Page
19th May 2006
Pictures added showing the High Angle Battery, Portland, Dorset click the link below to go to the page.
Click Here to go to Page
6th June 2006
Pictures added to the '2005' page showing the cartridge and shell lifts for the 6" battery
Click Here to go to Page
20th June 2006
Page added to commemorate those who died at the Wormhoudt Massacre Site on 28th May 1940.
Click Here to go to Page
7th July 2006
Page added showing the V1 launch site in the woods near Hazebrouck, a site that is in remarkable condition despite allied bombing of the area.
Click Here to go to Page
1st August 2006
Pictures added of some of the cars that attended the annual Classic and Vintage Car Day.
Click Here to go to Page
15th October 2006
Some pictures from the Classic and Vintage Motorcycle day
Click Here to go to Page
14th November 2006
Updated Shornemead Fort page with some pictures taken around 1925
Click Here to go to Page
24th November 2006
More pictures from Shoeburyness showing the gun emplacements on the Heavy Quick Firing Battery.
Click Here to go to Page
1st December 2006
Series of pictures added showing some of the defences at Corton Beach, Suffolk.
Click Here to go to Page
4th December 2006
A PROVISIONAL list of dates for 2007 has been posted, but may be subject to change.
Click Here to go to Page
23rd December 2006
Photographs showing some of the structures added to Coalhouse during the 19th and 20th century.
Click Here to go to Page
27th February 2007
Pictures of the Green Goddess now resident at Coalhouse Fort
Click Here to go to Page
7th June 2007
Page added asking for volunteers to come along to Halloween 2007 to be a Ghost, Ghoulie or Guide. (page deleted until 2008)
18th June 2007
Page added following an interesting visit to the East Essex Aviation Museum, Point Clear, St Osyth.
Click Here to go to Page
10th September 2007
Pictures added from the annual Classic Vehicle Day 27th July 2007
Click Here to go to Page
Other pages:
Home Page
The Coalhouse Fort Project was started in the 1980's to maintain, restore and promote Coalhouse Fort. The Fort was built between 1861 and 1874 and remained in service until 1956 when Coastal Defence was abolished.
Open Days For 2008
This page lists the open days for 2008, opening hours and admission prices.
How to Find Us
This page shows directions to Coalhouse Fort, East Tilbury, Essex, RM18 8PB. Directions are shown by road, rail and bus.
Membership Information
How to join the Coalhouse Fort Project Team.
Fort Plans
Plans of the fort showing magazines, casemates and roof positions.
Recommended Reading List
This list, although not exhaustive, lists some of the books that cover Coastal Defences in England and Wales. Some are out of print due to their age but they can be found in libraries and second hand book shops.
Recommended Booklets
As with the reading list it is not exhaustive. Most forts such as Nothe in Weymouth, Newhaven in Sussex and Landguard in Sufffolk all produce their own leaflets and books obout themselves. ISBN numbers are shown where available.
Links Page
This page includes links to other sites I have found useful in studying forts and associated defences.
Guided tour
These pictures follow the route taken by the guided tour. The tours take about an hour, during which you will hear an abridged history of the fort from its conception until 1956 when coastal defence was abolished.
Pictures From 1983
This gallery contains pictures of the fort from 1983 when the restoration was begun. It also includes comparison pictures from 2006 and will include photos of various events throughout the year.
Pictures From 1984
These pictures show the progress made after one years work by a dedicated group of volunteers
Pictures From 1985
These pictures were taken in December 1985 and show further improvements made in the previous year.
Pictures From 2005
These pictures were taken during my first year as a guide at Coalhouse Fort. They show the various defences installed during the Victorian Period, WWI and WWII.
Victory in Europe Day 2005
Pictures taken during our VE Day commemorations in 2005. A number of military vehicles attended along with re-enactment groups from both allied and axis units representing some of those who fought during WWII.
Victory in Europe Day 2005 (page 2)
More pictures of vehicles and volunteers that took part in the commemorations.
Classic and Vintage Bike Meet 26th March 2006
The first open day of Coalhouse Fort for 2006 was accompanied by the Classic and Vintage Bike Meet
Fort Open Day April 30th 2006
During the open day, a number of military vehicles made an appearance along with their owners or operators who were on hand to answer questions and show off their vehicles.
Classic and Vintage Car Day 30th July 2006
Coalhouse Fort hosted its annual Classic Car Day on a fine summers day, and included cars from Anglias to Zephyrs, via Jaguars, Rovers and a Skoda!
Classic and Vintage Bike Show 8th October 2006
A few pictures of some of the bikes that attended this ever popular event.
Halloween Event 2006
Coalhouse Fort is once again hosting its annual Halloween event. On the 27th and 28th October the fort will be home to ghosts and goolies so come along and have a frightfully good evening. Be there and be scared!!! The longest ghost walk in Essex???
Classic Vehicle Day 29th July 2007
Our annual event proved to be our best open day of 2007. The vehicles turned out imaculate as always and even the sun shone, a rare site in 2007!! A group of Truimphs were shown together with Morris Minors, Ford Escorts and even a Rolls Royce.
Shoeburyness Gunnery School
The Shoeburyness Gunnery School was closed down a number of years ago to make way for a housing estate. Some of the emplacements that were, for many years on MOD land can now be reached.
Shoeburyness Heavy Quick Firing Battery
This battery would have mounted two 6" breech loaders and two 12lb quick firing guns. The guns were served with two shell lifts, one for each gun feeding from magazines below. Both guns were served by a common cartridge lift.
Shornemead Fort, Kent
These pictures show the remains of Shornemead Fort, one of the sister forts to Coalhouse. It is similar in size, but a mirror image being on the other side of the Thames. It was largely destroyed with explosives used by the Army School of Demolitions.
New Tavern Fort, Gravesend, Kent
New Tavern was built to protect London from invasion by an enemy using the River Thames. Henry VIII had a blockhouse built nearby c1539 to cross fire with others at West Tilbury, East Tilbury, Milton and Higham.
Maunsell Army Sea Forts
These pictures were taken on the 21st September 2003 from the Pocahontas out of Tilbury Riverside.
Satellite pictures from Google Earth.
These pictures show a number of Forts and Batteries on the Isle of Wight and around Portsmouth viewed from space illustrating the various layouts and forms these structures take.
More satellite pictures
These Google Earth satellite pictures are of the Forts and Batteries in the Plymouth area.
Landguard Fort
Landguard Fort is situated at the mouth of the River Orwell opposite Harwich Redoubt in Essex. As Felixstowe is an important deep water terminal the area has always been well defended
Newhaven Fort, East Sussex
Newhaven is a Palmerston fort built as a result of the 1859 Royal Commission and was the first to use a large ammount of concrete in its construction. It is run by Lewes Council and is open to the public for a number of weeks each year.
Newhaven Fort, East Sussex
With so many things to see at Newhaven, I have decided to include another page of pictures,
Newhaven, East Sussex, Emergency Battery
These three gun emplacements lie approximately 800m to the West of Newhaven Fort. They were installed during WWII to mount 3 x 6" breech loaders. The battery is in very good condition with most of the original buildings intact but bricked up.
Puckpool Mortar Battery, Isle of Wight
A large and well preserved battery looking out across the Spit Banks between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. Built between 1863 and 1865. Re-worked in 1889 and again between 1901 and 1945.
Brean Down Fort, Somerset
Brean Down Fort, Near Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset. One of 'Palmerston's Follies' built as a result of the 1859 Royal Commission.
High Angle Battery, Portland, Dorset
The High Angle Battery, Portland is situated outside Verne Citadel overlooking Weymouth Bay. The Battery was built to mount 9" Rifle Muzzle Loaders firing high angle shots to penertrate the thinner deck armour of the enemies ships
Wormhoudt Massacre Site
On Tuesday 28th May 1940, a number of young soldiers - mostly British - were massacred in cold blood by the SS of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler.
V1 (flying bomb) Vengance weapon site, Hazebrouck
In the woods near Ebblinghem to the West of Hazebrouck, Northerm France are the remains of a V1 fixed launching ramp. The V1 (flying bomb) was launched against London and resulted in the deaths of over 6,000 people
Corton, Suffolk defences
As the East Coast was so heavily defended during WWII, a large number of structures have survived. Several pillboxes, a tank trap and an anti-tank gun emplacement can be found along the Corton Beaches.
Pictures of Coalhouse Fort
Photographs of Coalhouse showing: Depression Position Finder (Battery Observation Post): WWII Gun houses: Degausing monitor position: 1943 Bofors position: Loop-holed firing position:
Green Goddess at Coalhouse Fort
Coalhouse Fort has taken delivery of a Bedford Green Goddess. This Goddess is fully servicable and will be added to the resident vehicles based at the fort throughout the year.
East Essex Aviation Society
The EEAS has been housed in the historic Martello Tower at Point Clear since it's first opening to visitors in 1986. The collection formed around the recovered wreck of a P51 Mustang of the U.S. 479th Fighter Group
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