Coalhouse Fort
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Coalhouse Fort is a large casemated fort near Tilbury, in Thurrock, Essex, 4 miles downstream from Tilbury Fort. Originally the site of a 1780s battery, rebuilt in the 1860s.
It was originally built following recommendations by the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom in 1860 as a coastal defence. The organisation in charge of the fort is currently making a £1.7M cash bid from the Heritage Lottery Fund. If the bid is successful the money will be used to make repairs to the building which is sited on parkland next to the River Thames.
The fort, built on the former site of gun batteries, was completed in 1874. It continued to serve as a defence to the capital through two world wars and was eventually bought by Thurrock Council in 1962.
In 1983 the fort was leased to voluntary group the Coalhouse Fort Project which aims to save the building from dereliction. Currently the fort is open for 18 days during the year but special group visits can be arranged. More money for the fort will also mean it is able to stay open longer. The ultimate goal for the project is to restore the building as close as possible to its original condition.
During its recent history the fort has been used as a location for TV programmes and films. The fort holds a series of open days throughout the year and also has special events for Hallowe'en and Christmas.
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The river surrounding the fort has a very tall, but ruined communications tower from world war 2 , which an American p51 mustang plane was shot down nearby by accident.
Further on down the river that surrounds the fort is a bunker which is tilted very badly. This way towards Tilbury Power Plant has a beachy area .
Correction: The fort was built on low lying land in a curve of the river Thames at East Tilbury and was positioned there to form a "triangle of fire" between Coalhouse Fort on the Essex bank of the river and Cliffe Fort and Shornmead Fort on the Kent bank. Coalhouse Fort itself is partly surrounded by a water filled "wet ditch" (not moat) and a dry ditch as part of the defences from the Victorian period. On the river foreshore about half a mile from the fort stands the remains of an early radar tower. This tower was constructed during world war two and was one of the earliest examples of its type. There are no bunkers at the fort but there are a number of defensive works at some distance from it. Due south from the fort and close to the river is the remains of a quick firing battery, constructed in the early part of the twentieth century and originally equipped with 12 pounder artillery pieces. It should also be remembered that apart from wells and a water storage cistern, there are no underground structures at Coalhouse. As the fort is built on marshland, any excavations would be likely to fill with water.
