Felixstowe Pier
Opened in 1905 with a length of 2640′ / 800m: the modern length is 450′ / 140m. During World War Two the Pier was partially demolished to reduce invasion risk. The outer part was later removed. Felixstowe Pier – Wikipedia
Bawdsey and Alderton Churches
Both Bawdsey and Alderton church towers were once used for navigation. Alderton’s spire collapsed in 1821, killing a cow! So, because the diminished church became unsatisfactory for navigation, the sea-mark was rebuilt in 1831 and again in 1837. Next, in 1841, boys set fire to the thatched nave of Bawdsey Church with Guy Fawkes night …
Woolverstone, D-Day at 80 Exhibition
On 6 June 1944, Allied troops landed on the Normandy beaches and the battle to liberate Europe began. 80 years on since D-Day, the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare, we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of our freedom. The small village of Woolverstone had a vital part to play in these tumultuous times.
Sunk Head Tower – what remains?
Commissioning 1942 H.M. Fort Sunk Head (U2) was the second Maunsell Navy Tower to be installed during World War Two in the Thames Estuary for Air Defence. After her commissioning at Tilbury, she was towed out on June 1st 1942: unlike The Maiden Voyage of Roughs Tower, the trip to the site was quick and …
Walton Castle
The Roman Fort
In the Fourth Century, a Roman fort dominated the Woodbridge and Orwell Havens. It was part of a defensive chain from the Wash to the South Coast mirrored on the coast of Europe. Probably built to deter Scandinavian raiders it was commanded by the ‘Count of the Saxon Shore’, whose base was at the Isle of Wight.
Anglo Saxon Fish Trap on the Stour
See STU 067 – A wooden fish trap of Anglo-Saxon date, located to the west of Holbrook Creek in Holbrook Bay, Stutton – Suffolk Heritage Explorer
Sailing past Dunwich in the Seventeenth Century
As one sails past Dunwich these days, there is little to see and no reason to come near to land. In any case, the direct course to the next headland will be offshore just inside, or over, Dunwich Bank. As a reader of wooden navy fiction, it was the Jack Stannard trilogy that prompted a …
Shoeburyness
There are references in early pilots and charts to Sobiri, Shoe Beacon, Shoe Hole and Shoe Horse. These can cause confusion but are further north. See Essex Beacons. Could there have been another fort where the Shoe Beacon was? One explanation of the name is that the name Shoebury comes from ‘sceo’ meaning shoe and …
Thames features
1:Video: The Maiden Voyage of Roughs Tower 11th February 1942
A 35 minute illustrated talk describing the Maiden Voyage and grounding of the first Maunsell Navy Fort on 11th February 1942. Most of the material is covered in the the other Roughs Tower items on this site.
WWII Defensive Barrier Shoeburyness to Sheerness
This was not the first defensive structure hereabouts. See Shoeburyness. For a fuller account of the barrier see this site. The defensive boom required many resources for its operation including fourteen tugs, five launches and team of four hundred people. In the early part of the war enemy aircraft managed to lay mines inside the …
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The Bawdsey Sea-mark and Churches
Until 1934 a 50 foot high seamark on Bawdsey Cliff marked the Sledway.
The Cat House – Orwell
Walton Hall
Cement Stone Mining
Cobbolds Point
A Seasonal Buoy warning yachtsmen and destination for swimmers. Has been Felixstowe Pt., Home Pt. and Cottage Point..
Peter Bruff and Bruff’s Breakwater at Landguard
Peter Bruff, aka the East Anglian Brunel, was the Civil Engineer who built the Breakwater at Landguard Point …
Fort (Landguard)
Martello Towers
Between 1808 and 1812, twenty-nine Martello Towers were built along the coasts of Essex and Suffolk: eighteen still exist, with one over-built (R): eleven have been lost. The sources given below cover the history and current state of the Towers: the objective here is to show, on the overview map, the positions of current towers …
Broke Hall on the Orwell : Captain Philip Broke
Broke Hall – Broke family – Sea Fencibles – HMS Shannon – USS Chesapeake – Wickham Mill – Carronade – Gunnery
Beacon Hill – Harwich Fort
Roman Port of Orwell
Thames Estuary defence features
The Deben’s Ring of Churches
“As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it.” Albert Einstein George Arnott suggested that most local churches “…stand on the banks of a creek and were at one time accessible by boat, so that material.. could be brought by water…” 1Locations of local Churches – Arnott, W.G. (1950) Suffolk …