1575 Saxton’s map of Suffolk
At UCLA very high definition.
1594 John Norden’s Map of Essex
shows channels at Ramsey, Holland on Sea and lots of other places. Islands at Wallsea, Foulness, channel north of Canvey.. BL Georeferencer on Norden At UCLA
1759 Bowen Essex showing Orwell Beacon
Available at high definition at BNF. This shows the Orwell Beacon at Havengore. Did this lead to the Essex Inshore route? Some of the beacons, such as at Harwich Navy Yard, show shapes and the marshes and ‘-wicks’ along the Essex coast are worthy of note.
1782 Chandler East Coast
A Draugth of the East Coast of England from Dover to Yarmouth & the Different Channels of the River Thames up to Leigh Road [Material cartográfico] / by John Chandler
1788 Moore’s Coaster’s Companion
The Coaster’s Companion, Containing Directions for the Downs, for Sailing and Turning Thence, Thro’ the Different Channels, to the Nore; for Going Into Harwich, and Over the Naze Into the Wallet; … Also, Courses by Compass, … Round England, Scotland, Ireland, … To which is Added, a Large Tide-table, … By John Hamilton Moore, …google …
1790 Stanier Thames Estuary
1790 Stanier Thames Estuary on wikimedia has drawings of beacons and buoys as well as tidal data. A lovely chart.
1801 William Heather Chart
To the Right Honourable the Master, Wardens, & Elder Bretham of the Trinity House, this chart of the entrances to The River Thames
1823 New and Extensive Sailing Directions for the Navigation of the North Sea
1823 New and Extensive Sailing Directions for the Navigation of the North Sea (google books)
1844 Coasters Guide
1844 Coasters Guide (google books) The improved coaster’s guide, and Marine board examination, for the east coast of England and Scotland, and the English channell. By Alexander Baharie · 1844
1798 A new chart of the coast between Orford Ness and Haisbrough
Features Easton Ness.
1785 Essex
1787 Suffolk
1690 Plan of Harwich at BL
Available here.
1584 A chart of the east coast of England – Richard Poulter
British Library Copyright but visible in low resolution here. Zoom only works with Flash! A good view of sandbanks but text is not readable. North up version below.
1730s River Thames from London to the Nore
Download here.
1579 Saxton Atlas of Britain
Download here.
1595 Britannicarum insularum typus / ex conatibus
Full size here.
1556 Britannia insula quae duo regna …
Full size here.
1852 A new chart of the River Thames inc. Harwich
1852 A new chart of the River Thames. With its entrances, James Imray, Harwich by Washington.
1945 Kriegsmarine chart at nls
This is a 1907 British chart copied into German and updated until 1945. Clearly there has to be doubt regarding updates post 1939. 1945 Kriegsmarine chart at nls
1794 George Burns Thames Estuary
Note Pollard on Souhern sheet. A New Chart from the Nore to Orford Ness [Material cartográfico] : containing The Swin and King’s Channel with The Wallet Harwich Harbour and Horsley Bay to Aldborough Knapes and from The North Foreland : Comprehending The Five Fathom and South Channels…
+Sources for Charts, Maps and Images
Ordnance Survey Maps – National Library of Scotland Good source of historical OS and other maps at Vision of Britain British Library Maps and charts (rmg.co.uk) Foxearth Local History – local maps L Brown Collection – no re-use. David Rumsey Collection – excellent. Royal Collection Rijks Museum National Library of Spain OMNIA – Europe’s Culture …
1788 George Burns Harwich
Similar to, but later than, the Collins chart and sits nicely between it and Washington’s 1845 chart. See online for extracts. Shows the Brew House, Platters, Red Beard but not the Bawdsey beacon. Good marks.
1695 William III Map of England
Similar to Adams map. Best viewed online with zoom. Gunfleet and Havengore are interesting.
1677 John Adams Map of England and Wales
1677 English chart. Best viewed online with zoom.
1670s Le Royaume d’Angleterre – James II
This is not dated but probably 1670s or earlier. Best viewed online with zoom. Easton Ness and Gunfleet are interesting.
1760 Carte de Cotes Meridionales d’Angleterre
French chart with excellent zoom facility. Presumably based on English charts and maps but gives a very interesting, combined view of the land and sea. The original is 205 x 159 cm so it needs to be viewed in sections. Longitude is in Leagues from the meridian of Paris. Unfortunately, the chart stops at Bawdsey …
1894 The Thames Estuary: its tides, …
The Thames Estuary: its tides, channels, ports and anchorages. A practical guide for yachts, coasters and small vessels. With a chart. Like East Coast Pilot without the nice pictures. One chart at the end. Download from British Library (Creative Commons).
1587 Remains of the antient City of Dunwich
See Sailing past 1587 Dunwich
1786 Thames Estuary Grosvenor
1596 Thresoor der zeevaert
Thresoor der zeevaert, inhoudende de geheele na… (uu.nl) page 179. All in Dutch.
1677 ‘Zee-atlas ofte waterwereld’ by Goos
‘Zee-atlas ofte waterwereld’ by Goos – Special Collections – Utrecht University (uu.nl) page 59 for Essex/Suffolk. These are not detailed charts as they cover a wide area. Note that Bawdsey is marked as “Basel”. According to Hussey, this was also the name given by the Dutch to the sea area between Bawdsey Bank and Felixstowe.
1664 ‘Atlas maior’ by Blaeu
Available here Essex from page 225 followed by Suffolk. In Dutch. This is a description of the country with maps and not sea charts. Nice drawing of forts at Shoebury.
1680 Great Britain Map
Interesting to look at the Essex coast.
0150 Ptolemy’s Geography
This chap spent twenty years translating it only to discover that the source text was useless. In 2017 he found that somebody else had done job – Geographia e codicibus recognovit, prolegomenis, annotatione, indicibus, ta… – Google Books The earliest useful found is the Geography of Claudius Ptolemy which mentions a promontory that seems to …
Maplin Sand
Maplin Sands stretch from Shoebury to Foulness on modern charts. The late eighteenth-century John Chandler Chart, refers to the large flat north of Havengore Creek, including the Whittaker Sands. The lower part, of what is now the Maplin Sands, was called Shoebury and Blacktail. Note ‘Shoe Hole’ in the West Swin. The simplification on modern …
HMS Kingfisher
The 46 gun fourth rate H.M.S. Kingfisher was built by Phineas Pett III at Woodbridge in 1675. The Petts were rival shipbuilders to Anthony Deane, who had built ships at Harwich in the 1660s, but was by then at Portsmouth. The history …
The Twizzle
The channel from Walton Channel to the Wade in the Walton Backwaters is interesting for its name. According to H.Muir Evans: Twissel Creek means the twirling creek, a dialect formation of “twist” or “twirl.” “Twirl” is cognate with Norwegian trilla and Cotgrave gives “Girer, to veere or turn with the wind, to twirle, whirle or …
Lady Alice Kenlis
The iron hulk on the left bank of the Deben opposite Lime Kiln Quay has an interesting story. It was thought that she was a dredger but recent research shows that she was originally ‘Lady Alice Kenlis’ a three-masted screw steamer, built in 1867 on the Clyde. The story is told here see page 10.
Greenvile Collins
Greenvile Collins produced the first British survey of our coasts in Great Britain’s Coasting Pilot, previously the Dutch had been pre-eminent in this field. Collins won the support of King Charles I to produce his survey of England and Scotland, it took seven years. He was not a local hydrographer but did make the local …
George Thomas
In 1810 Thomas succeeded Spence and commissioned the survey brig HMS Investigator in 1810 which he was to command for twenty-six years. He then had HMS Mastiff for ten years and died aboard. For some of that time his son, who was to become a Commander, was his assistant. His surveys mainly covered the North …
Hugh Alker Tripp
Two excellent books for the East Coast are Suffolk Sea Borders and Shoalwater and Fairway by H. Alker Trip who was based at Maldon in the years between the Wars. Some historical tidbits and challenging sailing, often at night, with no engine. He wrote a couple of others. Some of these have been reprinted but …
1907 Reynold’s new chart of the Thames estuary
1907 Reynold’s new chart of the Thames estuary… soundings in fathoms et low water spring tides
OpenSeaMap
Suffolk Geology
Useful background for Cement Stone and coastal change. See The key to Suffolk Geology See Cement Stone at Nacton and Septaria Generally See Notes on Some Suffolk Crag Localities See THE SUFFOLK GEOCOAST DUNWICH: SUFFOLK’S LOST CITY – A GEO-TOUR
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 …
1940 Harwich Haven, German WW2 chart
Note the boom at Shotley and netting from the breakwater. Also, the bombing range is buoyed.
1939 – 1945 World War Two Maps and Charts
From US National Archives: Target Dossiers Pertaining to the British Isles, 1938–1945 Suffolk set, Felixstowe more, Harwich also with Felixstowe, Ipswich, Orfordness. Essex set. Harwich. See also Kreigsmarine Chart and 1944 WD charts. Soviet Charts – seem to have disappeared.
Memoirs and Anecdotes of Philip Thicknesse: Late Lieutenant Governor of Land Guard Fort…
Thicknesse was quite a character, he was Governor of Landguard Fort and built a cottage at Cobbold’s Point. There are many interesting connections: shipwrecks, Lord Orwell/Vernon dispute, Dr Dodd, and many more. More to do on him! Philip Thicknesse, Landguard’s Loosest Cannon | English Heritage (english-heritage.org.uk) Philip Thicknesse – Wikipedia Volume 1 – Thicknesse, Philip. …
Read more “Memoirs and Anecdotes of Philip Thicknesse: Late Lieutenant Governor of Land Guard Fort…”
Thames River
These items are for the London River rather than the Estuary. 1790 Bowles’s new map of the River Thames, from it’s spring in Gloucester-shire, to it’s influx into the sea : with a table of all the locks, wears, and bridges thereupon ; shewing the tolls payable at each and their distance by water from …
Oriana Wreck in the Wallet
The Oriana Buoy This Starboard Hand Mark with the legend ‘Oriana’ opposite Wallet No.4 should logically be Wallet No.1: oddly, it is un-named on charts. The buoy has been in position for some years. The photograph below shows the buoy in 2021, it is clearly a vintage piece, note the elaborate topmark. Oriana and Medusa …
Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide
This website is packed with information on the River Thames from source to sea. This section relates to the Estuary.
1885 Dickens Thames Dictionary
Charles Dickens featured the Thames in many of his works. As part of his research he described features along the river from source to sea and gave excellent descriptions of the buoys. This excellent website has a transcription of the most relevant parts. The original book by Dickens is available online and well worth a …
Cork Light Ship
A light ship to the north of Cork Ridge is marked on the 1852 Washington Chart and also appears on a 1903 Meesum Chart. It was replaced by a large buoy in the 1970s.
D-Day Deception Fleet – Orwell
There is a full account of this topic at Woolverstone, D-Day at 80 Exhibition. This RAF photograph, 26th March 1944 – 3054 – shows what must be real landing craft near Woolverstone on the River Orwell. There are thirty-five of what appear to be MkV landing craft tank (LCT) and, perhaps, six of the considerably …
D-Day Deception Fleet – Deben
Dummy Landing Craft were built at Waldringfield and moored on the Deben before D-Day to deceive the Nazis. These were probably the largest craft ever to be in the river.
Naze Tower
Trinity House erected the Naze Tower in 1720 as a sea mark for shipping: at 49m above Mean High Water Springs it is visible from well offshore. Washington’s 1852 Chart gives a transit of “Walton Hall north of the Tower” to clear Longsand Head (about 14NM out) and come through Goldmer’s Gat clearing the head …
Loder’s Cut and John Loder, Troublesome Reach, Bloody Point and Kyson Point.
The 1845 Deben Survey shows an oxbow bend with Troublesome Reach to the south and Kingston Reach to the west. ‘Troublesome’ relates to the difficulty experienced by sailing vessels in rounding the bend at Kingston (now Kyson Point) due to the prevailing southwesterly and erratic winds from Martlesham Creek. At the west end of Troublesome …
Read more “Loder’s Cut and John Loder, Troublesome Reach, Bloody Point and Kyson Point.”
Air pressure, Sea Level and Surges
Standard air pressure at sea level is 1013 mb or Hectopascals, Changes in air pressure affect sea level, This effect has implications for the sailor since each A 10mb change in pressure results in a 0.1m opposite direction change in sea level which can be calculated easily. This is enough to make a difference at a river bar or marina entrance although any change should be within the safety margin allowed by the prudent sailor.
Walton on the Naze tides – variation
Also see Elevation and Depth data. Walton on the Naze is the standard port for our part of the East Coast despite the major port being Harwich. Times and heights are similar between the two ports but with Walton having slightly greater heights. Tide readings and tables for thirty years ahead are available from the …
GPS-GOTO vs CTS
It is easy when sailing to set the GPS system to GOTO waypoint and then steer to match the Bearing (BTW) with the Course over Ground (COG,) or set the autopilot to do so. Provided that Cross Track Error (XTE) is managed, and the course can be made, then the boat will travel directly to …
Extracts From the Diary of Sir James Thornhill, May 16th, 1711.
Some good eighteenth century detail on the area.
Books Sailing Barges
Here are some good poetic extracts: The Singing Swan by Sir A.P. Herbert extracts APCM Handbook for Bargemen and Lightermen by Charles T. Perfect extracts Books on Sailing Barges Carr, Frank G G. Sailing Barges. Dalton, 1989. ‘The Thames Sailing Barge Compendium’. Hervey Benham, Roger Finch, and Philip Kershaw. Down Tops’l. The Story of the …
+Sources – Maritime and 17th Century Reference
Needs sorting out Navy Age of Nelson. including Ships of the Old Navy Three Decks – ships and men The Victorian Royal Navy Good on ships and crews National Archives HNSA Manuals & Documents THE ROYAL NAVY 1776-1815 A BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY AND CHRONICLE Naval Chronicle by the year 1801– 1804 1875 Bedford’s Pocket Book Pritchett, …
*Historical Thames Estuary, Essex, Suffolk
Here is a selection of reference sources. Needs to be sub-divided. General The Anglo Saxon Chronicle text. There are other sources for different versions. Anglo-Saxon Charters: an Annotated List and Bibliography, published by the Royal Historical Society in 1968. Online Domesday Book The Holinshed Project – a sixteenth century tour of Britain, good on description …
Books Kayaking
(Barrister-at-Law.), John MACGREGOR (M A. A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe … Fifth Edition. Sampson Low, Son, and Marston, 1867. Macgregor, John. The Rob Roy on the Jordan, Nile, Red Sea, and Gennesareth, Etc: A Canoe Cruise in Palestine and Egypt and the Waters of Damascus. Maps and Illustrations. John Murray, 1870. MacGregor, …
Books Sailing Local
In 1851 A Season at Harwich by W H Lindsey there is a good section on rowing out to Gunfleet Sands for a walk. – Lindsey, W. H. A Season at Harwich, with Excursions by Land and Water … London : Simpkin, Marshall, 1851. http://archive.org/details/seasonatharwichw00lind. Sailing Tours: Part 1 – The Coasts of Essex and Suffolk …
Books Sailing General
Kemp, Dixon. A Manual of Yacht and Boat Sailing. H. Cox, 1884. Biddle, Tyrrel E. The Corinthian Yachtsman, or Hints on Yachting. C. Wilson, Late Norie and Wilson, 1881. Frank Cowper. Jack-All-Alone, His Cruises. L. Upcott Gill, 1897. The history of yachting, 1600-1815 by Clark, Arthur Hamilton ‘Down Channel in the “Vivette”. – Edward Keble Chatterton …
Reference
Some suggestions for reading about the area plus links to a number of older books available for free online. Also links to reference information.
Felixstowe Waverider
The Waverider buoy, near Felixstowe Ledge buoy on the northern edge of the Deep Water Channel, measures wave conditions and sea temperatures. Data is available from CEFAS from where it is possible to get a forecast of wave height and direction. Our local sea is, broadly speaking, the warmest in Britain in the Summer and …
Banks
At sea, our waters are shallow with many named shoals and sandbanks. Some dry out such as Cork Sand, others lurk just below the waves. Inland, our rivers have many creeks and their banks have features worthy of mention. These come and go over time and the names change. How they change and the origin of the names can be of interest.
Roughs Collection
“the descent, although perfectly safe, was not graceful”. John Posford There are quite a few items on this fascinating structure, so it gets its own section.
Charts
I am told there are people who do not care for maps, and I find it hard to believe. Robert Louis Stevenson Charts, Pilots and Sailing Directions of the area. Ignoring Ptolemy, who gives little detail, the earliest Pilot claims to date from 1190. More detail emerges from the eighteenth century and there are many …
People
People with a connection to the area or important mariners are, in a few cases, such as Washington recognised in the name of a buoy or feature. Others have a connection with the area and are still of interest such as the men who surveyed our shallow waters. Several of these, such as Washington, Hewitt …
Sports Data
A selection of information and sources of data useful for local: Sailing Kayaking Swimming Topics open in new tab Local Real Time Wind and Sea Local Forecasts Environment for Swimming Tide Predictions and Data Webcams Shipping Information Channel Weather Planning Pilotage Info Charts & NTMs Other & Clubs Medium Term Forecasts Weather Background
Channels
Our waters are shallow with many shoals and sandbanks. The safe channels have been known for many centuries and some, such as the Spitway, are mentioned in old documents. There are also our rivers which have names for the different reaches and creeks. As the same term often applies to both the bank and the channel, i.e. Ray Sand, some items are allocated to both categories.
Features
These items refer to features in the area such as the Martellos or Walton Castle that are not navigational. Other items are about topics that cross several categories such as Cement Stone Mining.
Nautical
Age of sail terms and concepts, navigation, seamanship etc.
Boats
About specific vessels such as ships, shipwrecks, sailing barges and less obvious vessels such as concrete lighters and forts. Sailing vessels and Mason’s Barges at Waldringfield are a particular interest.
Beacons
With modern navigation aids Lighthouses, Lightships, Beacons and Seamarks have become a rarity. In the past, however, there were ..
Buoys
Buoys marking our waters are of four basic types. Whilst not of great interest in themselves their names, or the reason they are there, can tell a tell.
Bearings Relative to the Boat – Points
Relative Bearings – Points – An excellent system that all sailors should know.
8:Guy Maunsell
Guy Anson Maunsell (1884 – 1961) was the Civil Engineer who designed the Navy and Army Towers.
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.
7:Maunsell Towers Information
Summary of information sources used with links.
5:The Fate of the Navy Towers: Rough, Sunk, Tongue, Knock John
U1 Sealand – U2 Blown up – U3 Collapsed – U4 Still good
3:HM Fort Roughs Tower interior and operation
Two Towers – Seven Decks – Lift Shaft – Bunks – Shuttering – Dolphin – Ammo – Guns – RADAR – Generators
4:The Grounding of Roughs Tower
Site buoyed – late arrival – tide calculations – dramatic heeling- tidal diamonds – all ends well
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 …
Read more “WWII Defensive Barrier Shoeburyness to Sheerness”
Waldringfield Cuttings
Cuttings in saltmarsh – none similar – purpose not known.
Waldringfield Island, Stonnor Creek and Burrell’s Long Wall
Is it an island? – is in Waldringfield? – changes in banks and channels
Waldringfield Horse and the Winkle
Once buoyed – Alker Tripp – Winkle Island – Stonnor Channel
Hams and Tips
TBA
6:NW & SE Roughs Tower site and Rough Shoals
The current buoys in the area mark the Roughs Tower and not the shoal. Rough Shoals were first buoyed 1776.
1845 Deben Survey
First detailed Survey – Tidal heights – Reach names – not a chart – Captain Stanley – HMS Blazer
HMS Blazer and Captain Owen Stanley
Surveyor – Explorer – Deben Survey – Franklin – Erebus & Terror – Australia – Rattlesnake and propellers.
Rolling Ground and Pitching Ground
Rolling Ground appears on the 1686 Greenvile Collins Chart although Pitching Ground does not: possibly the area was sheltered by a sand bar at that time. The original location of the Rolling Ground was further west than today’s buoy and just south of the fort and so sufficiently sheltered and deep to ride at anchor. …
Gullet Channel
The Gullet Channel provides a North South route to Goldmer Gat which avoids the shoals near Harwich. It is shown on the 1804 Spence Chart.
Woodbridge Haven
The Deben or Woodbridge River was once guarded by a Roman Fort. The channel changes as do the methods of marking it…
Sounding by lead and line
Acoustic depth sounders appeared in the twentieth century, earlier for ships than yachts. However, from at least biblical times depth was found by lead and line.