Tilbury Fort facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tilbury Fort |
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| Tilbury, Essex | |
Aerial view of Tilbury fort
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 Tilbury Fort
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| Coordinates | 51°27′10″N 0°22′29″E / 51.45278°N 0.37472°E |
| Type | Artillery fort |
| Site information | |
| Owner | English Heritage |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Intact |
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Tilbury Fort is an old artillery fort on the north bank of the River Thames in England. It was first built by King Henry VIII to protect London from attacks by France. This was part of his plan to build many forts along the coast.
The fort was made stronger in 1588 when the Spanish Armada threatened England. Later, during the English Civil War in the 1640s, Parliamentary forces used it to help keep London safe. After some naval attacks by the Dutch, the fort was made much bigger by Sir Bernard de Gomme starting in 1670. It became a star-shaped fortress with strong walls, moats filled with water, and many guns facing the river.
In the 1700s, Tilbury Fort also became a place to store gunpowder and a stop for soldiers. It remained important for defending London, and new gun batteries were added during the Napoleonic Wars. However, as military technology changed in the 1800s, the fort became less useful for defence. It was updated with heavy guns after 1868 but was soon outdated again. Instead, Tilbury became a key storage and movement hub for troops and supplies during the First World War. It played a small role in the Second World War and was closed as a military site in 1950.
Today, English Heritage runs Tilbury Fort as a place for visitors. Many newer military parts were removed in the 1950s, and more restoration happened in the 1970s. The fort opened to the public in 1983. Historians say its 17th-century defences are some of the best remaining in Britain. It also has the only surviving early 18th-century gunpowder magazines in the country.
Contents
History of Tilbury Fort
Building the First Fort (1500s)
The first permanent fort at Tilbury in Essex was built because of problems between England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire. This happened during the last years of King Henry VIII's rule. Before this, local lords usually handled coastal defences.
In 1533, King Henry VIII broke away from the Pope. This made Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, very angry. France and the Empire then teamed up against Henry in 1538, and the Pope encouraged them to attack England. It looked like an invasion was coming. So, in 1539, Henry ordered new forts to be built along the English coast. This plan was called a "device".
The River Thames was very important. London and the royal shipyards at Deptford and Woolwich could be attacked from the sea. The Thames estuary was a major shipping route, carrying 80 percent of England's exports. The river also narrowed at Tilbury, making it a good place for ferries and a possible landing spot for invaders.
The Thames was protected by a group of blockhouses. These included forts at Gravesend, Milton, and Higham on the south side of the river. On the opposite bank were West and East Tilbury. The West Tilbury Blockhouse was first called the "Thermitage Bulwark." It was built on the site of a hermitage that the King had closed in 1536.
The blockhouse was D-shaped with two levels for guns. It likely had more gun platforms along the river. Other buildings were at the back, and a rampart and ditch protected the whole site. The surrounding marshlands also offered extra protection. It had a small group of soldiers and gunners with up to five artillery pieces.
Spanish Armada and Beyond (Late 1500s)
The threat of invasion passed, and in 1553, the forts were told to remove their guns. But in the summer of 1588, the Spanish Armada threatened England again. The defences at Tilbury Blockhouse were quickly improved by Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester.
Queen Elizabeth I visited the fort by boat on August 8, 1588. She then rode to the nearby army camp and gave a famous speech to her soldiers. Even after the Armada was defeated, fears of invasion continued. Over the next year, an Italian engineer named Federigo Giambelli added two concentric earthwork walls, ditches, and a palisade to the blockhouse. A large boom was also stretched across the river to Gravesend.
Civil War and Dutch Attacks (1600s)
In the early 1600s, England was at peace, so the coastal forts were not well maintained. Surveys showed problems like flooding at Tilbury Fort. In 1642, the English Civil War began. Parliament controlled Tilbury and Gravesend forts. They used them to check traffic going into London and look for spies. The fort did not see any fighting during the war.
After Charles II became King in 1660, he started to improve the coastal defences. In June 1667, the Dutch fleet attacked up the Thames. They were stopped from going further because they feared the forts at Tilbury and Gravesend. In truth, the forts were not ready for an attack. At Tilbury, only two guns were ready. The Dutch then attacked the English fleet at Medway. This gave the government time to improve the Thames defences and add 80 guns to the forts. After this, the King told his Chief Engineer, Sir Bernard de Gomme, to make Tilbury Fort even stronger.
De Gomme created several plans for the King. A new version was approved in 1670, and work began that year. It took until 1685 to finish the project. Skilled workers and many pressed men from the region helped build it. Around 3,000 timber piles were brought from Norway to support the foundations in the marshy ground. One planned bastion (a pointed part of the fort) facing the river was cancelled in 1681 to save money.
The finished fort was large and five-sided, shaped like a star. It had four pointed bastions made of brick. There was an outer line of defences with two moats and a redoubt (a small fort). Two new gatehouses protected the entrance from the north. Two lines of gun platforms faced the river. The old Henry VIII blockhouse was included, but the Elizabethan earthworks were removed. The inside of the fort was raised to prevent flooding, and barracks for soldiers were built. The writer John Evelyn called the new fort "a Royal work indeed." After 1694, the wooden gun platforms were replaced with stronger stone ones.
New Uses and Changes (1700s–1800s)
By the early 1700s, Tilbury Fort was one of Britain's strongest forts. The number of guns changed over time. In 1715, there were 17 large cannons and 26 smaller ones on the west gun platform. The next year, there were 161 guns in total, but many were in poor condition.
Besides protecting the Thames, the fort had other military uses. From 1716, the Board of Ordnance used it as a gunpowder depot. It was safer to store gunpowder here than in the London docks. Two large magazines were built, each holding 3,600 barrels of powder. The old blockhouse and other buildings also became magazines. Eventually, the fort could hold over 19,000 barrels of gunpowder. It was also used as a place for soldiers to stop on their way to other places. After the Jacobite rising of 1745, it held 268 Highlander prisoners of war. Some prisoners became ill while held there.
Living conditions at the fort were not good. It was surrounded by marshes, and the roads were poor. Soldiers had to drink collected rainwater. New barracks for officers and soldiers were built in 1772. However, officers often preferred to live in Gravesend across the river.
During the American Revolutionary War, there were worries about a French attack on London. In 1780, the Army practiced an attack on the fort with 5,000 soldiers. But the fort had fewer than 60 guns, and many were old. Thomas Hyde Page inspected Tilbury in 1788 and said the river defences were very weak. So, a new battery (a group of guns) was built in the south-east corner. It had 32-pounder guns pointing down-river. A new fort, New Tavern Fort, was also built along the river to the east.
Fears continued during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Smaller batteries were built further up the river in 1794. Tilbury remained vital for London's defence because it controlled the river crossing. The guns were updated with new platforms that could turn. The Gravesend Volunteer Artillery was formed to man the forts on both sides of the river.
The number of soldiers at the fort changed in the early 1800s. In 1830, it could hold 15 officers and 150 soldiers. Even with new buildings in 1809, living conditions were still poor. Four men shared each two-bed room, and there was no running water. In the 1800s, a pump was installed to bring water from a well 178 metres (584 feet) deep. After investigations into army barracks in 1857, Tilbury got better facilities. Piped water arrived in 1877, and better toilets were installed after 1880.
By the 1850s, steam ships meant enemy ships could sail up the Thames much faster. This gave forts less time to stop them. New rifled guns and armour on warships meant they could fire on forts like Tilbury from far away and be protected. Worries about a possible invasion by Napoleon III of France led to the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom in 1859. The Commission suggested building new, stronger forts further down the Thames. Tilbury Fort would then be a second line of defence.
Work to strengthen Tilbury began in 1868, led by Captain Charles Gordon. The focus was on adding heavier guns that could fire upstream to support the new forts. The west, north-east, and east bastions were changed to hold thirteen rifled muzzle-loading guns. These were protected by brick walls, earthworks, and iron shields. At first, 7-ton (7,112 kg) guns were used, but these were upgraded to 9-inch (22 cm) weapons by 1888. A heavier 25-ton (25,401 kg) gun was also added. The old Tudor block-house was destroyed to make room for the new guns.
Naval and defence technology kept improving. Tilbury Fort's design became old-fashioned. The government thought the forts further down the Thames were enough. So, Tilbury was not improved further. It was mostly no longer needed as a defensive fort by the end of the century. However, it was still used as a strategic depot. From 1889, it became a mobilisation centre. This meant it supported a mobile strike force in case of an invasion. Large storage buildings were built across the site to hold military supplies.
World Wars and Modern Day (1900s–2000s)
New concerns arose that the Thames could be attacked by torpedo boats and armoured cruisers. In 1903, four quick-firing 12-pounder (5.4 kg) guns were placed on Tilbury's south-east wall. In 1904, two 6-inch (15 cm) breech loading guns were added. However, in 1905, the government decided the Royal Navy and the forts downstream were enough. They removed the artillery, leaving only machine-guns.
Tilbury continued to be a storage place for military supplies. When the First World War started, it housed up to 300 soldiers passing through. It also supplied new army camps nearby. The fort itself stored ammunition. A depot for horses was built to the west. A pontoon bridge was built across the Thames for moving troops, guarded by the fort's guns. Electric lighting was installed. A narrow-gauge railway and a steam crane on the quay helped move materials. After Zeppelin raids in June 1915, anti-aircraft guns and searchlights were placed at the fort. They helped shoot down the German Navy Zeppelin, L15.
Between the World Wars, the government decided the fort was no longer useful for the military. They tried to sell it for development, but it didn't happen. During the Second World War, the fort first held a control room for anti-aircraft operations. This controlled the defences of the Thames and Medway area. Trenches were dug around the fort to stop airborne attacks. The soldiers' barracks and other buildings were bombed and damaged. They were pulled down after the war. The fort was taken out of military use relatively early after the war. In 1950, the Ministry of Works took over the site. Restoration work happened in the 1970s, including building replica wooden bridges. It opened to the public in 1982.
Today, English Heritage manages Tilbury Fort as a tourist attraction. It is protected under UK law as a scheduled monument. The officers' barracks is a grade II* listed building, meaning it is a very important historic building.
Tilbury Fort's Design
Tilbury Fort looks much like it did after Sir Bernard de Gomme rebuilt it in the late 1600s. Some parts were added in the 1800s. It was designed in a mostly Dutch style. It has an outer and inner ring of defences. These were meant to let the fort attack enemy ships while being safe from land attacks. Historic England calls it "England's most spectacular" example of a late 17th-century fort. Historian Paul Pattison says its defences are the "best surviving example of their kind in Britain."
Outer Defences
The outer defences include two moats filled with water from the Thames. A ring of defensive walls separates these moats. The inner moat is 50 metres (164 feet) wide but not very deep. Its banks have been strengthened to stop erosion. You enter the fort from the north through a triangular defence called a redan. A small fort, a redoubt, protects this entrance.
A causeway connects the redan to the outer defences. These defences form a complex pattern of walls that protect a covered path around the fort. There are bastions (pointed parts) on the north-west and north-east corners. Two triangular spurs, which once held cannons, stick out from the west and east sides. These had places for infantry soldiers inside.
A replica wooden bridge crosses the water from the outer defences to an island called a ravelin. Another replica bridge, with two drawbridges, links the ravelin to the inner defences. The ravelin blocked incoming artillery fire aimed at the main entrance. It could also fire at enemies who broke through the outer defence line.
On the south side, facing the river, are the West and East Lines of gun positions. These were built in the 1700s. Most of the original gun positions on the West Line remain, but only one on the East Line has survived. Between these lines is a quay, used for bringing supplies from the Thames. You can still see parts of the narrow gauge railway tracks from the First World War. A sluice gate in the south-west corner controlled the water in the moats. It allowed them to be drained if they froze in winter, which would help attackers. To the west of the outer defences is the World's End pub, which was originally the local ferry house from 1788.
Inner Defences
The inner defences are mostly five-sided. They have four defensive bastions around a central parade ground. From the south, you enter the fort through the Water Gate. This two-storey gatehouse is from the late 1600s. It has a grand stone front with carvings of old weapons. The empty space at the front probably once held a statue of King Charles II. This building was originally the home of the master gunner.
Most of the fort's inside is the parade ground, which covers 2.5 acres (1 hectare). The parade ground was raised in the 1600s and 1800s using chalk and dirt. By the early 1900s, much of it was covered by four large warehouses, which are now gone.
East of the Water Gate, the south-eastern wall and bastion were rebuilt in the early 1900s. They held positions for four quick-firing guns and two 6-inch (15 cm) guns. Tunnels linked these to an underground magazine. Four artillery pieces, from 1898 to 1942, are on display. Facing the parade ground are the officers' quarters. This is a row of houses likely from the late 1700s, with stables at the north end. It now holds the Bernard Truss collection of military items. The north-east bastion was redesigned after 1868. It has an earth-covered magazine and positions for 9-inch (22 cm) rifled muzzle loading guns.
On the north side of the parade ground are two early 1700s magazines, changed in the 1800s. These were specially built without iron to avoid sparks that could cause an explosion. They used wood and copper instead. They are the only remaining examples of their kind in Britain. The Landport Gate is behind the magazines. It has a gatehouse, called the Dead House, above the passageway into the fort. Past the north-west bastion, the soldiers' barracks would have stood opposite the officers'. But it was destroyed after the war, and only its foundations remain. The south-west magazine also has a covered magazine, like the one in the north-east bastion. Just west of the Water Gate is the fort's guardhouse and chapel. This building is from the late 1600s and is one of the oldest surviving places of worship in a British artillery fortress.
Images for kids
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Aerial view of Tilbury fort
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Tilbury Fort, Wind Against Tide (close up of fort) by Clarkson Stanfield 1846
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Plan of the early Tudor blockhouse
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19th-century copy of 1588 engraving, showing the defences along the River Thames, including Tilbury Fort (centre) and the boom
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Bernard de Gomme's original plan for the redesigned fort, 1670
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The 17th-century ravelin, drawbridges and the inner moat
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Plan of the fort in 1725; the Tudor blockhouse is still in place, bottom centre.
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Late 18th-century cannon on the bastion walls
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Early 18th-century copper doors on the magazines
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Tilbury Fort- Wind Against Tide by Clarkson Stanfield, showing Tilbury Fort (left) and Coalhouse Fort (right) in 1853
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A Mark V quick-firing 12-pounder, 12 cwt (5.4 kg, 50.8 kg) gun on the south-eastern curtain
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The Water Gate (1676-1683)
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Plan of the fort; A – redan; B – outer defences and covered way; C – ravelin; D – outer moat; E – inner moat; F – Landport Gate; G – The World's End public house; H – magazines; I – officer's quarters; J – Water Gate, chapel and guard House; K – quick-firing emplacements; L – 6-inch (15 cm) gun emplacements; M – West Gun Line; N – quay; O – East Gun Line
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The parade ground, with the foundations of the soldiers' barracks in the foreground
