Coalhouse Fort (EHER 1760)

Site of a series of fortifications dating back to the time of Henry VIII (see possible sites in EHER 1756 and 1757). Coalhouse Fort is a remarkably well preserved late 19th century fort built on the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the UK in 1860. Built on the site of a D-shaped artillery castle built in 1539, it is one of the finest examples of an armoured casemate fort in England and represents the third fort to stand on the site. The first phase of the Fort, begun in 1799, was replaced in 1847-55 by a more complex structure which was in turn superseded by the present buildings between 1861-74. In 1903 Coalhouse Fort was refortified with 5-6 feet of concrete placed on top of the 1860 battery roof - structural strengthening to support the weight of new guns. By the start of the First World War the primary defence line for the estuary had moved down river. The invasion scare of 1940 brought a new lease of life and the Fort was re-occupied again responding to a perceived threat of German invasion by sea. There were high expectations for the Fort in the Second World War but eventually the Home Guard took over in 1943. After a brief period as a naval training centre the fortification was decommissioned and used for storage by the local Bata Shoe Company. In 1962 Thurrock Borough Council took over the responsibility of the building from the Ministry of Defence for development as a riverside amenity. Conservation of the Fort started in 1983, and it was consolidated into the Coalhouse Fort project in 1985. The Coalhouse Fort Project Management Committee are hoping that most of the barrack block can be restored, including replacing roofs and floors, to provide interpretation of rooms such as the Cell block, the canteen and living quarters as they would have been in 1860, the Great War or the Second World War.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. Site of a series of fortifications dating back to the time of Henry VIII who in 1539 ordered a blockhouse to be erected at E Tilbury (see possible sites in EHER 1756 and 1757). The 1539 blockhouse was replaced by another blockhouse closer to the river which by 1735 had been inundated by the sea and was in ruins. 1795 an open, earthen battery with surrounding ditch was built to take 4 32 pounder guns, in 1855 it was demolished, to be replaced by a 2nd open battery for 17 guns. This was replaced by Coalhouse Fort built in 1869. <1 <2> In 1860 a Royal Commission report called for a casemated fort to be built. After several alterations to the plan this was built as a curved casemate face with defensible, bastioned barracks closing the gap at the rear. The armament consisted of 11" and 12.5" rifled muzzle-loading guns (RMLs) in casemates and 9" RMLs in an open battery at the up-river end. Seen from within the fort is two-storied, the lower tier containing magazines and storehouses. They are protected at the front by 19ft of granite, overlaid by an earth slope or glacis. The next floor contains the casemates which have iron shields and granite facings, with vaulted brick, concrete and asphalt roofs. The barracks have loop-holed iron windows and loop-holes in the walls. The latter are of Kentish ragstone on the outside and brick on the inside. A moat surrounded the front (river) face. Its efficiency was offset by the retention of two river walls to guard against flooding. They were guarded by bastions or caponiers. Three machine-guns were issued to these in 1890. The main armament had been installed by 1880. In 1892 a 10" breech-loading (BL) gun was installed, probably to test it before installation at East Tilbury battery (see EHER 1823). By the early 1890's four 6" BLs had been installed on the roof. Alternate casemates were filled to support them. Some of the down-river casemates were blocked up and an earth glacis piled up to shield level. <3> In 1895-1905, concrete emplacements for eight BLs were provided, four 6" facing down-river and four 12 pounder quick-firing guns facing the east bank. Shelters and a fire control position were provided. The concrete pillars rising up from the magazine must have been installed at this time as supports. <4> says that the fort was finished in 1873. This source also has proposals for clearance and restoration. <4> According to <5> a moat was dug in General Gordon's time, it also has recommendations for restoration and states that Coalhouse Fort is the only remaining example of a 19th century fortification. <5> According to <6> a small Napoleonic fort was built in 1799, armed with 4 24 pounder guns. It was disarmed and abandoned after Waterloo and was later to be enlarged for 17 32 pounder guns from 1847. This work was finished in 1855. In 1861 work on the present Coalhouse fort was begun, to be finished in 1874 The last of the biggest guns were delivered in 1877. Within a short time both guns and fort were obsolete, however. It is unknown when the RMLs were removed. Soon after 1900 a dry ditch in front of the fort was filled and an earthen bank thrown up against the face of the casemates for better protection and possibly to render the fort less conspicuous. By then 4 6" BL and 4 12 pounder quick-firing guns had been installed on the roof. Long-range guns were installed further down the estuary. Concrete columns were installed as supports for the 4 6" BLs at the north end of the fort. <6> Coalhouse was rebuilt in 1903 to take modern 6" and 12 pounder (quick firing guns). These were mounted in concrete emplacements on top of the 1874 gun positions. Electric searchlight emplacements were added later .During the First world War the fort was used as an Examination Battery. By 1940 all the weapons had been removed. With the threat of invasion the fort was quickly rearmed with 5.5" guns that had been removed from HMS Hood. The fort was redesignated an Emergency (Anti invasion) Battery. In 1946 the fort was handed over to the Admiralty for training Sea Cadets. The fort is now derelict and the area has been landscaped into a park. <3> <4> In 1983 work began on restoration and clearing of the fort. In 1984 restoration carried out on the 1861 `rock asphalt water membrane' roof and the concrete facade of 1903 for the BL gun mountings on the roof . These were mounted in concrete emplacements on top of the 1874 gun positions. It is thought possible that discarded RML barrels may be found in the dry ditch which is being re-excavated. The parade ground was to be excavated to locate the two previous fort phases of 1799 and 1855. <7> Other references: <8> <9> <10> Aerial Photographs in record, also large collection of photographs of fort and its features. <11>-<12> <14><15> Scheduled as a remarkable group of defensive sites. Additional features of the complex include a battery for Quick-Firer guns built in 1893 near the waterfront, a rifle range and a World War II low-level radar tower, one of only three in the country surviving in this condition. <15> Site Assessment = In 1983 Thurrock Local History Society and the Kent Defence Research Group began work on clearing-up and restoring the fort. Early in 1984 an MSC Community Programme was organised to help in this work and the Coalhouse Fort Project was set up. In 1984 work concentrated on repairs to the main battery roof. Stabilisation of the roof buildings was underway, the dry ditch was being re-excavated and it was thought that discarded RML barrels might be found in it. Fitments, hardware and archive material relating to the fort's use were being recovered. The parade ground was to be excavated to locate the two previous forts of 1799 and 1855 and a trial trench dug to try to find the Henrician blockhouse which is thought to have been nearer. Excavation formed part of the Phase I restoration of the curtain wall dry ditch, the defensive system of the 1874 armoured casement construction. A possible 1st/2nd World War concrete hardstanding for light field guns was located at a high level. Much late 19th and early 20th Century pottery, glass and other finds have been recovered, including the fuses for rifled muzzle loading guns. An 1874 Hong Kong bronze coin might suggest at least one of the gunners had seen foreign service. <16> <17> <18> The fort was in use throughout the First World War but had been disarmed by the Second World War. In 1940 it was rearmed as an emergency battery and mounted two 5.5-inch naval guns. From 1943 it was manned by the Home Guard. <19> <20> The foreshore at Coalhouse Point had the QF battery were surveyed by English Heritage in October-November 2000. For full details of survey report and archive plans contact the National Monuments Record. <21> Coalhouse Fort is a well-preserved fort with Second World War additions intact. The radar tower survives in complete condition near the fort. Site appears to be a museum. <22> <23> <24> Photographs <25> - <34>