Tilbury Fort 17th September 2010

The artillery fort at Tilbury on the Thames estuary protected London’s seaward approach from the 16th century through to World War II. Henry VIII built the first fort here, and Queen Elizabeth famously rallied her army nearby to face the threat of the Armada. The present fort was begun in 1672 under Charles II. It is much the best example of its type in England, with its complete circuit of moats and bastioned outworks still substantially surviving. The fort mounted powerful artillery to command the river as well as landward defences.
Travel round this extensive site in the company of the new Audio Tour.
There is a shop on site and toilet facilities within the fort.
We will meet at the World’s End pub next door – an old Essex weatherboarded pub dating back to the 15th century and rebuilt in 1788.
There is ample parking by the pub and then we can stroll along the waterfront to the entrance to the fort.
Afterwards we can meet at the pub for lunch.
The fort is well signposted from the A13. Take the A1089 towards the docks and at the end keep an eye out for the white, boarded World’s End pub.

Visit to Coggeshall August 2010

Paycocke’s and Grange Barn, Coggeshall

We gathered at the Heritage Centre/Museum but as it is rather a small building the volunteer lady in charge suggested that we split into two groups – one looked round the displays in the Museum while she directed the other half to the nearby Christ Church for tea and cakes. After half an hour the parties swapped over. All very civilised.
The Museum is packed with artefacts but apparently only one third of their items are on display at any one time. It would seem that the residents of Coggeshall care sufficiently about their history to donate many items to the Museum when older relatives pass on.
Coggeshall’s wealth came originally from the wool trade and weaving. After the wool trade declined, there was an attempt to introduce silk and this is shown along with lace making.
There are many everyday items and photos from the past. I found the punishment book from the local school fascinating. It certainly didn’t pay to misbehave. Singing in class while the teacher was absent merited two cuts across the hand with a bamboo stick. Very painful.

At eleven o’clock the two parties gathered in Stoneham Street and we walked down to Paycocke’s passing the small market (just four stalls on this day). The right to hold a market was granted in 1256. The Clock Tower was heightened and refurbished in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and a new clock purchased from Smith of Derby who still maintain it. Crane House next to the clock is now a very nice teashop run I think by a French lady. It’s a great pleasure on a fine day to take tea out in the garden.

Along West Street stands Paycocke House. It was built in the early 16th century by John Paycocke and was given as a wedding present to his youngest son Thomas. The Paycockes were originally sheep farmers who later became clothiers and were instrumental in building the wool trade which brought prosperity to the town for many years. The wool trade declined and the house was passed from hand to hand until in 1890, in a state of deterioration and having been formed into three cottages, the house was sold for demolition. Fortunately, a local man succeeded in having the sale cancelled, and in 1904 Edward Noel had the house restored by local craftsmen. In 1924 it was presented to the National Trust. The young lady who lives there now is employed by the Trust to look after it and show people around. She gave us a very interesting tour and obviously loves the building and is keen to promote it.

We then adjourned to the various eating and drinking establishments in the town and met up again at the Grange Barn after lunch. This is one of the finest and largest examples of early timber-frame construction in Europe. After many years of neglect it was restored largely thanks to the efforts of a local preservation society and is now in the care of the National Trust. Our guide gave us an interesting talk on the construction and history of this historic building.

This visit only scratched the surface of Coggeshall. We intend to have a guided tour of the town in 2011.