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GRAVESEND BLOCKHOUSE

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Gravesend Blockhouse was built by Henry VIII on the Thames Estuary in 1539 as part of his chain of coastal defences in response to the threat of invasion. It was one of five blockhouses built along this stretch of the river Thames to defend the approach to London and the dockyards at Woolwich and Deptford; the others being at Tilbury, Higham, Milton and East Tilbury.

In the 1780s the eastern gun lines were remodelled and the blockhouse was converted into a magazine. In 1834 the gun lines were levelled and the blockhouse was demolished in 1844.
The appearance of the blockhouse is known from a plan by John Romer made in 1715. This shows that the small D-shaped blockhouse had a curved front facing the river, two angled faces on the landward side and a curved bastion on the west side.
Some of the ruins of the blockhouse have survived. The western two-thirds of the semi-circular front wall with its gun-ports has been consolidated and is on display. The remainder of the site is under a car park to the east and a road to the south.

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[TQ 64997442] Gravesend Blockhouse, built in 1539, was situated on a "piece of land called Le Grene," to the north of the Terrace, at the west side of the Terrace Garden and Pier. It survived until 1834. (1-3)

Nothing remains to mark the site of the blockhouse. (4)

Gravesend Blockhouse. Scheduled monument 379. Some brick walls of the blockhouse found during excavation 1973-4 are to be consolidated and made visible to the public in the riverside garden of the Berni Inn.
A plan by John Romer, made in 1715, shows the full extent of the building; it had a curved front facing the river, with two angled faces on the landward side and a curved bastion on the W side.
Gravesend Blockhouse was one of five built by Henry VIII on the Thames Estuary in 1539. In the 18th century, the blockhouse was converted into a magazine, and the building was demolished in the mid-19th century. The western two-thirds of the semi-circular front wall with its gunports is consolidated and displayed. The remainder of the site was under the car park to the E and road to the S. (5-7)

Please refer to these sources for further information on the site. (8-14)

A small D-shaped artillery blockhouse decommissioned in 1553 but redeveloped during the 16th century. Converted into a magazine in 18th century and destroyed in the 19th century. (15)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) General reference

"History of Gravesend" 1843, (R.P. Cruden) Page(s)161-3, 509-16

( 2) General reference

Royal Engineers Journal, (A.A. Crookshank) 23, 1965 Page(s)207-16

( 3) General reference

Map of Tilbury Fort, Gravesend etc., 1778 (T.H. Page) scale 1" = 400 ft.

( 4) Field Investigators Comments

F1 ASP 14-OCT-64

(5) Kent Archaeological Society Archaeologia Cantiana : being contributions to the history and archaeology of Kent

V T C Smith 89, 1974 Page(s)141-168

(6) Kent Archaeological Society Archaeologia Cantiana : being contributions to the history and archaeology of Kent

D Thompson & V Smith 93, 1977 Page(s)153-177

(7) Department of the Environment, Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments 1981 Ancient monuments records manual and County Sites and Monuments Records

DOE (IAM) Rec Form 21.5.79

(8) by D Bennett 1977 A handbook of Kent's defences from 1540 until 1945

Page(s)9

(9) Kent Archaeological Society Archaeologia Cantiana : being contributions to the history and archaeology of Kent

(VTC Smith) 91 Page(s)208-209

(10) Council for Kentish Archaeology Kent archaeological review

(DG Thompson) 45 Page(s)116-118

(11) by H M Colvin ... [et al] 1982 The history of the King's Works, volume 4 : 1485-1660 (Part 2)

Page(s)602-3

(12) by John Newman 1969 West Kent and the Weald

The Buildings of England Page(s)303

(13) Post-medieval archaeology : the journal of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology

(DG Thompson and V Smith) 12 Page(s)109

(14) Kent's Defence Heritage

Gazetteer Part 1: KD128

(15) Harrington, Peter 2007 The Castles of Henry VIII

Page(s)60

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