Higham Blockhouse |
| Hob Uid: 416687 | |
Location :
Kent
Gravesham
Higham
|
| Grid Ref : TQ7011875445 |
| Summary : The possible site of Higham Blockhouse, a small artillery blockhouse built by Henry VIII in 1539 as part of his chain of coastal defences in response to the threat of foreign 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, East Tilbury, Milton and Gravesend. It was decommissioned in 1553 and demolished in 1557-8.It was probably a D-shaped blockhouse similar to Gravesend and East Tilbury blockhouses. Nothing remains of the blockhouse and its precise location is not known although it may have stood on the west bank of Shorne Creek where it meets the River Thames. The remains of the blockhouse are shown on Robert Adam's 1588 map of the Thames Defences. |
More information : A bulwark or blockhouse at Higham, mentioned in 1540, was one of five authorised for the Thames defences in 1539. [It is now shown on Robert Adam's Map of the Thames Defences 1588.] (1-3)
No further information; there is nothing to be seen on the Higham parish foreshore. (4)
Additional bibliography. Source 4 gives the historical background to the construction of the Henrician Thames defences. (5-7)
There is no architectural record of Higham Blockhouse and the position is not accurately known. It was probably on the west bank of Shorne Creek where it joins the river Thames. The blockhouse was one of five built in 1549. It was disarmed in 1553 as part of a general rundown of defences ordered by Northumberland and it was demolished in 1557-8. (8) |