More information : [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) |