InfoBritain

 

Tilbury Fort, Essex

 

When I visit castles I often find myself thinking of the earth banks and wooden palisades of the first Iron Age castles . These structures were as much about symbolic power as physical strength, growing as they did out of the ritualistic earth banks of religious sites. Tilbury Fort in Essex is particularly interesting in this regard: although it was used as a military facility as recently as World War Two, it actually consists largely of earth banks, as demonstrated by this photograph.

Tilbury Fort appears very functional, defending the approach to London along the Thames. Henry VIII first built a fort here, and his daughter Elizabeth I gave her famous rousing speech to English troops near Tilbury Fort in 1588 as the Spanish Armada approached along the Channel. No doubt the backdrop of Tilbury lent additional power to Elizabeth's words. But as Elizabeth was to say in her speech, strength does not lie simply in physical presence; it is also a matter of symbols, state of mind, and the way people think:

"I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too..."

The present fort at Tilbury was begun in 1672 during the reign of Charles II, and is now the most impressive example of seventeenth century military engineering remaining in Britain. The castle is a massive complex of earth banks, walls, moats and tunnels, most of which survive intact. An exhibition illustrating the fort's history is staged in two huge powder magazine rooms. As the exhibition makes clear, Tilbury did its job simply through its intimidating presence. Never being used in battle, it was involved in supplying the armed forces, and as an anti aircraft station during the Second World War. The worst blood shed at the fort occurred in 1776 when a Kent-Essex cricket match turned nasty and ended in a fight. A cricketer and the fort's sergeant were killed.

View of the Thames from Tilbury Fort

In the absence of any battles - apart from sporting brawls and antiaircraft fire - Tilbury has relied on its symbolic presence. In that sense Tilbury is just like those ancient earth bank and ditch monuments. Such a direct link back to the earliest efforts to find security is rare. Standing up on the wall looking out at the grey Thames it was interesting to reflect on why people want to preserve places like Tilbury. "Wild, cold and forbidding" is how Paul Pattison describes Tilbury in a recorded talk you can listen to at the fort, and my long suffering daughter didn't like it at all! But in an age when struggles between countries consist of diplomatic manoeuvre, electronic surveillance, spy satellites hundreds of miles above the earth, castles remain as symbols of the security we continue to seek. Castle architecture is reflected in the architecture of churches, with their symbolic towers and battlements. Security is still a matter of symbols, of state of mind.

Opening Times: 1st April to 1st November open every day, 10am - 5pm.

2nd November to 31st March, Thursday to Monday, 10am - 4pm.

Closed 24th - 26th December and 1st January.

Directions: Tilbury Fort is five miles east of Tilbury off the A126. Click here for an interactive map centred on Tilbury Fort. Postcode RM18 7NR.

Access: for wheelchair users there is level access within the fort. Adapted toilet facilities are available. There are some steep slopes in the grounds.

Contact:

telephone: 01375 858489

web site: www.english-heritage.org.uk