[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)(b) (5)

Additional bibliography. (6-16).

Mentioned in context with Thames defences (17).

Excavation showed that the projected artillery defences of the Gravesend Blcokhouse did not exist on the site and that the area had been reclaimed in the early 19th century.(18)

Additional references to the site can be found in (19-21) and site photographs (22-24). A public monument with information boards. Parts of the walls are exposed for the public to see. (25)

From the Register of Scheduled Monuments:
Gravesend Blockhouse was one of five built by Henry VIII on the Thames Estuary in 1539. A plan by John Romer, made in 1715 shows the full extent of the buildings; it had a curved front facing the river, with two angled faces on the landward side and a curved bastion on the west side. (26)



Summary of Monument

Remains of Gravesend Blockhouse, 31m north of Clarendon Royal Hotel.

Reasons for Designation

Blockhouses are defensive structures of widely varying design built specifically to house a small artillery garrison and to protect the gunners and ammunition from attack. Usually stone built, each structure was designed and built to protect a particular feature or area; typically they were located to command a river, harbour entrance or anchorage. The main components of blockhouses were a tower and bastions or gun platforms, although in some cases only the tower or the bastion was present. The earliest known blockhouse dates to 1398, but the majority were built in the first half of the 16th century by Henry VIII.

Distributed along the east, south and south west coasts, there are 27 examples which are known to survive in various states of repair, mostly now destroyed or incorporated into later military constructions. Surviving examples will illustrate the development of military defensive structures and of tactics and strategy during this period of rapid change following the introduction of firearms. They will also preserve something of the life and experience of the common soldier who was required to live and work within them. All examples with substantial archaeological remains are considered to be of national importance and will be worthy of protection.

Despite having been partially demolished in the past, substantial remains survive of Gravesend Blockhouse. These provide information as to the original function and layout of the blockhouse, as well as its 16th century construction. The blockhouse has group value as part of a chain of defences built by Henry VIII and forms a visual link to that of Tilbury Fort on the opposite side of the Thames. A large part of the blockhouse has not been excavated and retains potential for further investigation.
History

See Details.
Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 30 July 2014. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a 16th century artillery blockhouse surviving as upstanding and buried remains. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames at Gravesend.

The blockhouse was originally D-shaped in plan. It had a curved front facing the river, two angled faces on the landward (south) side and a curved bastion on the west side. The western part of the semi-circular front wall survives as visible remains and has been consolidated following partial excavation. The blockhouse is constructed of brick and faced in ashlar blocks. The gunports are visible as blockings in the main brick wall. They include the iron retaining rings for the guns. Several walls within the interior of the blockhouse are likely to represent alterations following the conversion of the building into a storage magazine. Buried remains of the blockhouse also survive beneath a car park to the east and Royal Pier Road to the south which are included in the scheduling.

Gravesend Blockhouse was built for Henry VIII in 1539 as part of his chain of coastal defences in response to the threat of invasion. It was one of five artillery 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. The Gravesend Blockhouse crossed its fire with Tilbury Blockhouse on the north bank of the river and also guarded the ferry crossing between Gravesend and Tilbury. The appearance of the blockhouse is known from a plan by John Romer made in 1715. There were earthen gun lines along the river bank on either side of the blockhouse, collectively armed with 21 guns. The small garrison consisted of a commander and eight others. Repairs were carried out to the blockhouse in 1588 and 1667. By 1665 quarters for the Duke of York as Lord High Admiral had been provided behind the blockhouse. This subsequently became the Ordnance Storekeepers Quarters and, much later, the Clarendon Royal Hotel. By the late 17th century the blockhouse had been converted into a storage magazine for gun powder, although the eastern arm of the gun lines was still armed. The gun lines were remodelled in the 1780s before being levelled in 1834. The blockhouse was partially demolished in 1844. In 1975-6 partial excavation revealed some of the footings of the blockhouse.(27)

Thompson, D. & Smith, V. (Mrs), 1978, Excavation of the Gravesend Blockhouse 1975 -76 (Article in serial). SKE11861.

Thompson, D. & Smith, V. (Mrs), 1978, Excavation of the Gravesend Blockhouse 1975 -76 (Article in serial). Ske11861.

<1> "Hist. of Gravesend" 1843, 161-3, 509-16 (R.P. Cruden) (OS Card Reference). SKE32640.

<2> Royal Engineers Jour. 23, 1965, 207-16 (A.A. Crookshank) (OS Card Reference). SKE49340.

<3> Map of Tilbury Fort, Gravesend etc., 1778 (T.H. Page) scale 1" = 400 ft. (OS Card Reference). SKE46544.

<4> F1 ASP 14-OCT-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42109.

<5> Arch Cant 89 1974 141-68 plans (V T C Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE35972.

<6> Arch Cant 93 1977 153-77 (D Thompson & V Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE36118.

<7> DOE (IAM) Rec Form 21.5.79 (OS Card Reference). SKE40715.

<8> Handbook of Kent's Defences 1540-1945 1977 9 (D Bennett) (OS Card Reference). SKE43683.

<9> Arch Cant 91 1975 208-209 (VTC Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE36053.

<10> Arch Cant 93 1977 153-177 (D Thompson and V Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE36117.

<11> Arch Cant 89 1974 141-168 (VTC Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE35970.

<12> Thompson, D. G., 1976, The Tudor Blockhouse at the Clarendon Royal Hotel, Gravesend, Kent Arch Rev 45 1975 116-118 (DG Thompson) (Article in serial). SWX7689.

<13> Hist of the King's works 4 2 1982 602-3 (HM Colvin) (OS Card Reference). SKE44033.

<14> Bldgs of Eng West Kent and the Weald 1980 303 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE38062.

<15> Post Med Arch 12 1978 109 (DG Thompson and V Smith) (OS Card Reference). SKE48540.

<16> Field report for monument TQ 67 SW 5 - October, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3631.

<17> Saunders, Andrew, 1995, Thames fortifications during the 16th to 19th centuries (Article in monograph). SWX9358.

<18> Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit, 1990, Archaeological Evaluation Excavation PLA Offices, Gravesend (Unpublished document). SWX6852.

<19> Smith, V.T.C., 1995, The Gravesend Blockhouse revealed - again! (Article in serial). SWX7647.

<21> Kent County Council, 1999, Survey of Kent post-1500 defence sites, KD128 (Index). SWX11828.

<22> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9436.

<23> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9470.

<24> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9417.

<25> Wessex Archaeology, 2005, North Kent Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey: Phase ll: Field Assessment Year Two Report (Unpublished document). SWX12323.

<26> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.