Monument record TQ 77 NE 1016 - 'Shade House' and sheepfold in enclosure, Halstow Marshes

'Shade House' and sheepfold in enclosure. Marked on all OS editons. Photographs (1-4).

Shade House is depicted on the 1st edition 1:2500 map dated 1885. It sits within the north-west corner of an enclosure defined by drainage channels on a disused saltern mound (described in NMR 1531023) at TQ 7753 7812. A second building is depicted at the eastern end of the enclosed area at TQ 7761 7815. A sheepfold is also present (see NMR1531470).

Nothing is depicted here on the Ordnance Survey 1805 map but "The Shades" is marked on a later revision published between 1816 and 1844. The name probably reflects the remote location of this house as "shades" or "the shades" can mean a secluded or obscure place and can also have supernatural connotations.

By 1909 the eastern building had been demolished, possibly replaced by one near the centre of the site at TQ 7755 7813; the sheepfold had also been repositioned by this date. This later arrangement of buildings is visible on aerial photographs taken in 1947. The site appears unchanged though overgrown in 1970, but all but Shade House had been demolished by 1978. This site was mapped from aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project. (5-10)

<1> 1947, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9861.

<2> 1947, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9854.

<3> 1947, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9824.

<4> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9631.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1885, Kent 1:2500 1885 (Map). SKE58579.

<6> 1805, Kent First Series 1:63360 1805 (Map). SKE58821.

<7> Ordinance Survey, 1909, OS Map of Kent 1:2500 1909 (Map). SKE56013.

<8> RAF, 1947, RAF CPE/K/1923 4025-4026 16-JAN-1947 (Photograph). SKE58822.

<9> 1970, MAL 70086 39-40 13-NOV-1970 (Photograph). SKE58820.

<10> 1978, OS/78123 45-46 17-AUG-1978 (Photograph). SKE58823.