Monument record TQ 77 NE 1010 - Part of the Second World War boom than ran across the Thames estuary from St Mary's Bay to Canvey Island

Boom/pipeline, possibly site of defensive boom accross Thames. Photographs (1-4). Site not identified during 2002 survey (5).

Part of the Second World War boom than ran across the Thames estuary from St Mary's Bay to Canvey Island can be seen on aerial photographs taken during the war. The boom was a physical obstruction across the Thames estuary and consisted of a pier-like structure of wooden piles that extended across Blyth Sands for a distance of 1240m. The remaining distance to Canvey Island (circa 1400m) was obstructed by wire nets. The remains of this netting may have been dumped on the mud flats after the war (see NMR 1543615). Attached to the wooden part of the boom on the downstream side was an installation approximately 900m from the shore at TQ 7881 8017. This installation, also on piles, was circa 20m by 4.5m and contained three Defence Electric Light Emplacements and a Directing Station in three structures. A small camp (TQ 7885 7921) was built by St. Mary's Bay which consisted of seven buildings of various sizes, some of which were arranged around an area of hard standing. Another building possibly associated with this camp was to the west at TQ 7853 7923. This, and another small building in the camp at TQ 7880 7922, which was not present in 1942, still survives. One or more of these buildings housed the generators that powered the defence electric lights. The estuary could be illuminated by these lights on the boom in conjunction with lights on Canvey Island. The defence was completed by the coastal batteries on Canvey (NMR 1423396 and 1429231). The camp was defended on the landward side by a barbed wire. The site was accessed via a wartime road which started at the end of the Manor Way track at TQ 7828 7863 and a footpath led to the boom. This site was first seen on aerial photographs taken in 1941. A circa 10m section of the wooden part of the boom had been removed by 1951, possibly to prevent it being used as a jetty. This was at TQ 7880 8033 and it isolated the final 160m of the structure. The entire boom had been removed by 1953 and the buildings (with the exception of the two mentioned above) have been demolished and only hard standing remains. This site was mapped from aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project.

<1> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9645.

<2> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9644.

<3> 1942, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10002.

<4> 1947, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9853.

<5> Wessex Archaeology, 2002, North Kent Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey Phase II: Field Assessment (Pilot) (Bibliographic reference). SWX11840.

<6> Historic England, Historic England Archive (Archive). SKE58567.