HISTORY HOUSE
Essex Places A-Z
Essex History
Your Ancestors
British History
Search 
Artillery Fort built in 1672-83 on the site of a 16th century fort established by Henry VIII. The fort commands a view over the Thames and surrounding countryside. It was near here that Elizabeth I gave her famous rallying speech to the army gathered to fight the threatened Spanish Armada.
The current fort was designed during the time of Charles II by Sir Bernard de Gomme, a military engineer. The original plan was a pentagon but one of the bastions was not finished. There are moats which surround the whole complex.
The fort was updated several times as new artillery technology was introduced, and large magazines added. The gate house is in the style of a triumphant arch.
Tilbury Fort (interior)
© Copyright John Winfield contributor to the Geograph Project and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
There are several exhibitions and visual displays. Opening times are available on the English Heritage website.
Daniel Defoe's description of Tilbury Fort in 1722 appears here on History House.
Tilbury Fort - entrance gate
© Copyright John Winfield contributor to the Geograph Project and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
The 1921 census which gives details of almost 38 million individuals is now available on Findmypast. Start now to discover your ancestors. At the moment access is pay-per-view.
The Essex Record Office 'ERO' are custodians of the parish registers of Essex. Ancestry.co.uk have now transcribed the entire collection of Essex parish registers. Search now on Ancestry for your Essex ancestors. Then on the results page click on ‘request image’ and you will be taken to the ERO website where you can purchase an image of the relevant page.
Visit our Parish Registers of Essex page for more information.
Newspaper archives are now a very important source of information for researching your family tree.
Try our example search to help you discover if your ancestors are in the British Newspaper Archive.
Ebay is a good source of old images of Essex towns and villages. If you're looking for pictures to add to your family tree album, then try one of the auctions, or there are several 'Buy It Now' shops offering postcards which have been touched up and improved - so if you're unsure about bidding, try these.
Link below already formatted for Essex and Postcards.
