Scheduled Monuments›England›Gravesend blockhouse

Gravesend blockhouse

England
List entry 1005120
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1005120
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.08 hectares
Grid reference
TQ 64993 74409
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Gravesend blockhouse is a Tudor artillery fortification constructed in the 1540s under Henry VIII's coastal defence programme. The structure served to protect the Thames estuary and the approaches to London, forming part of a chain of strategically positioned gun emplacements along the Kent coast. Built in brick and stone, the blockhouse originally featured gun platforms designed to mount cannon for defence against invasion during the period of heightened military tension with France and the Holy Roman Empire. Though substantially altered and reduced in height during subsequent centuries, the surviving remains preserve evidence of Tudor military engineering and continue to illustrate the technological response to early modern threats to national security.

Gravesend blockhouse is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1005120. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Gravesend blockhouse?

Gravesend blockhouse is a Tudor artillery fortification constructed in the 1540s under Henry VIII's coastal defence programme. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1005120.

Who is responsible for protecting Gravesend blockhouse?

Gravesend blockhouse is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1005120.

What other scheduled monuments are near Gravesend blockhouse?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including New Tavern Fort, Gravesend, including Milton Chantry (0.3 km), Neolithic sites near Ebbsfleet (3.3 km), Roman enclosure SE of Vagniacae (3.7 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Gravesend blockhouse

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Gravesend blockhouse's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

New Tavern Fort, Gravesend, including Milton Chantry
0.3 km
Neolithic sites near Ebbsfleet
3.3 km
Roman enclosure SE of Vagniacae
3.7 km
Palaeolithic sites near Baker's Hole
3.8 km
Springhead Roman site
4 km
Shornemead Fort
4.2 km
Monastic grange at Friary Court
5.1 km
Deserted medieval manorial settlement of Cossington
5.3 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Gravesend blockhouse

Gravesend blockhouse stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.

The wider landscape

Around Gravesend blockhouse

RochesterRoman town · ~6.8 milesLondonRoman town · ~20.4 milesBattle of Maldon 991Battle (991) · ~23.7 miles
Domesday entry for Gravesend, Kent →
All Scheduled Monuments