Hello all, a few weeks ago I managed to get a 'VIP' (I like to think of it that way!) tour around Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea, with Education Team member and historian on the site, Alistair Macrae (many thanks). He showed us the site and took us on a trail of the explosives production that went on there making cordite and nitroglycerin in the early 20th Century. You can read a rundown on the process as well as some more detailed info here:
http://beyondthepoint.co.uk/2012/02/24/trip-and-tour-around-watt-tyler-country-park-the-explosives-factory/
Here area the major remnants throughout the site:
Above is a lighter boat which was bringing in ammunition shells, but got stuck and has remained there since.
Next above can be seen a washing bowl used to wash out guncotton (cotton wool explosive used in cordite).
Above is an old wall, appearing to be an old path boundary.
Next is a concrete tunnel in which pipes with the various liquids would be run through.
Here we have above the last remaining piece of track on which the man-pushed 'bogey carts' would have been pushed along to transport explosive in its various stages.
Above are several blast mounds which were built to contain explosions if a building ever blew up, stopping the others from further harm. Here a building would have sat between each of these mounds.
Below are several buildings, although even the experts don't know what these were for!
It turned out to be an excellent tour, and we really did get the best and most detailed insider information on the place. We were also shown several pillboxes on the site, although these aren't yet in an article. For the moment though, you can see all our pictures from the day, including the pillboxes, over at our facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.352068824815321.81174.238743826147822&type=1
http://beyondthepoint.co.uk/2012/02/24/trip-and-tour-around-watt-tyler-country-park-the-explosives-factory/
Here area the major remnants throughout the site:
Above is a lighter boat which was bringing in ammunition shells, but got stuck and has remained there since.
Next above can be seen a washing bowl used to wash out guncotton (cotton wool explosive used in cordite).
Above is an old wall, appearing to be an old path boundary.
Next is a concrete tunnel in which pipes with the various liquids would be run through.
Here we have above the last remaining piece of track on which the man-pushed 'bogey carts' would have been pushed along to transport explosive in its various stages.
Above are several blast mounds which were built to contain explosions if a building ever blew up, stopping the others from further harm. Here a building would have sat between each of these mounds.
Below are several buildings, although even the experts don't know what these were for!
It turned out to be an excellent tour, and we really did get the best and most detailed insider information on the place. We were also shown several pillboxes on the site, although these aren't yet in an article. For the moment though, you can see all our pictures from the day, including the pillboxes, over at our facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.352068824815321.81174.238743826147822&type=1
