Rainham Marshes - Ministry of Defence Trail

Rainham has been in use by man since the days of the so –called ‘Cavemen’. You can see some of the petrified tree trunks still remaining today from a 6,000 year-old Neolithic forest, opposite the very northern end of Wennington Marsh, in the Thames foreshore. However, much of Rainham came to use in the last few centuries by the Ministry of Defence on Aveley Marsh; where our tour begins.

Purfleet Train Station is the start and finish point of the trail. Purfleet Train Station (not to be confused with Rainham Station further down the river) is part of the C2C train line. It will take you towards London or Southend-on-Sea. Trains only run roughly once an hour so make sure you plan a train.

1- Purfleet Heritage & Military Centre is a museum set up inside Magasine No.5 from the Royal Magasine of Gunpowder. This MOD magazine (explosives storage) was contracted in 1759, consisting of five buildings, plus a proof house. Four of the 10,400 gunpowder-barrel magasines were demolished in 1962 when Thurrock Council bought the site off of the MOD. Alan Gosling decided to save the building,

and it became a museum in 1992 housing artefacts both of immediate and local significance. Check opening times here: http://www.purfleet-heritage.com/pages/contact.html

2- Rainham Marshes Visitors Centre was built around 2006 after the MOD land was bought and cleared by the RSPB in 2000. It has a café and toilet facilities, and houses views of the marshes as well as its own impressive architecture.

3- The Anti-Submarine Blockhouse can be found at the end of one of the longest and insignificant sections of the walk. However, you can appreciate views of the Thames from here, also ideal for bird watching. This is a pillbox-type outpost made of brick and concrete and is the first sign of the areas use during the First World War. It is said that in March 1916, decoy beacons were lit on Wennington Marsh, and the structure shot down a German zeppelin. It remains in fair condition. If you wish to get close, welly-boots may be required as it is just off the main pathway. It is water-logged and cannot be entered. Visible from footpath.

4- The Firing Ranges span across the green line marked on the map, and divide the two marshes. The firing range sheds (‘mantlets’) remain, as does one of the three ‘butts’ (the area in which the targets are set up) which still features large wooden numbering. The war department created this rifle range in 1906, and the structures you see today were built in 1915. Visible from path and on private land.

5- The Cordite Store was a large magazine building that once stood on the square area extant today. You can see the blast mound around the outside of this which would’ve contained an accidental explosion.

6- Only one of the eight Anti-Aircraft Ammunition Magasines remains today; ruined and overgrown just north of the visitors centre. The rest were demolished shortly after the RSPB gained the land in 2000. Off of the main footpath and marked as ‘dangerous’. You can see all eight magasines in the 1940 image below:

Copyright BeyondthePoint.co

.uk 2014

Text by Liam Heatherson

Aerial images property of Google

Earth

That concludes the trail. You can now return to the Visitors Centre or go straight back to the C2C train station.

If you would like to see our visit to this site, go here

http://beyondthepoint.co.uk/2014/12/30/rainham-marshes-firing-range/ If you would like

to discover more historic trails, ruins, and heritage, in

Essex, visit our website.

Please note trail shown on map is not to be followed

religiously. May contain errors or be subject to change over