Mersea Stone, East Mersea

Has been described as a Certain Artillery Fort

There are earthwork remains

NameMersea Stone, East Mersea
Alternative NamesMersea Island, Cudmore Grove; East Mersey
Historic CountryEssex
Modern AuthorityEssex
1974 AuthorityEssex
Civil ParishEast Mersea

Tudor blockhouse surviving as a faint earthwork. The site was recognised from the air and subsequently surveyed. It has been partially destroyed by construction of the sea wall. The fort was built in 1547 and appears to have been an earthen structure - there is no evidence for brick or stonework. It was abandoned in 1552, refortified in the 1580's and still in use in 1631. It appears on a map dated to 1656, around the time it finally fell into disuse. The remainning earthwork survived to be recorded by the OS in 1897. (PastScape – ref. Eddy, Milton and Priddy, 1983)

Fort with 4-6 guns, ditch and drawbridge built in 1547. It was allowed to fall into decay but repaired in 1587 and was still considered effective in 1631. By 1656 it was in use as a house, and so was not demolished the previous year (Sier) It is shown on a map of 1656. Holman describes it as decayed in 1710. Morant says it was ruinous in 1768. A single turret is visible from the air in the saltmarsh beyond the sea wall. Archaeological Survey of Cudmore Grove Country Park in 2002-3 looked at some timbers near the blockhouse. (Heppell, 2002) According to Kent a battery was built c.1796 into the seaward face of the old fort at East Mersea. This battery had 6 24 pounder guns. Management recommendations in 2005 recognised that the main risks to the site were sea wall construction and erosion either by nature or by increased visitors. The site needs to be monitored regularly for erosion and any archaeological strata revealed by erosion needs to be investigated (Heppell, 2005). (Unlocking Essex's Past)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceTM071151
Latitude51.7967414855957
Longitude1.00343000888824
Eastings607190
Northings215160
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles of East Anglia (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 28
  • Kent, Peter, 1988, Fortifications of East Anglia (Lavenham: Ternence Dalton) p. 58-9
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 147
  • Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1982, The history of the King's Works Vol. 4: 1485-1660 (part 2) p. 404, 470
  • Page, Wm and Round, J.H. (eds), 1907, VCH Essex Vol. 2 p. 269-71

Journals

  • Eddy, M.R., B Milton and Priddy, D. 1983, 'East Mersea, Tudor blockhouse at Cudmore Grove' in D Priddy (ed), 'Work of Essex County Council Archaeology Section 1982' Essex Archaeology and History Vol. 15 p. 145-9
  • 1931, Essex Journal Vol. 30 p. 221-4
  • Sier, 1921, Essex Review Vol. 30 p. 220-4

Guide Books

  • anon, nd, Cudmore Grove Country Park (Essex County Council) online copy

Primary Sources

Other

  • Heppell, Ellen, 2005, Cudmore Grove Tudor Blockhouse - Condition Assessment and Conservation Management Recommendation
  • Heppell, Ellen, 2005, Cudmore Grove Country Park, Essex. Excavation and Survey Assessment and Updated Project Design
  • Heppell, Ellen, 2002, The Foreshore. Cudmore Grove Country Park, East Mersea, Essex (Archaeological Survey)