GLADMAN

Shoeburyness.... There’s an obvious clue – at least for anyone with a passing interest in Old English nomenclature – that there was once a ‘fortified place’ here guarding the Essex flank of the mouth of the Thames Estuary. However, thanks to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of 894 CE, the assumption was that this ‘Danish Camp’ was the work of the the Viking leader Haesten: “The king [Alfred] then went westward with the army toward Exeter.... Whilst he was thus busied there with the army, in the west, the marauding parties were both gathered together at Shobury in Essex , and there built a fortress.” Stands to reason, right? Or at least it did until excavations undertaken during 1998 unearthed classic Iron Age interior features, confirmation of a Middle/Late Bronze Age pottery association with the visible remains of the ramparts following a year later. Hmmm. Pretty conclusive, methinks.

Now whether The Danes, perhaps reeling from defeat at their former Benfleet HQ earlier that year, fell back upon – and adapted? – the already ancient fortifications (perhaps by erecting a smaller Roman/Norman-style parasitical fort within), prior to finally giving up the ghost and retreating back across The North Sea... or threw up a now completely lost defensive perimeter nearby, is probably something only full-scale excavation could determine. Whatever the case, and despite the extensive destruction wrought by the occupation of the site by the Board of Ordnance in 1849 (and successors), much more of the original survives than I had supposed. Yeah, one has to know where to look, that’s all.

Historic England (List Entry 1017206) reckons:

“....The settlement, which many 19th century antiquarians associated with historical references to a Danish Camp, lay in a rural setting until 1849 when Shoebury Ness was adopted as a range finding station by the Board of Ordnance and later developed into a complex of barracks and weapon ranges. The visible remains of the Iron Age settlement were probably reduced at this time leaving only two sections of the perimeter bank, or rampart, standing. This bank is thought to have originally continued north and east, following a line to East Gate and Rampart Street, and enclosed a sub-rectangular area of coastal land measuring some 450m in length. The width of the enclosure cannot be ascertained as the south eastern arm (if any existed) is presumed lost to coastal erosion. The surviving section of the north west bank, parallel to the shore line and flanking Warrior Square Road, now lies some 150m-200m inland. It measures approximately 80m in length with an average height of 2m and width of 11m. The second upstanding section, part of the southern arm of the enclosure, lies some 150m to the south alongside Beach Road... [Trial excavations within the enclosure during 1998] revealed a dense pattern of well preserved Iron Age features, including evidence of four round houses (identifiable from characteristic drainage gullies), two post- built structures, several boundary ditches and numerous post holes and pits. Fragments from a range of local and imported pottery vessels date the main phase of occupation to the Middle Iron Age (around the period 400-200 BC)....”

The surviving defences now enclose Gunners’ Park... a nearby blast mound ‘protecting’ a long-defunct magazine explains both the name of said recreational facility and, one might suppose, the comparatively less upstanding nature of the southern bank versus that engulfed by trees to the north-west. What with ample free parking, Nature Reserve, children’s playground, WW2 coastal defences and beach... c’mon, what’s not to like? Just don’t forget the Spam sandwiches. Bloody Vikings.

You know how it is, right? Sometimes, it is that which lies closest to us – be it relationships... or physical structures hidden in plain sight – that is most difficult to appreciate. Yeah, despite living around these parts for all my life (I shall not elaborate further with regards timescales) one did not possess a Scooby that Prittlewell Camp existed. However, not depicted upon OS mapping, with some two-thirds of the enclosing bank ploughed to oblivion... and those earthworks that do survive cloaked in woodland, perhaps the omission is not too glaring? Perhaps.

The siting of the enclosure is – nowadays at least – somewhat uninspiring, located upon partly wooded scrubland between Wellesley Hospital and Sutton Road Crematorium, due west of the local B&Q superstore. Nevertheless, despite clearly being the haunt of local beer boys and fly-tippers, enough survives to make a visit worthwhile. Yeah, given the paucity of surviving Essex earthworks above ground level – and with a nod to the resident ‘misunderstood muppets’ – it really is a ‘no-brainer’ to check it out, given the opportunity.

The dating of the enclosure is, so it would appear, far from conclusive. The ‘Look-out’ mound upon the south-eastern arc has been likened to the base of a medieval mill.. or even a motte... but again, no one truly knows. Furthermore, the ditch was used as a dump during the 1920’s, no doubt further confusing matters with ‘contamination’. For what it’s worth, seeing as the intrinsic military value of the location is somewhat dubious – and The Bastard’s Norman loons were invariably spot-on with their defensive siting – I concur with a ‘later prehistoric origin’ interpretation for the enclosure as a whole.

Historic England has this to say (List entry – 1017515):

“A slight univallate enclosure which is likely to be of later prehistoric origin but has produced no secure dating evidence. It is located on the northern outskirts of Southend-on-Sea. The monument occupies the northern edge of a broad, gently sloping terrace and commands extensive views over the Roach valley to the north. The enclosure is almost circular in plan, measuring 250m in diameter. The southwestern third of the perimeter is defined by an earthen bank and external ditch which are preserved within a wooded belt. The ditch is less clearly visible, having been recut as an agricultural boundary and used for Corporation dumping in the 1920s, but some traces of it survive. The northern and eastern sections of the enclosure bank have been reduced by ploughing, but the earthwork marking its line was noted in the early 20th century and this still survives. The line of the bank has also been recorded from the air as a cropmark.... There is no trace of an entrance to the enclosure... a pronounced mound... situated on the southeastern part of the perimeter... produced a mixed array of finds including large quantities of tile and medieval pottery... it has been interpreted as the base of a medieval post mill....”

The 1999 Survey report by A Cooper & P Pattison can be accessed here:

archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-1893-1/dissemination/pdf/englishh2-371062_1.pdf