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Shoeburyness History, Standard-Gauge Military Tramway, and other Narrow-Gauge Tramways
Shoeburyness was once a fortified place guarding the Northern flank of the Thames Estuary. It appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 894 CE, and it was assumed for many years to have been built as a ‘Danish Camp’ by the Viking leader Haesten as those chronicles say that while King Alfred headed West towards Exeter, Danish marauding parties, “gathered at Shobury in Essex, and there built a fortress.” [1][2: p60]
Much later developments are our primary interest in this article. The development of the site from 1849 onwards and the construction and extension of a military tramway and railways associated with the Ordnance depot and other military sites along the coast close to Shoeburyness.
"Shoeburyness changed rapidly from a hamlet to a bustling military establishment. And by 1873, and the completion of the construction of the site, “the original portion of the Shoeburyness Military Tramway had been built as an integral part of it. The line was linked to three piers to facilitate unloading and transport by river from Woolwich and elsewhere, of stores, equipment and guns, brought and destined for various parts of the garrison'.”
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