Tilbury is situated in the county of Essex, this dockland town hosts the English heritage run Tilbury Fort.

The curve and narrowness of the river here made it a suitable place to build forts for the defence of London against foreign invaders. The first permanent fort at Tilbury was a D-shaped blockhouse built in 1539 by Henry VIII and was initially called the Thermitage Bulwark, due to it being on the site of a hermitage dissolved in 1536. During the Armada campaign, the fort was strengthened with earthworks and a palisade, and a boom of chains, ships' masts, and cables was stretched across the Thames to Gravesend, anchored by lighters. The Fort was rebuilt under Charles I and is now owned by English Heritage.