Trail of the Unexpected: Fortress Tilbury

The first Queen Elizabeth in defence of Her realm

Imagine arriving by cruise liner at a big international port, and you might think of sailing into New York, the sun rising behind the Manhattan skyline. Book a passage to London, on the other hand, and you could find yourself stepping ashore in Southampton, completing the journey by rail or road. But, increasingly, cruise liners are sailing up the Thames again, as they did in the days before air travel boomed, and depositing their passengers at Tilbury.

A stylish liner terminal was built for Tilbury in the heyday of cruising, its airy arrivals hall decorated in stained glass, a first-class restaurant next door. It was opened by the Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, in 1930. The London International Cruise Terminal is a sad, neglected place now, opening a dozen times a year to process passengers arriving from Germany or Scandinavia. Limp pennants hang above the entrance. The view is of Tilbury docks, the power station down the road, and the town of Gravesend across the water in Kent.

Tilbury was once an important gateway to the capital, for temporary visitors on liners, or more permanent ones, like those from the Caribbean on board the Windrush, which docked there in 1948. But Tilbury's most famous visitor was one who came visiting more than 400 years ago.

Elizabeth I sailed downriver from London in 1588 to review her forces as they prepared to repel the Spanish Armada. For such a significant event, the details of her visit are vague. She stayed the night at Horndon-on-the-Hill, although there is confusion about exactly where: the two local farmhouses were owned by families of the same name, and each has been keen to claim that Elizabeth I slept there.

She came ashore at Tilbury Fort. This was built by her father, Henry VIII, as a defence against the French and Spanish, and extended during her reign. But the marshy banks would have been an unsuitable spot to station a garrison, so she travelled up the hill to the modern village of West Tilbury. There, she made the speech for which she is best remembered: "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king." Local historians have identified the field in which the speech was made, next door to the parish church of Chadwell St Mary.

Tilbury Fort bears little resemblance now to the structure Elizabeth I would have seen. Aware of the threat of a Dutch invasion of the capital, Charles II ordered a review of the coastal defences, and the fort was remodelled into its present pentagonal shape, with a double moat. Ironically, given the threat from the Netherlands, the architect was a Dutchman. Other forts were constructed on this vital stretch of the Thames, where the river makes two 90-degree turns. If the artillery from one failed to deter an invader, there were other opportunities to repel the attack.

Four miles along the river bank on the Essex side, near the village of East Tilbury, the Victorians built Coalhouse Fort, although by the time it was completed the threat of invasion was over. Its construction was overseen by a Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon, a job he found less to his taste than his later role in Khartoum. Coalhouse Fort was extended during the First World War, and again in the Second – extra layers were added to the structure, and large searchlights were installed on the roof.

After years of economic decline there are signs of regeneration, and a growing pride in the area and its heritage. A path – part historical, part wildlife trail – is being developed. When it is finished, the Two Forts Way will provide a four-mile walk between the forts: or, for those less interested in history, between the pubs next to each. Coalhouse Fort holds open days, and if a lottery bid succeeds, there will be major renovations. There are no plans as yet to open the grand old Tilbury cruise terminal to the public, but the restaurant is being refurbished and will soon reopen as Tilbury Riverside, a local arts activity centre.

Elizabeth II has no plans to include Tilbury in this summer's jubilee tour, which is a shame; it has played an important role in national life, protecting the country, and particularly the capital, from foreign invasion. And without that, there might not have been a jubilee to celebrate.

Tilbury Fort (01375 858 489; www.castleexplorer.co.uk/england/tilbury) is open daily 10am-6pm; shorter hours November-March. Coalhouse Fort (www.coalhousefort.freeserve.co.uk) holds regular open days April-September; it will be open on Monday and Tuesday from 11am-5pm.