Shed of Stilts (Watch House), Paglesham
By Nathan Bell
Early 1960s
This old structure has long since disappeared. It was probably in the area where oyster beds are behind a chain link fence with a newer brick & concrete shed and two derelict barges rusting into the mud. This is just beyond where the remains of Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle are thought to have sunk into the mud and, the second picture, an old postcard, “Paglesham, Oyster Pits”, does show a large hull in an appropriate position, on the left. The “Shed on Stilts” position would have been just off the postcard picture, to the left. Old maps indicate a Watch House in this sort of position…
The third picture of the Oyster Beds at Paglesham is more recent but the old railway carriage and the broken down shed are no longer on the shoreline.