All that remains of Henry’s Blockhouse today is the foundations excavated during the 1980s. However, in 1540 the Blockhouse was one of five forts built to prevent an enemy fleet attacking London. When Henry VIII visited here he would have seen a D-shaped brick and stone tower pierced with gun ports, as would Charles II who used the Blockhouse as a banqueting hall. By the 18th Century, it has become a gunpowder storage magazine, before being demolished in 1844 to make way for the gardens of the Clarendon Royal Hotel.
