Tilbury Fort has protected London's seaward approach from the 16th century through to World War II. Due to its strategic position, Henry VIII built the first fort here and Queen Elizabeth I rallied her army nearby to ward off the threat of the Spanish Armada. Construction on the present fort began in 1672 under Charles II and remains one of the finest examples of its type left in England given the surviving circuit of moats and bastioned outworks. Visitors can trace the history of the fort through the various exhibitions at the site, but due to its significant defenses Tilbury Fort has never been involved in serious action beyond a fight following a Kent-Essex cricket match left a cricketer and the fort's sergeant dead in 1776!