A Brief History of the Martello Towers

The origins of the name ‘Martello’ comes from a tower built on Mortello Point in San Fiorenzo Bay, Corsica. Which in February 1774, managed to hold off an attack by two royal navy gunships, the HMS Fortitude and the HMS Juno, inflicting heavy damages on one of them. Sixty casualties were recorded and the attack was abandoned.

This impressive structure withstood a two day attack from a gun battery before a ‘lucky’ strike set the structure alight and it caught fire. After this two day battle the attacking forces were greatly impressed how the small tower had managed to defend itself for so long. After much debate Brigadier-General William Twiss began the task of surveying the southern coast of England to determine where similar structures were to be constructed.

Each Tower was constructed of around half a million bricks and boasted a thicker wall facing the sea to withstand the barrage of attack. The walls were 13 foot thick down to 6 foot thick and stood 30 foot high. Tests were to prove, due to the roundness and thickness of the walls, the tower was safe against attack as the cannon balls would deflect on impact. This ment the cannon balls could not breach the thick walls. The roof was supported by a central main pillar on which a cannon placed on a rotating gun carriage was mounted .Offering all round defence and attack.

The interior of the tower would have housed a wooden 1st floor of about 4 rooms. These rooms would have been for a small garison of about 24 men and their officer.The remaining room would most certainly have been a store for provision etc. A stone staircase built into the wall construction would have given access to the roof. The entrance to the tower was several meters above ground and was accessible by a ladder. This could be drawn up when needed and made it easier to defend the tower against attack. The ground floor would have stored the ammunitions and stores. The towers were purpose built to withstand a battle spanning several days, if not weeks.

By the end of the 18th century a Captain Reynolds had proposed that similar towers be erected along the English coast line. However, it wasn’t until several years later that Captain W.H.Ford proposed a line of square towers along the Kent and Sussex coast. Because the towers were constructed quite close together, any invading forces would have come under fire from more then one Infact, one report suggests that at pevensey bay, a ship out to sea could be fired upon by no less then fifteen Martello towers at once. There were 74 martello towers constructed along the Kent and Sussex coastline between the years 1805 and 1808. From no1 at Folkestone, south east kent to no 74 at Seaford in Sussex.

The main purpose for the towers was to defend against the treat of attack from the Napolionic forces, infact Boulogne at the turn of the 19th century had some 130,000 troops stationed there and over 20,000 landing boats. All ready to attack britain, but the invasion was never to be. Later, many of the towers proved useful as coast guard stations. There were many battles fought on the beaches , but this time it was the smugglers and the coast guards that would fight in the shadow of the towers.

By about 1860 modern weaponry had caught up with the martello tower and proved too advanced to defend against. Weapons like the rifled breech-loading guns, invented by Sir William Armstrong saw the towers struggle to withstand such attacks. As time past by some were left to decay, many had fallen into the sea and some were demolished for their building materials. Some towers, like 71 and 49 were used for target practise in military tests with the latest weapons being invented.

In modern day Kent and Sussex, all but 25 martello towers have disappeared from our coastline. Those that remain are classed as ancient monuments. Over the years many have been converted to modern day dwellings and fetch hansome prices in the property market. They make very unique homes and come with a history and character all of their own.