We now have two Martello towers featured posts:

• The East Coast Martello Towers (Essex and Suffolk)
• The South Coast Martello Towers (Kent and East Sussex)

Both posts feature a google map showing the locations of the towers, and photography of all the towers (still have a few gaps on the South Coast article which will be filled soon…).

Napolean’s invasion plans never came to fruition of course, and the towers were never used in anger, but the remaining towers (6 in Essex, 12 in Suffolk) leave a long standing reminder of that time in history. Some are still open to the public, and Tower A houses a museum.

Essex, 11 towers
A* – Point Clear, St.Osyth, near Brightlingsea. In good condition and home to the East Essex Aviation Museum.
B – Beacon Hill, St.OSyth. Overlooks the river estuaries. Demolished in 1967 for a housing development. Had been used as a private home, and then a radio astronomical observatory until that time.
C* – Jaywick Sands, near St.Osyth. On a holiday caravan park, in excellent newly restored condition. Close to the sea wall at Bush Wall Point, was a residence at one point. Open for arts exhibitions, and includes a look-out station.
D* – Clacton outskirts near to Jaywick, on Clacton Golf Course and in fair condition.
E* – Clacton Wash, on the outskirts of the former Butlins site. At one point used as a water tower, in good condition but currently unused. Now very close to the sea but protected by the sea wall.
F* – Marine Parade West on Clacton Cliffs, was used as a Scouts’ meeting place, and housed a model village in the 1970’s! Now open as the "Tower F Restaurant".
G, H and I – Guarded the Holland Marshes, sold in 1819 (for £2675) with the accompanying land and immediately pulled down. G stood on a hill near to the Sluice House, H was in the centre of the current Frinton Golf Club and it’s materials were used for nearby farm buildings. Tower I was near to Battery Point in Frinton,
J – Walton Cliffs, was pulled down before coastal erosion could claim it.
K* – Walton-on-the-Naze, on the Martello Caravan Park in Kirby Road and in good condition, but unused. Overlooks Walton Backwaters, and guarded Walton Creek and the surrounding marshes/inlets.
Suffolk, 18 towers with a circular Redoubt at Harwich
L* – Shotley Gate. On the River Stour within the grounds of the former HMS Ganges, and Shotley Gate Police Training Centre. Site destined for development as possible retirement home site, but the tower will remain.
M* – River Orwell, near Shotley Marina on the outskirts of the HMS Ganges development, at one time used as a water tower but now unused. Good condition
N – Part of the L/M/N formation, located at Walton Ferry (Felixstowe). Had a notably wide ditch (70ft) and a smaller 20ft trench (cunette) at the base. Tower location is now under the docks.
O – Tip of Langer Point, swept away by coastal erosion sometime after the 1870′s.
P* – Felixstowe seafront, owned by Suffolk coastal district council. Was destined to become a Window on the World attraction in 2009 but this project is now on hold. Used by the Coastguard at one point. In good condition. Did have a moat, but this was filled in at some point. A video interview with the Conservation Officer describing the history of the Martello Towers in the Felixestowe area can be seen on the Felixestowe TV website.
Q* – Felixstowe, Bulls Cliff. Converted to a dwelling in 1946 and in good condition. In a proposed conservation area to include the original military compound area and from Victoria Road to Buregate Road, and from Langer Road to the seafront.
R** – Recently re-discovered when the Bartlett Hospital applied for English Heritage historic listing status. The tower is embedded in the hospital foundations! The hospital site has now been sold for private development and there is no access to the tower. Photo is copyright Felixestowe Museum and displayed by kind permission.
S – Near to Tower R, abandoned in 1835.
T* – Felixstowe Ferry. Only in fair condition, located within the Felixestowe Ferry Golf Club.
U* – River Deben. Converted to a private residence.
V – Was facing Tower U on the opposite side of the river Deben. Destroyed in 1819. The site is still visible in the grounds of Bawdsey Manor.
W* – Bawdsey Cliffs. Stands on low cliffs near to the sea, converted to a residence in the 1980′s. Was at extreme risk due to the rapid erosion of the cliffs in this area. Recent sea defences being built around the site will protect it for the forseeable future.
X – At the southern end of Bawdsey Beach, dismantled sometime after the 1870′s. The foundations were used in the base of a World War II gun emplacement.
Y* – Bawdsey parish. Converted to residential.
Z* – Alderton, near Buckanay Farm. Fair condition with outer brick skin peeling away, exposing approximately 30% of the inner brick skin at top in one area. On the English Heritage ‘at risk’ register and English Heritage are negotiating with the owners over repairs.
AA* – Shingle Street, near Hollesley. Converted to a dwelling and in good condition.
BB – Was sited on a shingle bank near the mouth of the River Ore. Pulled down in 1822.
CC* – Slaghden, just south of Aldeburgh, unusual quatrefoil design unlike any of the other towers. Had four 24 pounder guns mounted on the roof. Was converted to a dwelling but is now owned by the Landmark Trust and available for holiday lets. Placed 10 miles from Tower BB.

Many thanks to Ian Giles of Ian Giles Photos, Kent Wedding Photographers for his role in photographing all of the East Coast towers. Thanks also to the Felixestowe Museum for allowing us to display the very rare image of the remains of Tower R.

References
Martello Towers – A Brief History, Geoff Hutchinson (1994)
Martello Towers, Sheila Sutcliffe (David & Charles 1972)
Felixstowe TV website
Suffolk Coastal District Council
English Heritage
St. Osyth Parish Council

The inspiration for the south coast implementation of these distinctive round towers came from a British attack in 1794 on Mortella Point in Corsica. The Mortella Point tower resisted attack from the Royal Navy ships HMS Fortitude and HMS Juno, resulting in 60 casualties on the British ships and the ships had to abandon the attack.This article is copyright UK Shore 2008 (uk-shore.com) It was left to the army to eventually take the tower after 2 days of heavy fighting. The tower had achieved this long resistance with only 38 men, one 6-pounder gun and two 18-pounder guns.

The name Martello Tower took a while to settle on by the English military planners, probably originating from ‘Torri de Martello’, the name given to watchtowers in parts of Western Italy, but also perhaps from one Naval officer who described Mortella Point as ‘Myrtello Point’ as the headland that the tower stood on was covered with wild myrtle. Other descriptions used were ‘sea-towers’, ‘bomb-proof towers’, or ‘Corsican towers’ and in 1803 finally as ‘Martello towers’.

The towers never actually saw active service of course, Napoleon’s planned invasion came to nothing particularly after the Battle of Trafalgar defeat for the French Fleet which forced Napoleon to look elsewhere for conquest.

Today only around 26 of the original towers are still standing, many were built upon shingle beaches and the sea has inevitably claimed them, others were demolished to make way for modern developments, for example the Promenade at Hythe/Sandgate. Several have been restored and converted into residences, tower 24 at Dymchurch is now a museum, and the Wish Tower (Number 73) at Eastbourne is also open to the public.

1*	Folkestone	On the 200ft cliff above East Wear Bay. Currently undergoing restoration (2008).
2*	Folkestone	Converted into dwelling in 1964. Slightly inland from Tower 1. It is currently a holiday let.
3*	Folkestone	On the cliff edge above Copt Point, with a good view of Folkestone harbour and towers 1 and 2. Features in a painting of Folkestone by Turner in 1830. Fully restored and converted into a museum. Open to the public.
4*	Folkestone	Stands in the garden of a private house at the Western end of the Leas. Was fitted with a semaphore machine in 1820, as were three others (towers 27, 31, and 55). Was used during World War II by the Observer Corps.
5*	Folkestone	In the grounds of the Girl’s Technical School behind Sandgate High Street, off Coolinge Lane. In good condition, the door of one of the two magazine compartments is still covered with copper with details of the contents painted. It is in line with Sandgate Castle on the shore below.
6*	Shorncliffe Camp	Overgrown with trees growing in the moat/ditch, and the roof covered soil and vegetation. On the edge of the military camp, but accessible via footpath.
7*	Shorncliffe Camp	Sealed to prevent vandalism, a wooden floor is laid inside but this may not be the original floor. In poor condition now. Not accessible but can be seen from the nearby military cemetry.
8*	Shorncliffe Camp	Converted into a dwelling, situated amongst other housing just outside of the Shorncliffe Camp area.
9*	Shorncliffe Camp	In a fair state of preservation, with most of the stucco in place, and the ditch brickwork in good order. Can be seen from the Sandgate/Hythe promenade below.
10	Hythe Promenade	Was sited near near where the Imperial Hotel now stands.
11	Hythe Promenade	Was sited near Saltwood Gardens.
12	Hythe Promenade	Was sited at the south end of Stade Street.
13*	Hythe	On West parade, sold by the War Department in 1907, and converted into a dwelling in 1928 by A.J.Glock who named it Place Forte. It was requisitioned as an observation post during World War II. The designer of the Dungeness Lighthouse, Ronald Ward owned it from 1960 and completely converted it. It is now simply named as the Martello Tower and painted white.
14*	Hythe, Firing ranges	Located on the beach in the Hythe army firing ranges, but easily viewable from West parade. The letter ‘A’ was painted on the side of the tower at one time, signifying the range that the tower is located within.
15*	Hythe, Firing ranges	Located in the Hythe army firing ranges. The letter ‘D’ was painted on the side of the tower at one point, signifying the range that the tower is located within.
16	Hythe, Firing ranges	Some ruins visible, but destroyed before the Second World War.
17	Hythe, Firing ranges	Some ruins visible, but destroyed before the Second World War.
18	Hythe, Firing ranges	Some ruins visible, but destroyed before the Second World War.
19*	Hythe, Firing ranges	Located in the Hythe army firing ranges. The letter ‘N’ was painted on the side of the tower, signifying the range that the tower is located within. Now largely ruined but visible from West Parade.
20		Disappeared early in the 20th Century.
21		Disappeared early in the 20th Century.
22	Dymchurch	Built to protect the Willop Sluice in Hythe Road along with No.23, but destroyed in 1956 for road improvements.
23*	Dymchurch	Built to protect the Willop Sluice in Hythe Road, paired with No.22 but No.22 was destroyed to make way for road widening. This tower has been restored and is used as a residence.
24*	Dymchurch	Built to guard the Marshland Sluice, this tower has been fully restored and is open to the public.
25*	Dymchurch	Twinned with Tower 24 to guard the Marshland Sluice (visible in the foreground of the attached image), the outside had been restored but the stucco is deteriorating. It is located within a public car park.
26	St.Mary’s Church	Guarded the Globsden Gut sluice gates opposite St.Mary’s Church, but was demolished in 1871.
27	St.Mary’s Church	Guarded the Globsden Gut sluice gates with Tower 26. Was a semaphore station. Demolished in 1841. Last of the Kent towers.
28*	Rye Harbour	The first Sussex tower and still standing on the river Rother in Rye Harbour at the entrance to a holiday caravan park. Named Enchantress Tower.
29	Rye Harbour	Abandoned early on, stood near the harbour mouth.
30*	Rye	Two miles inland, but built to protect the sluices of the Royal Military Canal, and the rivers Brede and Tillingham. Moated tower, part of the drawbridge fixture remains. Two sash windows were added as it was used as a residence at one point. Now neglected and overgrown. UPDATE: 21st September 2008 – no longer overgrown, and with all the creeping foliage removed the good condition of the tower has been revealed. Updated photo to follow soon.
31	Pett Level	Was situated at Dog’s Hill, built directly onto the shingle beach and thus subject to erosion and swept away.
32	Pett Level	Built directly onto the shingle beach and thus subject to erosion and swept away.
33	Pett Level	Built directly onto the shingle beach and thus subject to erosion and swept away.
34	Pett Level	Built directly onto the shingle beach and thus subject to erosion and swept away.
35	Pett Level	Blown up by the Royal Engineers in 1872.
36	Pett Level	Built directly onto the shingle beach and thus subject to erosion and swept away.
37	Pett Level	Blown up by the Royal Engineers in 1864.
38	Pett Level	Blown up by the Royal Engineers in 1872. Situated at Cliff End near Hastings.
39	St. Leonards	Low level tower, located near to West Marina. Partially collapsed in 1876, and the remains blown up by the Royal Engineers.
40	St. Leonards	Low level tower, demolished in the 1870′s.
41	Bulverhythe	Low level tower built at The Salts, Bulverhythe. Had suffered sea erosion by 1842 and while arrangements were being made to sell the materials upon demolition, was destroyed by a gale and swept into the sea.
42	Bulverhythe	Low level tower built at The Salts, Bulverhythe. Demolished in 1840 and the materials sold. Some of the stone was later used in building a Chancel to St.Mark’s Church in Cooden.
43	Bulverhythe Bay	Bulverhythe Cliff, on the cliff top overlooking Bulverhythe Bay. Collapsed into the sea by the 20th Century.
44	Bulverhythe Bay	Gally Hill, on the cliff top overlooking Bulverhythe Bay. Collapsed into the sea by the 20th Century.
45	Sackville Hotel	Destroyed by 1839. Possibly the first tower depicted in drawing by Turner for his work ‘Liber Studiorum’ in 1817.
46	Colonade	Demolished in 1870. Traces found in 1910 when the Colonade was built.
47	Polegrove	Not known when this tower disappeared, presumably late 19th Century.
48	Pages Avenue	Built to the south of Pages Avenue, demolished in 1858.
49	Veness Gap	Disappeared presumably late 19th Century.
50	Cooden Beach Hotel	Destroyed in 1860 as a test target for a demonstration event to show the superiority of the Royal Artillery’s new muzzle-loading guns over the old breach-loading guns.
51	Cooden	On the beach and washed away by the 20th Century
52	Cooden	On the beach and washed away by the 20th Century
53	Cooden	On the beach and washed away by the 20th Century
54	Cooden	On the beach and washed away by the 20th Century
55*	Norman’s Bay	Close to the sea but still standing. Was one of the four semaphore towers. Once a dwelling but now empty.
56	Pevensey	Destroyed by sea erosion
57	Pevensey	Destroyed by sea erosion
58	Pevensey	Destroyed by sea erosion
59	Pevensey	Demolished in 1903
60*	Pevensey Bay	Stands in Pevensey Bay village close to the shore. Converted to a dwelling.
61*	Martello Estate	Stands in the Martello Estate
62*		Used as a residence and in good condition.
63		Destroyed by the Germans during World War II.
64*		Near to the sea and close to Crumbles Marina, still standing but unused.
65		In ruins by the start of the Second World War..
66*	Langney Point	Occupied by the Coastguard service.
67		Low level tower
68	St.Anthony’s Hill	Used as a target for the new rifled Armstrong guns in 1860. Housing estate later built on the site, the circular moat is still reflected in the road called the Circus.
69		Low level tower
70		Low level tower
71		Used as a target for the new rifled Armstrong guns in 1860.
72	Eastbourne	Low level tower
73*	Eastbourne	The Wish Tower, got it’s name from the nearby marshland known as the ‘Wash’ or ‘Wish’. Used by the coastguards after the Napoleonic threat receded and then abandoned. Saved from the threat of demolition, and became a museum. In 1959 it was declared an ancient monument, and completely restored. Was open to the public, but does not currently appear to be in use. The original tower number plaque is still visible above the doorway, in roman numerals LXXIII (73)
74*	Seaford	Built in 1810 and still standing. Sold by the War Office in 1880, it was a museum until 1911, and then converted into a cafe/amusement arcade. Many alterations were made, but now open to the public as a museum.

Notes about this list: The main reference source was published in 1972, over the coming months we will be further researching to ensure an accurate 2008 status for each tower. If you have further or more up-to-date information about any of the towers please post a comment and we will update.

References
Martello Towers, Sheila Sutcliffe (David & Charles 1972)
Martello Towers – A Brief History, Geoff Hutchinson (1994)
The Cinque Ports and Romney Marsh, Margaret Brentnall (John Gifford, 1972)

All images copyright uk-shore.com, except for image for tower 19 which is copyright Ian Giles Photography and used by kind permission.

The Goodwin Sands are a notorious stretch of sands just off the coast of Kent in the English Channel. Submerged at high tides, with areas being exposed and drying sufficiently for a man to walk on at low tides, they present a particular challenge to shipping especially given their unfortunate location… at the narrowest part of the busiest shipping channel in the world.
This article is copyright UK Shore 2008 (uk-shore.com)

Image: The Goodwin Sands, reproduced under Project Gutenberg License

The Goodwin Sands are around four miles offshore, beginning near Kingsdown, Kent and ending around Pegwell Bay, just south of Ramsgate, a total length of around nine miles. The channel between the coast and the sands is known as the Downs, and although the sands present a grave danger to shipping, their position has also provided protection and thus the Downs and Goodwin Sands, and the protective Harbour at Ramsgate made this area historically important. In fact it may be true to say that over the past 1000 years, this stretch of the English Channel can be considered historically the most important stretch of water in the world.

History

The geological history of the Goodwin Sands is disputed; some believing it was previously an island which became swamped by sediment and rising sea levels, others that is simply an accumulation of sediment swept into place by the English Channel funnelling back and forth through the narrow straits of Dover. It is true that the nearby Thanet area was in fact an island back in Roman times (hence the full title; Isle of Thanet) and this may lead people to believe the Goodwin Sands are of a similar nature. However the few attempts at surveying the Sands by drilling have not shown any evidence of soil or organic matter which would suggest an island existed. It is more likely that the Sands are simply an accumulation of sediment on a predominantly solid chalk base.

Since the first recorded shipwreck in the Goodwin Sands area dating back to 1298, the maritime history is one of enormous loss of life and shipping. Ships, the crew and passengers that become stranded on the sands were often facing a terrible fate. Typically a ship would break its back as the tide changed, survivors may have been able to clamber onto the sands as the tide receded, and light fires and attempt to attract the attention of the Boatsmen of Deal and Kingsdown, or the lifeboats in later eras. If no help was forthcoming then within hours the tide would return, the sands would turn into lethal quicksand, and ships and survivors would be engulfed. Many ships were simply swallowed whole within a few days.

There are over 1000 recorded shipwrecks, and it is likely that the true toll may be more like 2000-3000 ships lost.

Notable Wrecks

The first documented wreck in the Goodwin Sands was in 1298, when a ship (name not known) returning from Flanders was lost “near Sandwich”.

Many more were to follow, one wreck of note was the HM Frigate Sedgmore, a 50 gun ship which was stranded near South Foreland in 1689. It was reportedly carrying over £200,000 in bullion, a vast sum in those times. No bullion was actually found or recovered, but it would be true to say that there will be many other ships carrying precious cargo which are still waiting discovery in the Sands, although they are likely to stay there for many years, maybe millennia.
This article is copyright UK Shore 2008 (uk-shore.com)
The greatest single event causing loss of life occurred with the Great Storm of 1703. Many warships had taken refuge in the Downs, and Ramsgate harbour to ride out the storm, but after an initial lull the storm returned with a vengeance. Daniel Defoe’s account of the storm (“The Storm” – republished in 2003 to mark the 300 year anniversary of the event) is the principle document covering this event, and it tells the story of 13 Man ‘o War lost, amongst many others, and over 2000 sailors. Included in the toll were:

• Northumberland, 3rd rate Man o’ War, with 70 guns and 253 men. No survivors.
• Mary, 4th rate, 272 men and the Admiral lost. One survivor.
• Stirling Castle, 3rd rate Man o’ War, with 70 guns and 349 men. 70 survivors.
• Restoration, 70 guns, all 386 crew lost.

The sole survivor from the Mary, Thomas Atkins, had an almost unbelievable escape. He was thrown from the deck of the Mary as it floundered, a large wave then throwing him onto the deck of the Stirling Castle. As the Stirling Castle became wrecked, he was again thrown into waves but again had a huge slice of luck as he was washed into the only boat to be broken adrift from the Stirling Castle. He eventually beached on the Kent coast and survived despite suffering from exposure.

The Stirling Castle has actually been located in recent years, and had been well protected by its sandy grave, but sadly is deteriorating now. See the Wessex Archaeology Coastal and Marine blog for photos of the wreck.

Other notable wrecks include the SS Violet, which was the first steamship to be claimed by the Sands in 1857. In more recent times, the story of the German U-boat U48 is notable as it is one of several wrecks that have re-emerged from the sands for short periods of time before being re-swallowed. The U48 was caught on the surface charging its batteries during World War I. It was shelled by several ships, and chased into the Goodwin Sands, where its crew were forced to surrender. It was then of course swallowed by the sands, where it lay hidden except for a brief reappearance in 1921, and then unexpectedly again in 1973.

Two wrecks, both in 1946, were in fact sister ships; The Luray Victory (9000 tons) ran aground in January, and then the North Eastern Victory broke in two on the sands the following winter. They were notable because they did not become fully swallowed like so many other ships; possibly they were positioned on the chalk base. In any case the masts of the ships were still visible as late as the 1990’s.

The Boatsmen

A history of the Goodwin Sands would not be complete without telling the story of the Boatsmen of Walmer, Deal and Kingsdown. These men were the centre of an industry along this stretch of coast, saving lives, but perhaps more importantly to them; earning a living from the salvage of wrecked shipping. The ‘industry’ had up to 1000 men involved at any one time over the centuries, and at the first sign of a wreck dozens of boats would race to be the first to board a wreck and hopefully claim salvage rights. There were four rival groups; Kingsdown, Walmer Road, Deal South End, and Deal North End. The rivalry between the two Deal groups in particular could be described as bitter.

Saving lives – The lightships and lifeboats

Before the 19th century, there had been talk of setting about beacons, and creating official lifeboats, but it wasn’t until 1852 that the first lifeboat was launched, the Northumberland operating from Ramsgate. In 1857, a further boat the “Royal Thames Yacht Club” was based in Walmer, and by 1865 there were four lifeboats.

Image: The Boom of a Distant Gun, reproduced under Project Gutenberg License from an original photograph by W.H.Franklin

The first lightship was positioned at North Sand Head in 1795, and another at the Gull Stream in 1809. The final two lightships were added at South Sand Head in 1832, and at East Goodwin in 1874. The lightships were positioned to warn shipping of the danger, but also to alert the lifeboats when a ship became stranded. The lightships are not themselves without tragedy, for example in 1954 the South Sand lightship was wrecked and all seven crew lost, the only survivor being a researcher. There is currently only one lightship in operation, at East Goodwin, the others being replaced by automated beacons.

Events on the Goodwin Sands

At low tide, the sands are firm enough to stand on and so a number of events have taken place on the Sands over the years. In recent times, probably the most famous events are the cricket matches played on the sands. The Goodwin Sands Potholing Club were able to make a number of visits when the cross-channel hovercraft were operating from Dover, this providing the ideal charter craft! The club also paid a visit this year (2008) by helicopter.

Modern navigation

The Goodwin Sands are somewhat safer in modern times particularly with the advent of GPS, and detailed mapping of The Channel. The charts on the Visit My Harbour website are well worth a look to get a feel for the relative depths of the sea floor in this area.

References
Shipwrecks of the Goodwin Sands, Richard & Bridget Larn (Meresborough)
Shipwrecks of Great Britain and Ireland, Richard Larn
Heroes of the Goodwin Sands, Rev. Thomas Stanley Treanor, M.A. (The Religious Tract Society 1904). Illustrated edition now available from Amazon.
Storm victims remembered, BBC News website, as retrieved 23th May 2008