Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A martello tower, set within a dry moat and outer glacis (sloping ban). It is one of a series of six moated towers, constructed in 1805-6 to defend the coastline between Hythe and Folkestone, and lies around 400 metres north west of tower no 4. The slightly elliptical, brick built tower measures up to 13 metres in diameter externally and stands complete to its original height of about 10 metres. As part of the original design, soil was built up against the outer face of the moat wall to form a glacis, which slopes away from the lip of the moat for a distance of up to 20 metres. The external face of the tower was rendered in cement mortar, or stucco, which served to strengthen the outer skin of bricks. A thick cental column rises from the basement to the top of the tower, from which springs the barrel vaulted first floor ceiling which supports the gun platform on the roof. Scheduled.

Monument Types

• MARTELLO TOWER (Post Medieval to Modern - 1805 AD to 2050 AD)
• MOAT (Post Medieval to Modern - 1805 AD to 2050 AD)
• REVETMENT (Post Medieval to Modern - 1805 AD to 2050 AD)
• GLACIS (Post Medieval to Modern - 1806 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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(TR 20773554) Martello Tower (No.5) (NAT) Moat (NAT) (1) Scheduled. (2) Roofed and in good condition. (3) TR 20753555. Martello tower No.5 built in 1805 with a surrounding moat. It is in the grounds of the Girls' Technical School behind Sandgate High Street and off Collinge Lane. It is in good condition and the inside is very interesting. There are two magazine compartments on the ground floor and the door of one of them is still covered with copper with details of the contents painted on it. There were plans in 1934 to turn it into a chapel for the school, but they never materialised. The ditch is laid out as a garden. (4-6) Martello tower No.5, surrounded by a stone revetted ditch, with an iron bridge over the ditch. The ditch is filled with undergrowth, trees and shrubs, planted twenty years ago. Revetment has been capped at sometime, but repointing is required. Rendering is in fairly good condition but cracks have appeared in places. The original door to the north survive, as do the east and west windows. Scheduled - Kent 110;32251 (7)

From the National Heritage List for England:
Details
The monument includes a martello tower, set within a dry moat and outer glacis (sloping bank), situated immediately west of the Folkestone School for Girls in the south west part of Folkestone. It is one of a cliff top series of six moated towers, constructed in 1805-6 to defend the coastline between Hythe and Folkestone, and lies around 400m north west of tower no 4. The slightly elliptical, brick built tower measures up to 13m in diameter externally and stands complete to its original height of about 10m. The upper half of the tower protrudes above the lip of the stone built retaining wall of the moat, which encircles the base at a distance of around 10m and was intended to provide further protection from both cannon fire and ground assault. As part of the original design, soil was built up against the outer face of the moat wall to form a glacis, which slopes away from the lip of the moat for a distance of up to 20m. Construction of the modern school buildings, and associated access paths, to the north east of the tower, has partly levelled the glacis along its north eastern edge. The tower was constructed on three levels, with battered (inwardly sloping) walls, designed to deflect cannon shot, ranging from around 1.6m to 4m in thickness, the most substantial section being the wall base on the southern, seaward side. The external face of the tower was rendered in a cement mortar, or stucco, which served to strengthen the outer skin of bricks. A thick central column rises from the basement to the top of the tower, from which springs the barrel vaulted first floor ceiling which supports the gun platform on the roof. Access into the tower is by way of a first floor doorway, which was originally approached by a drawbridge across the moat, capable of being raised to seal the entrance. The bridge no longer survives, although the wheels of the drawbridge mechanism remain in place. The doorway is headed by a stone tablet displaying the number of the tower. The first floor was divided into three rooms by wooden partitions and provided accommodation for the garrison of 24 men and one officer. During later, 19th century refurbishments, two partitions were added, one on either side of the door, forming an entrance hall. Two fireplaces heated the rooms, which were lit by two splayed window openings to the east and west. The ground floor is reached by an opening through the suspended timber floor, which replaced the original trap door near the entrance. This was used to store ammunition and supplies, and provision for these includes an unusual arrangement of two magazine rooms created during later refurbishments. Safety features included lantern windows in the partition walls, separated from the magazine by panes of glass. Two slate water tanks were installed beneath the floor and ammunition lift shafts, linking the gun emplacement to the basement level, were inserted into the thickness of the wall at the time of the refurbishments. The open gun platform is reached from the first floor by an internal stone staircase constructed in the thickest part of the tower wall. The circular roof space, designed to accommodate a 24-pounder cannon mounted on a wooden traversing carriage, retains most of its original features, including the raised central pedestal which held the gun pivot, and the perimeter step which carried the outer gun rail, all of which was sealed in asphalt, and the parapet wall rendered, in 1964. The cannon, which had a range of around 1.5km and could be turned through 360 degrees, was operated by a series of rope pulleys with six iron hauling-rings set into the parapet wall which encircles the roof. The lift shaft openings and ammunition stores, in the form of arched recesses, are also set into the parapet wall. All modern fixtures and fittings, and all modern fences and ground surfaces are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features or the structures to which they are attached are included.


Reasons for Designation
Martello towers are gun towers constructed to defend the vulnerable south eastern coast of England against the threat of ship-borne invasion by Napoleonic forces. Built as a systematic chain of defence in two phases, between 1805-1810 along the coasts of East Sussex and Kent, and between 1808- 1812 along the coasts of Essex and Suffolk, the design of martello towers was based on a fortified tower at Mortella Point in Corsica which had put up a prolonged resistance to British forces in 1793. The towers take the form of compact, free-standing circular buildings on three levels built of rendered brick. The towers of the south coast were numbered 1-74 from east to west, while those of the east coast were identified by a system of letters (A-Z, and then AA-CC) from south to north. Although they exhibit a marked uniformity of design, minor variations are discernible between the southern and eastern groups and amongst individual towers, due mainly to the practice of entrusting their construction to local sub-contractors. Most southern towers are elliptical in plan, whilst the eastern group are oval or cam-shaped externally, with axes at the base ranging between 14.4m by 13.5m and 16.9m by 17.7m. All are circular internally, the battered (inwardly sloping) walls of varying thicknesses, but with the thickest section invariably facing the seaward side. Most stand to a height of around 10m. Many martello towers are surrounded by dry moats originally encircled by counterscarp banks, and/or have cunettes (narrower water defences) situated at the foot of the tower wall. The ground floor was used for storage, with accommodation for the garrison provided on the first floor, and the main gun platform on the roof. The southern towers carried a single 24 pounder cannon, whilst the eastern line carried three guns (usually a 24 pounder cannon and two shorter guns or howitzers). Three large, circular ten- gun towers known as redoubts were also constructed at particularly vulnerable points, at Dymchurch, Eastbourne and Harwich. All three survive. As the expected Napoleonic invasion attempt did not materialise, the defensive strength of the martello tower system was never tested, and the tower design was soon rendered obsolete by new developments in heavy artillery. Many were abandoned and fell into decay or were demolished during the 19th century, although some continued in use into the 20th century as signalling or coastguard stations and a few saw use as look out points or gun emplacements during the two World Wars. Of the original 74 towers on the south coast, 26 now survive, and of the 29 on the east coast, 17 now survive. Those which survive well and display a diversity of original components are considered to merit protection.

Martello tower no 5 survives well, and retains a substantial proportion of its original components and associated features, including much of the glacis bank. Features associated with the later 19th century refurbishment also remain in place, providing an important insight into the subsequent use and development of the tower. When viewed as one of a series of six cliff top towers, no 5 contributes to understanding the strategically planned integration of the martello tower system and its role in the defence of Britain during the 19th and early 20th centuries. (9-10)

English Heritage, 1965, Dover Castle (Scheduling record). SKe6594.

<1> OS 25" 1958 (OS Card Reference). SKE48274.

<2> AM Eng & Wales 1961 59 (OS Card Reference). SKE33010.

<3> F1 CFW 24.04.64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42738.

<4> Handbook of Kent's Defences 1540-1945 1977 39 (D Bennett) (OS Card Reference). SKE43680.

<5> Martello Towers 1972 86-87 8S Sutcliffe) (OS Card Reference). SKE46557.

<6> Bldgs of Eng NE & E Kent 1980 445 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE37749.

<7> DOE(IAM) AM7, AM107 4 6 85 (V J Coad) (OS Card Reference). SKE41410.

<8> Field report for monument TR 23 NW 31 - April, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5616.

<9> English Heritage, 1965, Dover Castle (Scheduling record). SKE6594.

<10> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading