Martello Towers

(book)

Reviewed by Tom Desmond

Towers of Strength - Martello Towers Worldwide by W H Clemens

Martello Towers - these are round stone coastal fortifications built during the period c1790-untill as late as c1850's. There were over 100 built along Britain's South East coastline as a protective measure, chiefly against a Napoleonic invasion. They are squat, stone-built structures designed to carry at least one (and often more) smooth-bore, muzzle loading, typically 24pdr cannon - on the roof!

This engaging book was written by a soldier with an appreciation of the military value and role of these bastions of strength. He has given us a complete history of the development and evolution from their first being noticed by the British Navy ("some damned foreign scallywags defending a tower in Corsica shot up two British Frigates!"). This immediately gave rise to the thought that the vulnerable Southern coastline could be thusprotected against Old Boney.

I have noticed that the eyes of several acquaintances glaze over, just by looking at the cover. Though if you have managed to get this far and still like the subject, then you will no doubt be delighted with all the photos and cross-sectional drawings. These give an interesting glimpse of the engineering practices of the day when attempting to mount a gun weighing several tons on the roof.

What is also of note is that many were built overseas: Ireland, West Africa, Minorca, South Africa, India, Bermuda, and Canada. The Canadian towers being the closest could be incorporated into a trip - look for them in Kingston, Ontario; Quebec; St. John, New Brunswick; and Halifax, Nova Scotia, which has three of them.

Of course on the surface, this book must only have a somewhat esoteric appeal, but I see it as a small chapter in the larger book of military architecture, which I have always found fascinating. I like this one.

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