Las torres Martello , a veces conocidas simplemente como Martellos , son pequeñas fortalezas defensivas que se construyeron en todo el Imperio Británico durante el siglo XIX, desde la época de las Guerras Revolucionarias Francesas en adelante. La mayoría eran fuertes costeros .
Miden hasta 40 pies (12 m) de altura (con dos pisos) y por lo general tenían una guarnición de un oficial y entre 15 y 25 hombres. Su estructura redonda y gruesos muros de mampostería sólida los hacían resistentes al fuego de cañón, mientras que su altura los convertía en una plataforma ideal para una sola pieza de artillería pesada , montada en el techo plano y capaz de atravesar, y por lo tanto disparar, sobre un total de 360 °. circulo. Algunas torres tenían fosos u otras baterías y obras adjuntas para una defensa adicional.
Las torres Martello se utilizaron durante la primera mitad del siglo XIX, pero quedaron obsoletas con la introducción de poderosa artillería estriada . Muchos han sobrevivido hasta nuestros días, a menudo conservados como monumentos históricos.
En la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, durante el mandato de Lord Palmerston , hubo otra serie de edificios de torres y fortalezas. Los Palmerston Forts también tienen un diseño circular y se asemejan a las torres Martello.
Orígenes [ editar ]
Las torres Martello se inspiraron en una fortaleza redonda, parte de un sistema de defensa genovés más grande , en Mortella (Myrtle) Point en Córcega . El diseñador fue Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino (el Fratin), [1] y la torre se completó en 1565.
Desde el siglo XV, los corsos habían construido torres similares en puntos estratégicos alrededor de la isla para proteger las aldeas costeras y el transporte marítimo de los piratas del norte de África . Las torres tenían uno o dos pisos de altura y medían de 12 a 15 m (39 a 49 pies) de diámetro, con una sola puerta a cinco metros del suelo a la que se podía acceder solo a través de una escalera que los ocupantes podían quitar. [2]
Los aldeanos locales pagaron por las torres y los vigilantes, conocidos como torregiani , que señalarían el acercamiento de barcos inesperados encendiendo un faro en el techo de la torre. El fuego alertaría a las fuerzas de defensa locales de la amenaza. Aunque la amenaza pirata disminuyó posteriormente, los genoveses construyeron una nueva generación de torres circulares (las torres genoveses ), que protegieron de las incursiones extranjeras posteriores. [2]
El 7 de febrero de 1794, como parte del sitio de Saint-Florent , dos buques de guerra británicos, HMS Fortitude (74 cañones) y Juno (32 cañones), atacaron sin éxito la torre de Mortella Point; la torre finalmente cayó en manos de las fuerzas terrestres bajo el mando de Sir John Moore después de dos días de intensos combates. Lo que ayudó a los británicos fue que los dos cañones de 18 libras de la torre disparaban hacia el mar, mientras que solo el de 6 libras podía disparar hacia tierra.
El vicealmirante Lord Hood informó:
... La Fortaleza y Juno fueron ordenados en su contra, sin causar la menor impresión por un cañoneo continuado de dos horas y media; y el barco anterior quedó muy dañado por un disparo al rojo vivo, ambos arrancados. Los muros de la Torre eran de un grosor prodigioso, y el parapeto, donde había dos cañones de dieciocho libras, estaba revestido con juncos de bajo, [Nota 1] a cinco pies de los muros, y se llenó de arena; y aunque fue cañoneado desde la Altura durante dos días, a menos de 150 yardas, y apareció en un estado muy destrozado, el enemigo aún resistió; pero unos pocos disparos calientes prendiendo fuego al bajo, les hizo pedir cuartel. El número de hombres en la Torre era 33; sólo dos resultaron heridos, y los de muerte. [4]
A finales del año anterior, los defensores franceses de la torre la habían abandonado después de que el HMS Lowestoffe (32 cañones) le disparara dos andanadas. Los británicos quitaron los cañones para armar una pequeña embarcación; en consecuencia, los franceses pudieron fácilmente desalojar la guarnición de patriotas corsos que los había reemplazado. [5] Aún así, los británicos quedaron impresionados por la efectividad de la torre cuando se la suministró y defendió adecuadamente, y copiaron el diseño. Pero se equivocaron al escribir "Mortella" como "Martello" (que significa "martillo" en italiano). Cuando los británicos se retiraron de Córcega en 1803, con gran dificultad volaron la torre, dejándola en un estado inutilizable. [5]
Diseño y construcción [ editar ]
Las torres tenían unos 12 m (40 pies) de altura con paredes de 2,4 m (8 pies) de espesor. En algunas torres las habitaciones no se construyeron en el centro, sino más al lado de tierra, dejando los muros más gruesos en la orilla del mar. Estos fueron casos en los que se pensó que un ataque con un cañón desde tierra era muy poco probable. La entrada fue por una escalera a una puerta a unos 10 pies (3,0 m) de la base sobre la cual había una plataforma con matacanes (ranurada) que permitía disparar hacia abajo sobre los atacantes. El techo plano o terreplein tenía un parapeto alto y una plataforma elevada en el centro con un pivote (a veces un cañón convertido) para un cañón que atravesaría un arco de 360 °. (Algunas torres fueron diseñadas para llevar más de un arma, cada una con un arco de fuego más limitado). Las paredes tenían ranuras estrechas para el fuego de mosquete defensivo.
El interior de una torre clásica británica Martello constaba de dos pisos (a veces con un sótano adicional). La planta baja servía de la revista y trasteros, donde se guardaban municiones, agua, avituallamiento y combustible. La guarnición de 24 hombres y un oficial vivía en una casamata en el primer piso, que estaba dividido en varias habitaciones y tenía chimeneas empotradas en las paredes para cocinar y calentar. [6] El oficial y los hombres vivían en habitaciones separadas de casi el mismo tamaño. Un pozo o aljibe dentro del fuerte abastecía de agua a la guarnición. Un sistema de drenaje interno conectado al techo permitió que el agua de lluvia rellenara la cisterna. [6]
Torres Martello en todo el mundo [ editar ]
Durante la primera mitad del siglo XIX, el gobierno británico se embarcó en un programa a gran escala de construcción de torres Martello para proteger las costas británicas e irlandesas. Se construyeron alrededor de 140, principalmente a lo largo de la costa sur de Inglaterra . Los gobiernos de Australia , Canadá , Menorca , Sudáfrica y Sri Lanka también construyeron torres. La construcción de las torres Martello en el extranjero continuó hasta la década de 1870, pero se interrumpió después de que quedó claro que no podían resistir la nueva generación de armas de artillería estriadas.
Los franceses construyeron torres similares a lo largo de su propia costa que utilizaron como plataformas para la comunicación por telégrafos ópticos (utilizando el Chappe Telegraph ). El gobierno de los Estados Unidos también construyó una serie de torres Martello a lo largo de la costa este de los Estados Unidos que copiaron el diseño británico con algunas modificaciones.
Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda [ editar ]
Gran Bretaña e Irlanda se unieron como una entidad política única, el Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda , de 1801 a 1922, que abarca el tiempo durante el cual se erigieron la mayoría de las torres Martello (el esquema inicial comenzó bajo las entidades anteriores del Reino de Gran Bretaña). Gran Bretaña y Reino de Irlanda ). En consecuencia, las torres Martello de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda pueden considerarse parte de un único sistema defensivo, diseñado para proteger las costas de las dos islas principales de las Islas Británicas en su conjunto. [7] [8]
Esto es más claramente visible en las costas sur y este de Inglaterra y la costa este de Irlanda , donde se construyeron cadenas de torres Martello. En otras partes del mundo, se erigieron torres Martello individuales para proporcionar una defensa puntual de ubicaciones estratégicas.
Inglaterra [ editar ]
Entre 1804 y 1812 las autoridades británicas construyeron una cadena de torres sobre la base de la torre original Mortella a defender la costa sur y este de Inglaterra , Irlanda, Jersey y Guernsey para protegerse contra la posible invasión de Francia , entonces bajo el gobierno de Napoleón I . Se construyeron un total de 103 [5] torres Martello en Inglaterra, colocadas a intervalos regulares a lo largo de la costa desde Seaford , Sussex , hasta Aldeburgh , Suffolk . La mayoría fueron construidos bajo la dirección del general William Twiss (1745-1827) y un capitán Ford. [9][10] The northernmost tower at Aldeburgh is of quatrefoil design, i.e. four in one.[11] and there are two towers at Clacton-on-Sea, one near the town and the other to the west near the local Golf Course (see the pictures on the right).
Included in the scheme were three much larger circular forts or redoubts that were constructed at Harwich, Dymchurch and Eastbourne; they acted as supply depots for the smaller towers as well as being powerful fortifications in their own right.[12]
The effectiveness of Britain's Martello towers was never actually tested in combat against a Napoleonic invasion fleet. They were, however, effective in hindering smuggling.[13] After the threat had passed, the Martello towers in England met a variety of fates. The Coastguard took over many to aid in the fight against smuggling.
Fifteen towers were demolished to enable the re-use of their masonry. The sea washed thirty away and the military destroyed four in experiments to test the effectiveness of the new rifled artillery. During the Second World War, some Martello towers returned to military service as observation platforms and firing platforms for anti-aircraft artillery.
Forty-seven Martello towers have survived in England, a few of which have been restored and transformed into museums (e.g., the towers at St Osyth and Seaford), visitor centres, and galleries (such as Jaywick Martello Tower). Some are privately owned or are private residences,[14] The remainder are derelict. A survey of the East Coast towers in 2007 found of the 17 remaining, most were in a reasonable condition.[15]
Many remaining Martello Towers are now Listed Buildings.[16]
A fuller list of British towers, with photographs, is available.[17]
Scotland[edit]
Three Martello towers were built in Scotland, the first on offshore rocks facing the Firth of Forth in 1807–09 to defend Leith Harbour. The Tally Toor now lies land-locked within the eastern breakwater.[18][19]
Two towers were then built at Hackness and Crockness, near Longhope in Orkney. They were constructed between 1813 and 1815 to guard against the threat of French and American raiders attacking convoys assembling offshore. Historic Scotland now operates the Hackness tower as a museum.[20]
Wales[edit]
A small number of Martello towers were also built in Wales, of which few survive. The most notable surviving towers are the two located in Pembroke Dock, which were built between 1848 and 1857 to protect the naval base there. Today, one of the towers is privately owned. The other is located on the town's riverfront, next to the old entrance of the naval base. It was converted into a small museum that focused on the local history of the dock and its defences. The museum has now shut down because of water influx. Recently Pembrokeshire County Council has decided to put the tower up for sale.[21]
Ireland[edit]
About fifty Martello towers were built around the Irish coastline, especially along the east coast, from Millmount (Drogheda), to Bray, around Dublin Bay (29 installations) but also around Cork Harbour on the south coast. On the east coast, concentrated mainly around Dublin Bay, twenty-six towers were in line of sight of each other, providing the ability to communicate with one another, or warn of any incoming attacks.
Possibly the most famous is the Martello tower in Sandycove, near Dún Laoghaire, in which James Joyce lived for a few days. Joyce shared the tower with Oliver St. John Gogarty, then a medical student but later to become famous in Irish history as a surgeon, politician and writer. In Ulysses, the fictional character Stephen Dedalus lives in the tower with a medical student, Malachi "Buck" Mulligan, whom Joyce based on Gogarty. The James Joyce Tower, as the tower is now known, houses a museum dedicated to Joyce.
A number of other Martello towers are extant nearby at Bullock Harbour, Dalkey Island, Williamstown, Seapoint and Sandymount and Martello towers feature in many literary works set in Dublin. During the 1980s, Bono owned the Martello tower in Bray, County Wicklow.
Martello Tower South No.7, on Tara Hill, Killiney Bay, is unique, as is its location as an enfilading tower. The Tower is privately owned and has been fully restored, to include a proofed, working King George 3rd Blomefield 18-pounder cannon mounted on a traversing carriage on the crown of the Tower. There is a three-gun battery below the tower, with a glacis. There is also a coach house, artillery store, tool shed, and gunner's cottage, with resident gunner and gunpowder store. The battery, while restored, remains to be armed and the coach house and artillery store still require some restoration.[22]
On the north side of Dublin, one can find Martello towers in Balbriggan, Shenick Island and Red Island at Skerries, Drumanagh Fort, Rush, Tower Bay in Portrane, Donabate, Malahide (Hicks tower), Portmarnock, Ireland's Eye, Howth, and Sutton.
There were seven Martello towers in the vicinity of Cork Harbour of which five are extant.[23] During the 19th century Fenian uprising, the famous Captain Mackey briefly captured and held the Monning Martello tower near Fota Island in Cork Harbour; this tower is believed to have been the only Martello tower ever captured, other than the original. The other Cork Harbour towers are at Ringaskiddy, Haulbowline Island (now part of the Irish Naval Service HQ) and at Belvelly and Rossleague on the Great Island (near Cobh). There are also Martello towers at Little Island and Rostellan, though these are no longer intact.
The British built two Martello towers on the Hook Peninsula to protect the fort near Duncannon, Co. Wexford and the entrance to Waterford Harbour. There is a third tower on the headland at Baginbun Bay in Co. Wexford.
One of the most interesting Martello towers is Meelick Martello Tower at Clonahenoge, County Offaly, guarding the Shannon river crossing to Meelick, County Galway. As this tower supports three guns (unlike the normal Martello tower which is circular on plan and carries only one gun), it is cam shaped on plan. Currently a rampant growth of ivy covers the tower.[24]
The tower at Seapoint, County Dublin, which was the property of Blackrock Urban District Council was formerly the clubhouse of the Seapoint Boat Club from 1916 to 1931,[25] and was subsequently the headquarters of the Genealogical Society of Ireland (GSI).[26] The GSI vacated the tower when it found that the atmosphere was not conducive to the preservation of records.
The restored tower at Ilnacullin is a feature of an island garden in Glengarriff, County Cork. Several other towers are still extant, including one at Rathmullan in County Donegal and two in County Clare on the south coast of Galway Bay in the townlands of Finavarra and Aughinish. There is also an extant Martello tower located near the settlement of Magilligan Point in County Londonderry, built between 1812 and 1871 to defend against a possible French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars; it is now a visitor attraction.[27]
A Martello-like tower was built on Achill Island, according to local memory during the Napoleonic Wars. It is square rather than round, unlike the traditional Martello tower. This tower is known locally as the Gabhla Fhranca ("French Tower") or the Napoleonic Tower. It is marked on an 1838 Ordnance Survey chart and denoted "Signal Tower," suggesting it was used with a series of other stations for communication. The tower's position offers a view of the sea both to the north and south of the island and is therefore well-suited for that purpose. By the 1830s the tower was described as a "watch-house of the coast-guard."
Elsewhere[edit]
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Antigua and Barbuda[edit]
The British originally constructed River Fort Martello Tower in the early 19th century, on the site of a previous fort (presumed to have been built by the Spanish) to guard nearby River Landing, which was Barbuda's original quay. Confusion with the previous fort presumably explains the claims made in Barbudan tourism publications that this was the World's first, and is its oldest, Martello tower, built in 1745.[28] The tower is located on the south coast of the island, a mile or so from River Landing and some seven miles south of the island's main village of Codrington. The tower is 56 feet high, has a raised gun platform and extremely thick walls, but is missing the floors. It the first such tower constructed in the Caribbean, was built in 1745 by Sir William Codrington, and was designed by Commodore Charles Knowles RN, later Admiral Sir Charles Knowles Bt, who was then commanding the Leeward Islands station.[29]
It is attached to what remains of the pre-existing fort. The tower mounted three cannon, and in all the fort mounted ten cannons, none of which remain. The tower is the highest building on Barbuda and serves as a daymark from land or sea. Today the fort is a popular location for weddings.
Australia[edit]
The last Martello tower built in the British Empire is said to be that which composes a part of the larger Fort Denison, built on a small island, Pinchgut Island, in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales. It is the only Martello tower to have been built in Australia.
Fortification of the island began in 1841 but was not completed. The construction had begun following an 1839 night-time incursion into Sydney Harbour by two American warships. Concern with the threat of foreign attack had caused the government to review the harbour's inner defences, which were found to be inadequate, and the establishment of a fort was recommended to help protect Sydney Harbour from attack by foreign vessels. Construction resumed in 1855 to provide Sydney with protection against the threat of a naval attack by the Russians during the Crimean War of the 1850s. However, construction was completed only in 1857, well after the war had ended. Fort Denison is well preserved and is now a popular tourist attraction.
Bermuda[edit]
There is a Martello tower located at Ferry Reach in St George's Parish. The tower is the third fortification on the site.[30] Major Thomas Blanshard built it of Bermuda limestone between 1822 and 1823. The tower shows the effect of thirty years of evolution on the design of coastal fortifications, between the 1790s and 1822. The earlier Ferry Island Fort nearby had multiple guns arrayed to cover the water westward, while the Martello tower used a single gun with 360° traverse to cover all of the surrounding area.
Like its predecessors in the UK, it has an ovoid footprint with the thickness of its walls ranging from nine to 11 feet. It is surrounded by a dry moat. The tower's purpose was to defend the Ferry Reach Channel and so impede any attack on St. George's Island from the main island of Bermuda, and attacking vessels from slipping through Castle Harbour and the channel between Ferry Reach and Coney Island. The main channel by which vessels reach most parts of Bermuda west of St. George's, including the Royal Naval Dockyard, on Ireland, the Great Sound, Hamilton Harbour, The Flatts, Murray's Anchorage, and other important sites, carries them around the east ends of St. David's and St. George's Islands, where the coastal artillery was always most heavily concentrated. Two more Martello towers to protect the Dockyard were planned, but never built.
The tower was restored in 2008 and an 18-pounder cannon brought from Fort St. Catherine was mounted on top. The site is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday in the summer and in the winter by appointment only, by calling the Parks Department. It is part of the Bermuda Railway Trail.
British Virgin Islands[edit]
When the British rebuilt Fort Recovery on the west end of Tortola they added a Martello tower.
Canada[edit]
Nine of the fourteen Martello towers built in Canada still survive.[31] (In addition, the existing fortifications at Fort Henry received two thin towers between 1845 and 1848. However, these are dry ditch defence towers, rather than true Martello towers.) A common characteristic of Canadian Martello towers was removable cone-shaped roofs to protect against snow. Today, many of the restored towers have permanent roof additions – for ease of upkeep, not historical accuracy.
Quebec City originally had four Martello towers. Tower No. 1 stands on the Plains of Abraham, overlooking the St Lawrence River. It has been restored as a museum and can be visited during the summer months. Tower no. 2 stands close nearby and currently[when?] hosts an 1812 Murder Mystery Dinner. Tower No. 3 was demolished in 1904 after being used as a residence. The McKenzie Memorial Building of Jeffery Hale Hospital now occupies the site. The fourth surviving Martello Tower in Quebec, No. 4, is located in a residential area on the north side of the Upper City overlooking Lower Town.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, had five towers, the oldest of which, the Prince of Wales Tower[32] located in Point Pleasant Park, is the oldest Martello-style tower in North America. It was built in 1796 and was used as a redoubt and a powder magazine. Restored, it is now a National Heritage site. The Duke of York Martello Tower[33] was built in 1798 at York Redoubt. Its lower level still stands, though it has been boarded up for conservation purposes. The Duke of Clarence Martello Tower[34] stood on the Dartmouth shore. Sherbrooke Martello Tower[35] stood opposite York Redoubt on McNabs Island; it was demolished in 1944 and replaced by a concrete lighthouse at Maughers Beach. Another Martello tower stood on Georges Island.
Four Martello towers were built at Kingston, Ontario to defend its harbour and naval shipyards in response to the Oregon Crisis. Their builders intended for the towers to serve as redoubts against marine attacks. Murney Tower and the tower at Point Frederick (at the Royal Military College of Canada) are now museums that are open during the summer.
Fort Frederick has the most elaborate defences as it includes earthen ramparts and a limestone curtain wall. The Shoal Tower, the only tower completely surrounded by water, stands in Kingston's Confederation Basin. Since 2005, it is open to the public as part of Doors Open Ontario for one day only in June each year. Cathcart Tower, the fourth tower, stands unused on Cedar Island near Point Henry.
Carleton Martello Tower, overlooking the harbour of Saint John, New Brunswick, is now a museum and a National Historic Site.
The Canadian Press reported on April 16, 2006 that the Canadian military has named a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Afghanistan FOB Martello. The logo of the International Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum in Kingston, Ontario, features a Martello tower. Since the amalgamation of the Township of Kingston in 2000, the city's flag has also borne a Martello tower.[36]
Guernsey[edit]
There are three similar Martello towers in Guernsey, all built in 1804: Fort Grey, Fort Hommet and Fort Saumarez.[37]
In addition, there are a number of earlier towers in Guernsey (the Guernsey loophole towers), that many people refer to as Martello towers, though they are not Martellos. They were built in the late 18th century, i.e., before the Martellos, and differ from them in a number of ways. One may think of them as precursors,[8] like the Genoese towers they resemble.
Lastly, Bréhon Tower, built in 1856, is an oval tower that represents the final evolution of the Martello tower.[38]
India[edit]
Although European in origin, a primitive form of Martello tower had existed in Punjab by the time it was conquered by the East India Company.[39] There is a Martello Tower that the Portuguese built at the southern tip of the island where the Arnala fort stands. The Portuguese are said to have built many of these towers, but Arnala's is the best surviving specimen.[40] After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British erected Martello towers at the British Residency in Hyderabad, which were demolished in 1954.[41] An earlier example of such is the one found in Pakur, a town in the state of Jharakhand. This tower was built in 1856 by Sir Martin with view to protect the British Raj from the Santhals. It was an important position for the British forces watching fighting the rebellion of the Santhals.[citation needed] This example is reported[by whom?] to still be in good condition, but decaying due to a lack of maintenance.
Indonesia[edit]
The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa caused a tsunami that damaged Menara Martello, which the Dutch East India Company built in 1850 on Bidadari Island (Pulau Bidadari), one of the Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu), as part of a set of fortifications that protected the approaches to Batavia. Photos suggest that Martello Menara was not a true Martello, but rather a circular fort. The tower was operational until 1878, when it became a storage site, and was abandoned in 1908. Bidadari Island was also known as Pulau Sakit (Sick Island) as it housed a leper colony during the 17th century. More recently, the island came to be called "Angel Island", to honour the leprosarium that had been there.
Italy[edit]
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, during the British "Protectorate" of Sicily after the escape of the Bourbons from Naples, Sicily began to build towers to resist an invasion by Napoleon's armies led by Joachim Murat. The new higher rate of fire of ships' guns led to the choice of the Martello tower as the model.
The Sicilian Martello towers were built around 1810. The estimate rests on the historical context and on the descriptions of the topographer W.H. Smyth, who carried out his research in 1814 and 1815. Of the seven towers built in Sicily, only four remain. One is the Mazzone Tower (or the British Fort) at Faro Point, Messina. The second is the Magnisi tower at Priolo Gargallo, Syracuse. The Italian Navy used this tower as an observation post during the Second World War. Third is the Cariddi tower at Ganzirri in Messina. Lastly, the fourth tower is situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the sea from where it can defend the Castello Maniace in Syracuse.[citation needed]
Jamaica[edit]
There is a Martello tower located at what was Fort Nugent. In 1709, the Spanish slave agent in Jamaica, James Castillo, built a fort in Harbour View, to guard his home against attack. An English Governor, George Nugent, later strengthened the fort to guard the eastern entrance of the city of Kingston Harbour. The tower was probably built between 1808 and 1811,[8] at a reported cost of £12,000.
Jersey[edit]
The British built eight true Martello towers in Jersey, three between 1808 and 1814, and five between 1834 and 1837, one of which, L'Etacq, the German occupation forces destroyed during World War II. The three original towers are:[8]
- Icho Tower (1811)
- Portelet Tower (1808)
- La Tour de Vinde (AKA Noirmont; 1808–1814)[42]
The four surviving, later towers are:[8]
- Lewis Tower (AKA St Ouen 1; 1835)
- Kempt Tower (AKA St Ouen 2; 1834)
- La Collette Tower – Absorbed into the 19th-century artificers' barracks and workshops
- Victoria Tower (1837)
In addition, there are a number of towers in Jersey (the Jersey Round Towers), that are frequently referred to as Martello towers, though they are not Martellos. They were built in the late 18th century, i.e., before the Martellos, and differ from them in a number of ways. One may think of them as precursors,[8] like the Genoese towers they resemble.
Malta[edit]
The British never built any true Martello Towers in Malta. However, Madliena Tower, which was one of thirteen De Redin towers built in Malta in 1658–1659, began to be used as if it was a Martello Tower and it is sometimes considered as such. Various modifications were made, including mounting a 64-pound rifled muzzle loading (RML) gun on the roof for coastal defence. From the late 19th century onwards it defended part of the Victoria Lines. The tower remained in use until World War II. It still stands today, despite having some minor modifications to its original structure, and it was recently restored.[43]
Mauritius[edit]
The British built five Martello Towers between 1832 and 1835 at Grand River North West (2), Black River (2), and Port Louis (1), of which three survive. One tower, named Cunningham Tower after Lieutenant-Colonel Cunningham, the commanding Royal Engineer, was constructed as part of Fort George at the northern side of the entrance to Port Louis harbour. Two towers were built at Grand River North West; on the south-west side of the river bay the tower was built at Pointe aux Sables whilst Fort Victoria was built covering the north-eastern flank. The remaining two were built to support existing batteries, which were also improved, at the mouth of the Black River; one to the north at La Preneuse and the other south of Grande-Rivière-Noire at Batterie de l'Harmonie. Cunningham Tower disappeared after 1914.[44] The Tower at Fort Victoria was last mentioned in 1880. In 1865, the Mauritius Almanac and Civil Service Register listed "Two Artillery Men, at 1s each per diem", for the towers at Fort George and Grand River.[45] The Friends of the Environment have restored one Martello tower near the La Preneuse public beach, in the Rive Noire/Black River district. The Friends operate it as a museum for visitors. The original entrance to the tower is raised above ground but a new entrance has been constructed at ground level. The other tower in Rive Noire/Black River district [L’Harmonie] still exists but has remained neglected for many years. The other existing tower is at Pointe aux Sables, Grand River North West.
Sierra Leone[edit]
A Martello tower was built on Tower Hill at Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1805 to defend the port from attacks by the Temne people. It was significantly modified in 1870 when it was truncated to allow the installation of a water tank to supply Government House (Fort Thornton) with water. The tower has now been incorporated into Sierra Leone's Parliament Buildings.[46]
South Africa[edit]
The British built three Martello towers in South Africa, one at Simon's Town Naval base near Cape Town, one at Cape Town, and the third at Fort Beaufort. The tower at Simon's Town and Cape Town were both built in 1795. The tower at Cape Town was demolished over 100 years ago, but the tower at Simon's Town now is sometimes claimed as the oldest Martello in the world. It is arguable as to whether one should properly call it a Martello Tower.[47]
That said, Vice Admiral George Elphinstone, who commanded the force that captured the colony and then served briefly as its governor, had served with the Mediterranean fleet off Corsica in 1794.[5] The British built the tower at Fort Beaufort in 1837, and it is probably the only example of an inland Martello tower.
Spain[edit]
During the last period of British occupation (1798–1802) of Menorca, Sir Charles Stuart, the then British governor, ordered Engineer Captain Robert D´Arcy to build some 12 Martello towers along the coast.[5] These, when added to the three Spanish towers already in place, gave Menorca 15 towers.[48]
The British built five towers to protect Mahón: Phillipet on Lazareto Island, Cala Taulera (St. Clair) and Los Freus (Erskine) on the peninsula of La Mola, Stuart's Tower, and a tower on the Punta de Sant Carlos, which the Spanish destroyed when they took regained possession of Menorca. To the northwest of Mahón the British built two more towers, Sa Torreta and Sa Mezquita.
One tower, the Princess Tower, or the Erskine Tower, was incorporated into the Fortress of Isabel II, built between 1850 and 1875. The tower was converted to a powder magazine, which led to its destruction in 1958, when lightning struck the tower. The explosion destroyed the tower, blowing out large sections of its walls.
The British erected Stuart's Tower in 1798 on Turks Hill or Hangman's Hill to the south of the port of Mahón at San Esteban or Saint Stephen's bay on the southern side of the Fortress of San Felipe. In 1756 and again in 1781, batteries on the hill had supported successful attacks on the Fortress. The tower was built both to secure the hill and protect the entrance to the bay. The tower's name was later changed to Torre d´en Penjat, or Hangman's Tower.
To protect the harbor of Fornells, the British built a tower on the rocky headland overlooking the harbor's mouth, and a small tower on the island of Sargantana. They complemented these two towers with two more small towers nearby, one at Sa Nitsa and one at Addaya.
Lastly, the British built one tower at Santandria to protect the old capital of Ciutadella.
In addition to the 12 towers that they built, the British made use of three towers that the Spanish had built earlier.[48] In 1781, Captain Francisco Fernandez de Angulo had built towers south of Port Mahon at Punta Prima and Alcufar, based on the design of those that the Spanish had built in Gando, Gran Canaria, in 1740. At Ciutadella the British used the St. Nicholas's Tower, built in 1690. The Treaty of Amiens returned Menorca to Spain in 1802. Around 1804, the Spanish built a tower at Punta Na Radona to protect the beach at Son Bou, Menorca. In 1808, Captain Lord Cochrane, commanding the 38-gun fifth-rate frigate HMS Imperieuse, sent ashore a landing party that destroyed the unarmed tower. (Frederick Marryat, later a naval captain and author, was serving as a midshipman aboard Imperieuse at the time.) (This fort has 17 walls)
There are also four towers on the island of Formentera,[49] and one on the nearby island of S'Empalmador (38°47′5.28″N 1°25′5.01″E / 38.7848000°N 1.4180583°E / 38.7848000; 1.4180583).
Another tower was erected by English troops stationed in the fortress of Cartagena, during the Peninsular War. The tower was erected in the center of 1799 fort, in mount St. Julian, dominating port and mouth. In the summer of 1812 English engineers destroyed the fort and erected a tower.
... the British are working on opening a path from the east coast to the post on Mount St. Julian, where they try to build a six-piece battery held in a tower 24 feet in diameter.
— Report of the Subtenant Navarro, March 10, 1813.
Is reduced to a well-built coast tower, but only mounts and is capable of a rotating gun... The tower contains two floors and the platform. The ground floor is for the warehouse and spare part. The main one for accommodation, and in this one is the door for ladder of hand, and two spans that, besides serving for ventilation, are arranged to receive small caliber guns... The platform mounts a rotating gun and has a small bench for the fire of rifle. Under the lower floor there is a cistern.
— Plano de la plaza de Cartagena, Tebar, Echevarria, Pajares, 1855
The later constructions that gave rise to the present fortress of San Julián is still in good condition[50] and is used as a base for telephone aerials & antennas. The interior, which is only accessible to technicians, is supposedly well preserved.
Saint Helena[edit]
There is a Martello tower at Saint Helena that was incorporated into High Knoll Fort. The tower was very similar in design to the tower at Simon's Town, with a diameter of about 45 ft (14 m) and a height of approximately 20 ft (6.1 m).[8]
Sri Lanka[edit]
Sri Lanka has one Martello tower, located at Hambantota on the south coast, which was restored in 1999.[51] This tower may have been involved in repelling a French attack though there is nothing more than circumstantial support for the notion. British engineers commenced work on three towers to protect Trincomalee but never completed them.[8]
United States[edit]
The United States government built several Martello towers at locations along the eastern seaboard. Two are at Key West, Florida; others were built at the harbours of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Charleston, South Carolina and New York City. Two more Martello towers stood at Tybee Island, Georgia and Bayou Dupre, Louisiana.[52]
Although the Americans copied the design from the towers the British erected in Canada, the American Martello towers differed in some significant respects from the British. The Martello tower built at Tybee Island, Georgia was constructed around 1815 utilizing wood and tabby, a common local building material at the time, instead of the brick or stone that the British towers used. Also unlike the British towers, the Tybee tower featured gun loops on the garrison floor that enabled muskets to be fired through the walls.[6] It was never tested in battle and by the time of the American Civil War was in a state of disrepair. Its unfamiliar design confused local writers, who often said that the Spanish had built the tower when Georgia was Spain's colony.[6]
The Key West towers, though the locals refer to them as Martellos, were square instead of round and had thin walls with long gun loops. In addition, a curtain wall of heavy guns encircled the Key West towers making them, effectively, keeps instead of standalone towers.
A Martello tower figures in the arms of the 41st Infantry Regiment of the United States Army.[53]
List of Martello towers outside Great Britain[edit]
| Country | Location | Tower name | Built | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Sydney | Fort Denison | 1856 | Museum, harbour light station. |
| Barbuda | Near Codrington | River Fort Martello Tower | ||
| Bermuda | Ferry Reach | 1823–1828 | Can be visited | |
| British Virgin Islands | Tortola | Fort Recovery | Private (hotel) | |
| Canada | Point Pleasant Park, Nova Scotia | Prince of Wales's Tower | 1796 | Open to public |
| Canada | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Duke of York's Tower | c.1798 | Lower levels still exist. Site partially boarded off, can be visited |
| Canada | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Duke of Clarence's Tower | c.1798 | Demolished prior to 1900 |
| Canada | Kingston, Ontario | Fort Frederick | 1846/7 | Museum |
| Canada | Kingston, Ontario | Murney Tower | 1846 | Museum |
| Canada | Kingston, Ontario | Shoal Tower | 1846 | Closed to Public |
| Canada | Kingston, Ontario | Cathcart Tower | 1846 | Closed to Public |
| Canada | Quebec City, Quebec | Tower #1 | 1808–1812 | Museum |
| Canada | Quebec City, Quebec | Tower #2 | 1808–1812 | Open for group activities through National Battlefields Commission |
| Canada | Quebec City, Quebec | Tower #3 | 1808–1812 | Destroyed |
| Canada | Quebec City, Quebec | Tower #4 | 1808–1812 | Closed to Public |
| Canada | Saint John, New Brunswick | Carleton Martello Tower | 1815 | Museum |
| Croatia | Korčula | Forteca Korčula (Fort Wellington) | 1813 | Deserted, accessible to hikers |
| India | Arnala Island | Hanumant Bastion | ca. 1530s[54] | Deserted and Dilapidated. |
| Ireland | Achill Island | Gabhla Fhranca | ca. 1803–1815 | Partially collapsed but accessible to hikers |
| Ireland | Aughinish | Aughinish Tower | 1811 | Private residence |
| Ireland | Banagher | Meelick Martello Tower | Private residence | |
| Ireland | Drogheda | Millmount Fort | c. 1808 | Extant |
| Ireland | Balbriggan | North No. 12 | 1804-5 [55] | Extant |
| Ireland | Skerries, Red Island | North No. 11 | 1804-5 [55] | Extant |
| Ireland | Skerries, Shenick Island | North No. 10 | 1804-5 [55] | Extant |
| Ireland | Drumanagh | North No. 9 | 1804-5 [55] | Extant |
| Ireland | Rush | North No. 8 | 1804-5 [55] | Extant |
| Ireland | Portrane, Tower Bay | North No. 7 | 1804-5 | Private residence |
| Ireland | Donabate, Balcarrick | North No. 6 | 1804-5 [55] | Extant |
| Ireland | Malahide, Robswall | North No. 5, Hicks Tower[55] | 1804-5 [55] | Private residence |
| Ireland | Portmarnock, Carrickhill | North No. 4 | 1804-5 [55] | Private residence |
| Ireland | Ireland's Eye | North No. 3 | 1804-5 [55] | Extant |
| Ireland | Howth, Harbour Rd. | North No. 2 | 1804-5 [55] | Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio |
| Ireland | Sutton South | North No. 1 | 1804-5 [55] | Private residence |
| Ireland | Sandymount | South No. 16 | 1804-5 | Extant |
| Ireland | Williamstown | South No. 15 | 1804-5 | Extant |
| Ireland | Seapoint | South No. 14 | 1804-5 | Restored. Exhibition on the history of Dublin's Martello Towers. Guided tours during the summer months |
| Ireland | Kingstown Harbour, West Pier | South No. 13 | 1804-5 | Tower & battery, both demolished 1836 during extension of Dublin & Kingstown Railway |
| Ireland | Dún Laoghaire, site of present-day Peoples Park | South No. 12 | 1804-5 | |
| Ireland | Sandycove | South No. 11, James Joyce's Martello tower | 1804-5 | James Joyce Tower and Museum |
| Ireland | Bulloch Harbour | South No. 10 | 1804-5 | Private residence |
| Ireland | Dalkey Island | South No. 9 | 1804-5 | Extant |
| Ireland | Killiney, south end of Strathmore Road | South No. 8 | 1804-5 | Site of battery, not tower |
| Ireland | Killiney, Tara Hill | South No. 7 | 1804-5 | Fully restored |
| Ireland | Killiney, beach | South No. 6, Enoch's Tower | 1804-5 | Private residence |
| Ireland | Shanganagh | South No. 5 | 1804-5 | Site of battery, not tower |
| Ireland | Shanganagh, Mahera Point | South No. 4 | 1804-5 | Lost to coastal erosion |
| Ireland | Bray, Corke Abbey | South No. 3 | 1804-5 | Lost to coastal erosion |
| Ireland | Bray harbour | South No. 2 | 1804-5 [56] | Private residence |
| Ireland | Bray beach | South No. 1 | 1804-5 | Demolished 1884, when Esplanade constructed [56] |
| Ireland | Ilnacullin | Tower and gardens open to public (access by boat from Glengarriff) | ||
| Ireland | Bere Island, Cloughland | |||
| Ireland | Bere Island, Ardagh | |||
| Ireland | Finavarra | Finavarra Tower | 1816 | Open to public |
| Ireland | Ringaskiddy, Cork Harbour | |||
| Ireland | Haulbowline Island, Cork Harbour | Museum, owned by Irish Navy | ||
| Ireland | Fota Island, Cork Harbour | Monning Tower | ||
| Ireland | Rossleague, Cobh | |||
| Ireland | Belvelly, Cobh | Private residence | ||
| Ireland | Lough Swilly | Macamish Tower | ||
| Ireland | Lough Foyle | Greencastle Tower | Extended to a Fort completed in 1812. Restaurant | |
| Ireland | Lough Foyle | Magilligan Tower | Restored | |
| Ireland | Loughshinny | |||
| Ireland | Rathmullan | |||
| Ireland | Ros a' Mhíl | |||
| Italy | Messina | Cariddi's Tower or Tower of Ganzirri | 1810? | Closed to public |
| Italy | Mazzone's Tower or Tower of British Fort | 1810? | ||
| Italy | Priolo Gargallo | Torre di Magnisi | 1810? | Can be visited |
| Italy | Syracuse | Castello Maniace | 1810? | Open to public |
| Jamaica | Kingston | Fort Nugent | 1808–11? | |
| Liberia | Monrovia | Fort Stockton | 1822 | since 1822, August under construction, later named as coast battery Fort Hill[57] |
| Malta | Madliena, Pembroke | Madliena Tower | 1658 | Intact, recently restored |
| Mauritius | Grand River North West | Pointe aux Sables | 1832–35 | abandoned but no fences, entrance still on second story |
| Mauritius | Grand River North West | Fort Victoria | 1832–35 | Last mentioned 1880 |
| Mauritius | Grande-Rivière-Noire | L'Harmonie | 1832–35 | Ruined (now a national monument) |
| Mauritius | Black River | La Preneuse | 1832–35 | Museum |
| Mauritius | Fort George, Port Louis | Cunningham Tower | 1832–35 | Disappeared after 1914. |
| Sierra Leone | Freetown | Tower Hill Martello Tower | 1805 | Part of Parliament Buildings |
| South Africa | Fort Beaufort | 1839–46 | ||
| South Africa | Simon's Town | 1795/6 | At the Naval Base. Houses a small museum. | |
| South Africa | Cape Town | Craig's Tower | 1795/6 | Demolished late 19th century |
| Sri Lanka | Hambantota | 1801–03 | ||
| Trinidad and Tobago | Port of Spain | Fort Picton | 1801 | Abandoned by 1810. |
| United States | Lake Borgne, Louisiana | Tower Dupre | 1830? | Hexagonal; originally built on shore, 150 ft (46 m) from water, near Bayou Dupre's entrance to Lake Borgne; private fishing camp; threatened by subsidence and tidal erosion[58] |
| United States | Charleston, South Carolina | |||
| United States | Key West, Florida | East tower is a museum; West tower converted to a botanical garden; both open to the public | ||
| United States | New York Harbor | Destroyed | ||
| United States | Portsmouth, New Hampshire | Walbach Tower | 1814 | Incorporated into Fort Constitution; Ruined[59] |
| United States | Tybee Island, Georgia | 1815 | It served as an office of the Georgia Telegraph and Telephone Company and finally as the post office for Fort Screven. In 1913, the building was damaged in a fire and it was finally dismantled the following year to clear the field of fire for the guns of Fort Screven.[60] |
See also[edit]
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Martello towers. |
- Blockhouse
- Eastbourne Redoubt
- Palmerston Forts
- Fortified tower
- Scottish Broch
Lists:
- List of castles
- List of fortifications
- List of forts
Notes, citations, and references[edit]
Notes
- ^ Bass-junk was a type of cable made of grass.[3] The Oxford English Dictionary reports that "bass" is a name "given elliptically to various articles made of this [fibre] or similar material; e.g. a mat, a hassock, a flat plaited bag or flexible basket."
Citations
- ^ Vigano (2001), pp. 41–57.
- ^ a b Abram (2003), p. 103.
- ^ The United Service Magazine, Volume 51, p.301.
- ^ "No. 13631". The London Gazette. 15 March 1794. p. 222.
- ^ a b c d e Sutcliffe (1973).
- ^ a b c d Ciucevich (2005), pp. 19–21.
- ^ Rooke (1857), p.68.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Clements (1998).
- ^ Mead (1948), pp. 205–17, 294–303.
- ^ Ward (1949), pp. 18–37.
- ^ "Holiday at Martello Tower in Aldeburgh, Suffolk - The Landmark Trust". www.landmarktrust.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013.
- ^ "Dymchurch Redoubt". Martello-towers.co.uk. 16 June 2009. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- ^ Daly (2007), p.34.
- ^ Glancey, Jonathan (20 December 2010). "Napoleon-proof your home: convert a Martello tower". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- ^ Millward (2007), 173–184.
- ^ "Listed buildings - Historic England". list.english-heritage.org.uk. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012.
- ^ "Geograph: Martello Towers". www.geograph.org.uk. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017.
- ^ "Leith Martello Tower". Gazetteer for Scotland. Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
- ^ "The Martello Tower". History of Leith. 26 May 2004. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
- ^ "Hackness Martello Tower and Battery". Visit Scotland. Archived from the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
- ^ "Gun Tower Museum". Pembroke Dock Gun Tower Museum Trust. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
- ^ "Tower No. 7". Photopol.com. 12 July 2008. Archived from the original on 26 December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- ^ Cn (1907). "The Martello Towers of Cork Harbour". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. XIII. Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. pp. 198–200.
- ^ "Rutland House Additional Images: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage". www.buildingsofireland.ie. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015.
- ^ Seapoint B.C. archives at Lexicon, Dun Laoghaire
- ^ Merrigan, Michael (May 2012). "A brief history of a dynamic and innovative campaigning organisation". Genealogical Society of Ireland. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ "Magilligan Martello Tower". discovernorthernireland.com. Discover Northern Ireland. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
- ^ "Beautiful Barbuda 2012". issuu. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016.
- ^ "Martello Towers Worldwide" by Bill Clements, Pen & Sword Military 2011 pp. 146-148
- ^ Harris (1988).
- ^ Saunders (1976).
- ^ "Prince of Wales Tower National Historic Site of Canada". Archived from the original on 10 February 2013.
- ^ "Public Archives of Nova Scotia C@P Site – The Royal Engineers in Halifax – Exhibit". Gov.ns.ca. Archived from the original on 3 December 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ "Fort Clarence". The Royal Engineers in Halifax. Public Archives of Nova Scotia. Archived from the original on 3 December 2007.
- ^ "Sherbrooke". Chebucto.ns.ca. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ "Kingston, Ontario (Canada)". www.crwflags.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014.
- ^ Clements (1998), p.83-90.
- ^ Clements (1998), pp. 133 & 135.
- ^ Parbury, Allen (1844). The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia. Vol II, 3rd Series. London: Parbury, Allen, and Company. p. 114.
- ^ Mendiratta, Sidh Losa. "Heritage of Portuguese Influence, Asia - entries". Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - ^ Khalidi, Omar (2009). A Guide to Architecture in Hyderabad, Deccan, India (PDF). Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. p. 115.
- ^ Grimsley (1988), p.43.
- ^ Spiteri, Stephen C. (11 August 2010). "Madliena Tower – Malta's 'Martello' Tower". MilitaryArchitecture.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
- ^ "Image details - Skeleton record plan, Fort George, Mauritius - The National Archives Image library". images.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ The Mauritius Almanac and Civil Service Register (1865; Harrison and Sons), p.23.
- ^ "National Tourist Board – Heritage Sites". Welcometosierraleone.org. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ Brock & Brock (1976), p.162.
- ^ a b Grundy (1991).
- ^ Clements, Bill; Clements, William H. (2011). Martello Towers Worldwide. Casemate Publishers. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-84884-535-0.
- ^ Guimaraens Igual, Guillermo (2007). "El último hálito de la fortificación abalartuada. El fuerte de San Julián de Cartagena (1)". Riunet: 285–311. doi:10.4995/Thesis/10251/2921. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ McCall (1999).
- ^ Angus Konstam, American Civil War Fortification: Coastal Stone Forts. Osprey Publishing, 2003
- ^ "41st Infantry Regiment". Tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Tha'na: places of interest. Government Central Press. 1882.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l NIAH Archived 12 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Dominican College Additional Images: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage". www.buildingsofireland.ie. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015.
- ^ Frederick Starr (1913), Liberia. Description, History, Problems (in German), Chicago, pp. 61, 251 als Digitalisat Archived 29 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Codman Parkerson, New Orleans, America's Most Fortified City. The Quest, 1990
- ^ "SeacoastNH.com – The Forgotten Walbach Tower". Seacoastnh.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ "davenporthousemuseum.org – Davenport House Museum". Davenport House Museum. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
References
- Abram, David (2003) The Rough Guide to Corsica Rough Guides.
- Bolton, J., Carey, T., Goodbody, R. & Clabby, G. (2012) The Martello Towers of Dublin. (Dublin: Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown & Fingal County Council).
- Brock, B.B. & Brock, B.G. (1976) Historical Simon's Town. (Cape Town). ISBN 0-86961-055-4
- Ciucevich, Robert A. (2005) Tybee Island: The Long Branch of the South (Arcadia Publishing).
- Clements, William H. (1998) Towers of Strength: Story of Martello Towers. (London: Pen & Sword). ISBN 978-0-85052-679-0.
- Daly, Gavin (2007). "English Smugglers, the Channel, and the Napoleonic Wars, 1800–1814". Journal of British Studies. 46 (1): 30–46. doi:10.1086/508397.
- Grimsley, E.J. (1988) The Historical Development of the Martello Tower in the Channel Islands. (Sarnian Publications). ISBN 978-0-9513868-0-4
- Grundy, Mark (1991). "The Martello Towers of Minorca". Fort. Fortress Study Group. 19: 22–58.
- Harris, Edward (1988). "The Martello Tower at Ferry Point, St George's Island, Bermuda". Mariner's Mirror. 74 (1): 131–139. doi:10.1080/00253359.1988.10656190.
- McCall, M. (1999). "The Martello Tower in Hambantota, Sri Lanka". Fort. Fortress Study Group. 27: 143–158.
- Mead, H.P. (1948). "The Martello Towers of England". Mariner's Mirror. 34 (3): 205–17 & 294–303. doi:10.1080/00253359.1948.10657527.
- Millward, J. (2007). "The East Coast Martello Towers". Fort. Fortress Study Group. 35: 173–184.
- Rooke, Octavius (1857) The Channel islands: pictorial, legendary and descriptive.
- Saunders, Ivan J. (1976) "A History of the Martello Towers in the Defence of British North America, 1796–1871", Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History #15, National Historic Parks and Sites Branch, Thorn Press Limited.
- Sutcliffe, Sheila (1973) Martello Towers. (Cranbury, NJ: Associated Universities Press).
- Vigano, M. (2001) Fort (Fortress Study Group) 29.
- Ward, S.G.P. (1949). "Defence Works of Britain, 1803–1805". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 27: 18–37.
External links[edit]
- Martello Towers Encyclopedia
- Martello Tower No.24 in Dymchurch, Kent
- YouTube video showing a 3D reconstruction of a Martello tower
- English Heritage Report into Martello Towers on the East Coast of England
- Location list and explanatory article of most Martello towers in the UK, with pictures
- Restoration of No.7 Tower, Killiney Bay
- Interactive Google Map of Killiney Bay defences
- Carleton Martello Tower National Historic Site of Canada
- English Heritage Martello towers definition and description
- The Dymchurch tower: English Heritage
- James Joyce Tower, Dun Laoghaire
- Note on Sir John Moore – pictures of the original tower at Mortella
- Mortella Point (Punta Mortella) in Corsica – the ancestor of Martello towers all over the world
- Restoration of an Irish Martello tower The Genie Gazette, Newsletter of the Genealogical Society of Ireland: Seapoint Martello Tower, County Dublin
- Eastbourne Redoubt Fortress Military Museum
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