Dymchurch Martello Tower is a

Martello tower Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up ...

Dymchurch Dymchurch is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England. The village is located on the coast five miles (8 km) south-west of Hythe, and on the Romney Marsh. History The history of Dymchurch began with ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England. It stands immediately behind the sea wall. It has been designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

and a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The towers, ranging along the Kent and East Sussex shoreline, were built in the early years of the nineteenth century as part of a coastal defence programme against a threatened French invasion under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. The 24th of 75 such towers, it was placed to protect the gates of marsh

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

s with its counterpart Tower no 25 (which is now largely derelict). Tower 23 was restored externally in the early 1970sSheila Sutcliffe and is currently a private residence. Tower 24 was then restored using Tower 23 as a guide. In 1969, it became the first Martello tower to be opened to the public and remains as a museum of the Martello Towers, owned by English Heritage. It has a 24-pounder

muzzle-loading A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) design ...

cannon on the gun platform. Th
Friends of Martello24
act as custodians of the tower on behalf of English Heritage and manage its openings to the public, both on a regular basis and bespoke visits. The tower is open every Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday from 2 pm to 4 pm, Easter to October.

References

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External links

Dymchurch Martello Tower
– English Heritage
Dymchurch Martello Tower
– Romney Marsh website
Friends of Martello24
– Dymchurch Grade II listed buildings in Kent History museums in Kent English Heritage sites in Kent Military and war museums in England Martello towers