Introduction
This is the first in a series of blogs about Eastbourne’s Wish Tower by local enthusiast Judy Smith
As an Eastbourne resident with a keen interest in social history, I recently began volunteering at the Wish Tower. Before getting involved I knew a bit about the Tower and its history, as I am sure is the case for many residents.
I knew that it is a Martello Tower, built approximately 220 years ago as part of the sea defence system constructed in response to the imminent threat of invasion by Napoleon, an invasion which ultimately never happened.
As a Kentish Maid, or Maid of Kent, I can never remember, I knew it is one of many such towers constructed along the south east coast. I even visited the Wish Tower back in the 1980s whilst in Eastbourne on holiday.
But there was a lot I didn’t know. Recently, I have been delving into archive newspaper articles and adverts, and have uncovered a fascinating story about the many different schemes, proposals and ideas that have been suggested over the years for the Tower and for the land on which it sits, a prime location indeed.
Some of these ideas came to fruition, but many did not. What I have discovered is that, as well as the many different schemes spanning several decades of the twentieth century, there was divided opinion about the Tower itself, heatedly debated within the pages of the local press. It is this side of the Tower’s history that I aim to shine a light on.
Napoleon didn’t invade…then what? Smugglers and a museum
After all the effort and expense that had gone into building the Martello Towers, their intended use became almost immediately redundant. In Eastbourne, our Martello Tower 73, locally named as the Wish Tower, was put to use in the fight to combat smugglers, and was lived in by coastguards and their families during much of the nineteenth century.
Once the Tower had been decommissioned in 1873, it became the responsibility of Eastbourne Local Board. They leased it out to Harry Hollobon, who lived there with his wife and a grandson. Harry set up a museum inside the Tower, which included stuffed birds, curios, and his collection of stones, gathered from the beach and then cut and polished by Harry. He also ran a lapidary business, selling his stones all over the world. After twelve years in the Tower, Harry died there in 1898, followed shortly by his wife, who died three months later. They were well respected, with visitors apparently making it a duty to pay them a visit. Harry’s family would continue the business until the 1930s.
During the Hollobon’s time in the Tower, speculation about the building and the slopes on which it sits began to emerge in the press. With Eastbourne now a successful resort, schemes dated back to at least 1905, when a proposal to erect sun shelters against the Wish Tower wall with moveable blinds of a suitable cover was being discussed.
The inter-war years: a bloodless battle
Shortly after World War One in 1919, the Council issued a Wish Tower Scheme to try and encourage more visitors to the area. Already, the number of bathing machines and bathing tents had been increased, much to the annoyance of some. The new scheme, proposed by the Borough Surveyor, was to remove the Wish Tower completely and build a music garden.
One local resident was furious about this plan, protesting about rubbishy concert party noise, which would put off the desirable class of visitor. Many opposed the removal of the Tower which for some had sentimental value. However, some felt it should go. A member of the public wrote a letter in 1924 describing the Tower as an ugly, and neither use nor ornament, suggesting it should be removed entirely and replaced with a bandstand and shelter.
By 1925, when the council had a fortress they didn’t know what to do with, a “bloodless battle was raging furiously”. Some members of the public wanted a bathing pool instead of the proposed music garden.
In March 1939, Eastbourne Mayor Alderman Rush proposed that the site should become a solarium, using the building “occupied by” the Martello Tower as chalets. Loss of the beach had reduced the number of bathing tents available and led to revenue losses, so the idea was to increase income for the town.
By the summer of 1939, plans had been developed to transform the area into a sun lounge and café. It was reported in the press that the Tower might be demolished. Plans prepared by the Borough Surveyor were approved by the Entertainments Committee, and approval was then to be sought from the Chatworth Estates. As late as August, a light-hearted poem about the proposal to remove the Tower and replace it with the sun lounge and café was being printed in the press, ending with the lines,
“Let them take away the Wish Tower,
But – I hope they’ll leave the grass.”
World War Two was of course to begin a month later, during which the Tower was home to the Coastal Defence Battery and then the Home Guard.
Post-war: ideas flourish
With the war over, attention turned once more to the future of the Wish Tower and its surrounding area. By July 1946, the council had approved a scheme that would cost £75,000. Involving the excavation of the site, and the building of a modern café, a bathing facility with dressing rooms, and sun garden, it was largely welcomed by The Ratepayers Association (all funding would be through local rates) with the exception that they suggested adding a pavilion, which could be either opened up or made weatherproof. A somewhat cynical article in August 1946 noted that as the bandstand had taken so long to build, this scheme might take until 1971 to be completed. Generally though, the scheme seemed to meet with local approval.
However! Things all changed again in the 1950s, as debate about the Tower and surrounding area reached fever pitch. Local opinion varied immensely: some, such as the Eastbourne Conservative Women’s Tea Club, felt the Tower was unattractive and that a solarium was a preferable use of the space. The Mayor L W Pyle invited people to make their own suggestions about the future of the Wish Tower and Redoubt in 1954, as both were in a very sorry condition and, according to the mayor, “of no historic value”.
In February 1955, the Council agreed in principle to erect a Winter Garden type facility on the Wish Tower site, providing a concert hall venue and conference centre. An early supporter of this scheme was Ald. S M Caffyn. Then, on seeing the plans, he felt that such a building would be too big for the Eastbourne parades. He suggested the pre-war plan to build a café and sun lounge was preferrable. He also recommended that the Tower should be left as it was, and the café and sun lounge built around it.
Ald. Miss Parker disagreed, arguing the Tower, which was in an appalling condition, should be replaced by the beautiful new building. The Eastbourne Branch of the National Council of Women came out in fervent favour of keeping the Tower, saying it garnered interest and affection amongst locals and visitors alike, and that its removal would be an irreparable loss to the town.
Letters to the press were numerous. On the one hand, people said that it would be an act of vandalism to destroy the Wish Tower, that it meant something to local people and that it had historical interest, while on the other hand, people were saying the new building would provide deserving beauty to the spot, and God forbid the Tower should become a museum.
In October 1955, a model of the proposed new concert hall went on display for two weeks. The £350,000 plan included the hall, and incorporated the previous scheme for a sun lounge and café.
Reactions were predictably mixed, and included comments ranging from, “It will spoil the character of the sea front”, to “I think it’s an excellent idea”. It was thought too large, too small, too modern, and not modern enough. The main objections were that it would spoil the sea front, not be used in the colder months, and cause traffic chaos. Those in favour liked the idea of progress, a new facility, and replacing the dilapidated Wish Tower.
One person went as far as penning a response from the Tower itself, arguing that the Tower still had a role to play in Eastbourne. Those who wanted the Tower preserved and the sea front not developed into a hall, prevailed; in November 1955, plans for the hall on the Wish Tower site were officially rejected.
By the end of the 1950s, it had been decided that the concert hall would be situated in Devonshire Park, which is indeed what happened, with the Congress Theatre being built between 1961 and 1963. The problem remained though of what was to be done on the Wish Tower site.
The public were asked once again what they thought should happen to the site. Ideas were plentiful and ranged from an open air art venue to a skating rink, and from a planetarium to a library. Not surprisingly, the idea of a sun lounge and café re-emerged. Plans for the café and sun lounge had been put together in July 1956, and it was this plan that was eventually approved.
Consequently, in 1958, the Tower was yet again faced with the prospect of demolition, at least in part, to make way. Two other proposals, which would have left the Tower intact, had been rejected. “Historical hysteria” ensued with Miss Parker once more involved. She called the Tower a “dirty, untidy heap of bricks”. Councillor G A Rainey agreed, declaring that the “hideous thing is a blot on the beautiful front”. Miss Parker added she hoped the question would not provoke people to write in. I think she was being a little naïve, and may have even fuelled more responses!
A “Hands off the Wish Tower” movement was backed by hundreds of lovers of Eastbourne. By the end of 1959, all plans to demolish, remove, or even alter the Wish Tower had been abandoned. The construction of the sun lounge and café was to go ahead and only part of the moat wall was to be destroyed. This, finally, is what happened, and the Wish Tower Café opened in 1961. Public anxiety remained an issue, and at one point in 1960, Mr Paul Harris at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce had to allay fears that the site would become a venue for noisy music and wild orgies.
1970s to 1990s: relative stability
The contract to build the café and sun lounge included some work on the Wish Tower, such as rendering the outer wall. Work commenced, and with the addition of gardens, the area started to look more appealing. The photo below from 1960 illustrates how much the improvements were needed.
A proposal to turn the Wish Tower into a museum had first been put forward in 1960 by S G Bradford at a meeting of Eastbourne and District Chamber of Commerce. The Town Council discussed the plan in 1962, with Mr Bradford encouraging them not to shelve the idea.
By March 1970, restoration was in full swing, and in May, the Tower opened as a museum called Tower 73: Invasion and Coastal Defence Museum. It was an immediate success with locals and tourists alike, with over 4,000 visitors in the first month. This success continued and the Tower museum remained open through the 1970s and 80s.
In 1993, the Tower hosted an exhibition about its history, and then in 1995, it was put to a very different use, becoming a Puppet Museum, which remained open until the beginning of the twenty-first century.
The Wish Tower Friends: a hopeful future
Concern loomed again for the future of the building, and so a group of local enthusiasts got together to form The Wish Tower Friends, who set about clearing out and preparing the building over the next couple of years. The Friends were granted a two year lease in 2013, and the Tower opened to the public once again.
The Friends, all volunteers, still operate the Tower, which is regularly open during the late Spring and Summer months, and at other times by appointment e.g. for school groups. The Tower is now Eastbourne’s only open heritage site and is now rightfully accepted and respected as an important part of the town’s history.
It is free to visit, although donations are encouraged for the much needed ongoing repair work. Inside, there are information boards about the Tower’s long and varied history, and many original features remain.
The Tower’s knowledgeable and friendly volunteers will try to answer any questions to you have, and your reward for climbing up the original stone steps to the roof is to enjoy arguably one of the best views in the town.
If the flag is flying, that means the Tower is open. And if you are able to make a donation, you will help ensure that Tower is maintained and can remain open to be enjoyed by generations to become. We do hope to see you soon.
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