Chapters
| 1794-1808: Design Inspiration & Construction | 1808-1872: Early uses of the Tower | 1873-1945: Ownership changes & WW2 | 1950-2012: Protests, Puppets, & Café | 2013-Present: Wish Tower Friends Take Over |
Coastguard & smuggling
The Martello Towers were designed to garrison up to 24 men each, housed in the middle floor.
By the time construction had finished on the Wish Tower, however, the threat of invasion had largely passed and so they were never used against Napoleon’s army.
Smuggling, however, was an issue the tower was used to help tackle. From 1812, the Wish Tower was manned by the East Sussex Volunteer Corps, and the Coastal Blockade and Coastguard.
The Coastguard at this time was not the same as our modern search and rescue organisation – it was a defensive guard, principally concerned with the prevention of smuggling. There was a particular risk of smugglers using the area around the Wish Tower because Shomer Dyke (a small watercourse) ran from the Saffrons closer to the town, and smugglers could row up this to land contraband on the beach.
In April 1824, a blockade-man died near the Wish Tower when he fell off the cliff in thick fog. In 1833, there was a battle between smugglers and the Coastguard – one officer was killed and three were badly wounded.
Families in the Wish Tower
Over the years, a number of families have lived in the Wish Tower. The first recorded birth found was of John Boyce Roberts, born in the Wish Tower in 1837. He lived there with his parents and four siblings. His father was a Coastguard and he went on to be a Customs Officer at Newhaven Harbour.
Census records from 1841 and 1851 show the Wish Tower as still occupied by the Coastguard.
By 1860, the Tower was occupied by Sergeant George Smith of the Royal Artillery. He remained stationed there or at the Redoubt for the next 10 years, and it is said that 10 of his 11 children were born inside either the Wish Tower, in tower 64 (further east) or in the Redoubt Fortress.
Renewed threat & new artillery
In 1830 some Martello Towers (but not The Wish Tower) were given newer, larger guns. They were 32-pounders rather than the 24-pounders, and could fire cannon balls further. They were considered necessary amidst renewed fears of a new French invasion, which never came.
In 1860, a new type of gun – the Armstrong Rifling gun – was tested on Tower 71. This was further east, at Langney Point, and already at risk of being reclaimed by the sea. Three guns – an 82-pounder, a 40-pounder, and a 7-inch Howitzer – were mounted on St Anthony’s Hill (where tower 68 was situated), and opened fire. So impressive was the Martello Tower’s design and the strong central pillar, that it withstood a total of 72 shots to destroy it.
Chapters
| 1794-1808: Design Inspiration & Construction | 1808-1872: Early uses of the Tower | 1873-1945: Ownership changes & WW2 | 1950-2012: Protests, Puppets, & Café | 2013-Present: Wish Tower Friends Take Over |