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 |
Council Have Big Plans for the Wish Tower Area
In the late 1950s plans were drawn up to demolish the Wish Tower and build a sun lounge. The westerly section of the moat wall was removed. Following protests, the Tower was given a protected status which has become the “Scheduled Ancient Monument” designation it has today. 1960 saw the completion of the Wish Tower Cafe. The moat was filled in to about 1.5 metres above its original depth to make it level with the cafe grounds and new raised flower beds were added to the moat.
An area of the seaward side of the slope was removed and levelled and an archway cut through the moat wall to allow level access from the eastern part of the sea front. A 68-pound gun was placed in the moat.
Half of the cost of these works was met by Councillor Gilbert Foyle (founder of the famous large bookstore) and the cafe sun lounge was dedicated as a War Memorial.
Visitor Attractions Bring New Life to the Tower
In 1970 the Wish Tower reopened as “Tower 73: Invasion and Coastal Defence Museum”. The 68-pound gun was lifted back onto the roof by the Royal Engineers.
In 1990 the 68-pound cannon was, once again, removed from the roof of the tower and taken to the Redoubt – where it remains to this day.
An exhibition of the Tower’s history took place in 1993 and then in 1995 it reopened as a Puppet museum and this remained until about 2001.
You can still see remnants of the Tower’s use as a puppet museum today, such as this door in the basement which formed the entrance built during WWII.
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 |