A restored Napoleonic-era gun tower in Dymchurch, Kent, among the best-preserved Martello towers left standing
Open accessfree to visit at any reasonable time
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
Officially Tower 24, this is the only one of Kent’s Martello towers restored to look as it did when new, with the garrison’s quarters upstairs, stores below, and a 24-pounder gun up top. Built between 1805 and 1808 as part of a chain of small forts strung along England’s south-east coast, it was meant to help repel an invasion Napoleon’s France never launched, and it’s one of just 26 of the 74 towers built back then still standing. The tower stands right behind the sea wall, with Dymchurch beach in front of it and the King Charles III England Coast Path running along the top of the wall. The gun on the roof today is a real 24-pounder of the right period, though the tower’s actual wartime gun was removed in 1817. The tower has operated as a museum since 1969, cared for today, on English Heritage’s behalf, by the Friends of Martello24. You can see the tower from outside any time; getting inside means catching one of its limited open days.
