41 THE WISH TOWER

Known as 'The Wish Tower', No.73 is easily the most well-known (and documented) of all the south coast Martellos, its name coming from the 'wish', 'wash' or marshland nearby, fed by a stream known as Shomer Dyke. Twiss himself first referred to it as the "Whish Tower" or "Wish Tower" in some of his early progress reports. A shingle bank separated the wish from the sea. Sited on a natural hill overlooking the surrounding marsh, the Wish Tower has been the subject of many prints and postcards of Eastbourne over the years. A house on the hill was demolished and the hill enlarged with the spoil excavated from the moat. The tower was probably built by John Smith, and, unlike the other surviving local towers, appears to have been entirely built with the distinctive yellow London bricks. The work was overseen by a Major Vidler, who at the time, was well known in East Bourne (as Eastbourne was then called). It is thought that the tower was manned by the East Sussex Volunteer Corps from Eastbourne, with a regular officer and about 8 men garrisoning the tower at any one time between 1808-12. The Volunteer Corps was disbanded in 1817.

This page last updated on 23/12/2007 16:56:21.