Monument record ADB 013 - Martello Tower CC (No. 1), Slaughden

Slaughden Martello Tower CC (No. 1) (S1).
Built 1810-1812 by Royal Engineers as defence against Napoleonic invasion. Designed by Col. Twiss and Capt. Ford. Slaughden tower is larger than the rest of the chain (R1).
This tower is quatrefoil in plan and is surrounded by a 45 feet ditch. The outer wall of the ditch on the E has been denuded by the sea and a 90 feet section has been undermined and fallen, and another 20 feet section is ready to fall. This brick wall is 6 feet thick at the base and stands on a single layer of large unworked stones. It does not seem probable that the sea will flood the ditch. The bottom 8 feet of the tower is of battered stone, the remainder brick. On the top of the tower there is a modern brick quatrefoil addition with a flat roof. Above this there is a glass sided look-out room also with a flat roof. The tower was used as a residence shortly before the war and was later occupied by coast guards. It is now unoccupied (S1). Battery formerly to E.
Martello Tower of unusual quatrefoil design, comprising four concentric brick bastions surrounded by a dry moat. The building has now been restored and is now rented as holiday accomodation by the Landmark Trust. A third of the moat has been lost to coastal erosion (2007). During the Second World War the tower was used as a Coastal Defence/Chain Home Low radar station to monitor shipping and aircraft. The tower was fitted with a gantry for the aerial array, however this has since been removed.