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Old Fort Road, IP11 2EF

Coastwatch Lookout.

A Martello Tower, currently used as a coast guard lookout, can be seen in the background.

Martello towers are small defensive forts built during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards. They stand up to 40 feet (12m) high and have two floors, commonly housing a garrison comprising one officer and 15 to 25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy artillery piece which was mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse a 360° arc. With the introduction of powerful rifled artillery they became obsolete but many have survived, sometimes converted into private dwellings, housing a museum or used by the coastguard, such as this one. Many are preserved as historic monuments.

Flush Bracket OSBM 2072 Felixstowe Martello Tower on W face.

The Felixstowe National Coastwatch lookout is situated in Martello Tower P between the town and Landguard Fort. The tower was formerly a Coastguard lookout which has been taken over by the National Coastwatch, a voluntary organisation set up in 1994 to restore a visual watch along UK shores after many small Coastguard stations had been closed. http://www.coastwatch-felixstowe.co.uk/

This Martello Tower at South Felixstowe is used by the National Coastwatch Institution. The station is manned by volunteers who assist HM Coastguard and the rescue services by maintaining a visual watch along the coastline. The visual lookout is situated 45ft above sea level. As well as locating people and vessels in difficulty volunteers help monitor and record local weather conditions. Each station is responsible for its own funding and the training of watchkeepers. Volunteers are all ages and come from many different walks of life. They are trained to look out for sea and shore users in trouble and must know how to deal with an emergency.

This Martello tower, on the southern part of Felixstowe sea front, is now used as a coastguard lookout station. The car is one of the hundreds allowed onto the front at the annual gathering by custom car fans.

Now used as a coastguard lookout, this Martello tower is one of three surviving at Felixstowe, the others being at the Old Felixstowe end. I'm sure there would have been more towards the centre of the front but I guess they were demolished because the land was valuable for something else, or maybe the sea has taken them. The Aldeburgh one (the most northerly) has lost part of its moat and one at Bawdsey is threatened by the sea. Despite their bulk they can be demolished, as witnessed by the foundations in the gardens of Bawdsey Manor. In the foreground we see a very smart beach hut.

Martello towers are small defensive forts built during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards. They stand up to 40 feet (12m) high and have two floors, commonly housing a garrison comprising one officer and 15 to 25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy artillery piece which was mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse a 360° arc. With the introduction of powerful rifled artillery they became obsolete but many have survived, sometimes converted into private dwellings, housing a museum or used by the coastguard, such as this one. Many are preserved as historic monuments.