Dymchurch Martello Tower

Dymchurch Martello Tower is a Martello tower in Dymchurch, Kent England. It stands immediately behind the sea wall.

Dymchurch Martello Tower
Tower 24
Location	High Street, Dymchurch
Coordinates	51°01′29″N 0°59′47″E
OS grid reference	TR10164 29252
Area	Kent
Built	1805
Owner	English Heritage
Scheduled monument
Official name	Martello tower no 24 at Dymchurch
Designated	9 October 1981
Reference no.	1014626
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Martello Tower No 24
Designated	23 April 1985
Reference no.	1061124
Dymchurch Martello Tower location in Kent

It has been designated by English Heritage as a scheduled monument[1] and a Grade II listed building.[2]

The towers, ranging along the Kent and East Sussex shoreline, were built in the early years of the nineteenth century as part of a coastal defence programme against a threatened French invasion under Napoleon. The 24th of 75 such towers, it was placed to protect the gates of marsh sluices with its counterpart Tower no 25 (which is now largely derelict).[3]

Tower 23 was restored externally in the early 1970s[4] and is currently a private residence. Tower 24 was then restored using Tower 23 as a guide. In 1969, it became the first Martello tower to be opened to the public and remains as a museum of the Martello Towers, owned by English Heritage.[5] It has a 24-pounder muzzle-loading cannon on the gun platform.

The Friends of Martello24 act as custodians of the tower on behalf of English Heritage and manage its openings to the public, both on a regular basis and bespoke visits. The tower is open every Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday from 2 pm to 4 pm, Easter to October.[5]