99-667: A detailed diagram of the line can be found at South Eastern Main Line diagram The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England , UK , one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent , going via Sevenoaks , Tonbridge , Ashford and Folkestone to Dover . The other routes are the Chatham Main Line which runs along the north Kent coast to Ramsgate or Dover via Chatham and High Speed 1 which runs through
198-403: A casemate on the first floor, which was divided into several rooms and had fireplaces built into the walls for cooking and heating. The officer and men lived in separate rooms of almost equal size. A well or cistern within the fort supplied the garrison with water. An internal drainage system linked to the roof enabled rainwater to refill the cistern. During the first half of the 19th century,
297-472: A Captain Ford. The northernmost tower at Aldeburgh is of quatrefoil design, i.e. four in one. and there are two towers at Clacton-on-Sea, one near the town and the other to the west near the local Golf Course (see the pictures on the right). Included in the scheme were three much larger circular forts or redoubts that were constructed at Harwich , Dymchurch and Eastbourne ; they acted as supply depots for
396-574: A concrete lighthouse at Maughers Beach. Another Martello tower stood on Georges Island . Four Martello towers were built at Kingston, Ontario to defend its harbour and naval shipyards in response to the Oregon Crisis . Their builders intended for the towers to serve as redoubts against marine attacks. Murney Tower and the tower at Point Frederick (at the Royal Military College of Canada ) are now museums that are open during
495-657: A medical student but later to become famous in Irish history as a surgeon, politician and writer. In Ulysses , the fictional character Stephen Dedalus lives in the tower with a medical student, Malachi "Buck" Mulligan, whom Joyce based on Gogarty. The James Joyce Tower , as the tower is now known, houses a museum dedicated to Joyce. A number of other Martello towers are extant nearby at Bullock Harbour , Dalkey Island , Williamstown , Seapoint and Sandymount and Martello towers feature in many literary works set in Dublin . During
594-467: A new site just west of the original. The LCDR built their line to Dover , which opened in 1861, providing a route to London that was 16 miles (26 km) shorter that the SER line via Redhill . In May 1862, authorisation was obtained to construct a new railway from St Johns , London to Tonbridge, which reduced the distance from London to Tonbridge and points east by about 13 miles (21 km). Construction of
693-521: A pivot (sometimes a converted cannon) for a cannon that would traverse a 360° arc. (Some towers were designed to carry more than one gun, with each having a more limited arc of fire.) The walls had narrow slits for defensive musket fire. The interior of a classic British Martello tower consisted of two storeys (sometimes with an additional basement). The ground floor served as the magazine and storerooms, where ammunition, water, stores and provisions were kept. The garrison of 24 men and one officer lived in
792-485: A redoubt and a powder magazine. Restored, it is now a National Heritage site. The Duke of York Martello Tower was built in 1798 at York Redoubt . Its lower level still stands, though it has been boarded up for conservation purposes. The Duke of Clarence Martello Tower stood on the Dartmouth shore. Sherbrooke Martello Tower stood opposite York Redoubt on McNabs Island ; it was demolished in 1944 and replaced by
891-553: A reduced service was operated from 5 May, a skeleton service having operated in the interim. A new signal box was built, coming into service on 16 December. British Railways started to implement its 1955 Modernisation Plan . This extended electrification to the Kent Coast in two stages, with the South Eastern Main Line being subject of "Kent Coast Electrification - Stage 2". As part of Stage 1, Chislehurst Jn
990-590: A round fortress, part of a larger Genoese defence system, at Mortella (Myrtle) Point in Corsica . The designer was Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino (el Fratin), and the tower was completed in 1565. Since the 15th century, the Corsicans had built similar towers at strategic points around the island to protect coastal villages and shipping from North African pirates . The towers stood one or two storeys high and measured 12–15 m (39–49 ft) in diameter, with
1089-431: A short section of the line through Ashford is also electrified at 25 kV AC . Over the years, a number of accidents have occurred at various locations on the South Eastern Main Line. Stopping services run from Charing Cross or Cannon Street to Orpington or Sevenoaks , with other services on the route running fast over this section. Beyond Sevenoaks, stopping services originating from Tunbridge Wells , just off
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#17327838196781188-400: A single doorway five metres off the ground that one could access only via a ladder that the occupants could remove. Local villagers paid for the towers and watchmen, known as torregiani , who would signal the approach of unexpected ships by lighting a beacon fire on the tower's roof. The fire would alert the local defence forces to the threat. Although the pirate threat subsequently dwindled,
1287-467: A single heavy artillery piece, mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse, and hence fire, over a complete 360° circle. A few towers had moats or other batteries and works attached for extra defence. The Martello towers were used during the first half of the 19th century, but became obsolete with the introduction of powerful rifled artillery. Many have survived to the present day, often preserved as historic monuments. Martello towers were inspired by
1386-600: A single political entity, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , from 1801 to 1922, spanning the time during which most Martello towers were erected (the initial scheme started under the previous entities of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland ). Consequently, the Martello towers of Great Britain and Ireland can be considered to have been part of a single defensive system, designed to protect
1485-413: Is a route-map template for a UK railway. Note: Per consensus and convention, most route-map templates are used in a single article in order to separate their complex and fragile syntax from normal article wikitext. See these discussions for more information. The South Eastern Main Line is a major trunk railway in the south east of England , linking London with Dover . This is a detailed diagram of
1584-653: Is available. Three Martello towers were built in Scotland, the first on offshore rocks facing the Firth of Forth in 1807–1809 to defend Leith Harbour. The Tally Toor now lies land-locked within the eastern breakwater. Two towers were then built at Hackness and Crockness , near Longhope in Orkney. They were constructed between 1813 and 1815 to guard against the threat of French and American raiders attacking convoys assembling offshore. Historic Scotland now operates
1683-645: Is located in a residential area on the north side of the Upper City overlooking Lower Town. It is now used as an escape game tourist activity by The National Battlefields Commission. Halifax, Nova Scotia , had five towers, the oldest of which, the Prince of Wales Tower located in Point Pleasant Park , is the oldest Martello-style tower in North America. It was built in 1796 and was used as
1782-564: Is surrounded by a dry moat. The tower's purpose was to defend the Ferry Reach Channel and so impede any attack on St. George's Island from the main island of Bermuda, and attacking vessels from slipping through Castle Harbour and the channel between Ferry Reach and Coney Island . The main channel by which vessels reach most parts of Bermuda west of St. George's, including the Royal Naval Dockyard , on Ireland ,
1881-603: Is the highest building on Barbuda and serves as a daymark from land or sea. Today the fort is a popular location for weddings. The last Martello tower built in the British Empire is said to be that which composes a part of the larger Fort Denison , built on a small island, Pinchgut Island, in Sydney Harbour , New South Wales . It is the only Martello tower to have been built in Australia. Fortification of
1980-668: The Canterbury West line (to Ramsgate and beyond), High Speed 1 and Marshlink (to Hastings). As of December 2022 there are four off-peak "Kent Coast" services between London and Tonbridge: From Ashford International to Dover Priory there is a further 1tph formed by a HS1 service from St Pancras. There are a further four "Metro" services on the suburban part of the line: Services are formed using SE Trains ’s fleet of Class 375 and Class 376 Electrostar s and older Class 465 and Class 466 Networker units. Previously Class 377 or Class 455s operated by Southern ran on
2079-564: The G class. In 1900, Harry Wainwright introduced the C class 0-6-0s for freight, and D and E class 4-4-0s for express passenger work. The latter two classes were capable of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). The track having been upgraded to enable running at such speed. Richard Maunsell introduced the River class 2-6-4Ts in 1917 for express passenger trains. Post-war , the D and E classes were rebuilt with superheaters . The rebuilt locomotives were designated as classes D1 and E1. With
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#17327838196782178-532: The Great Sound , Hamilton Harbour , The Flatts , Murray's Anchorage , and other important sites, carries them around the east ends of St. David's and St. George's Islands, where the coastal artillery was always most heavily concentrated. Two more Martello towers to protect the Dockyard were planned, but never built. The tower was restored in 2008 and an 18-pounder cannon brought from Fort St. Catherine
2277-599: The Plains of Abraham , overlooking the St Lawrence River . It has been restored as a museum and can be visited during the summer months. Tower no. 2 stands close nearby and currently hosts activities for private groups. Tower No. 3 was demolished in 1905 after being used as a residence. The McKenzie Memorial Building of Jeffery Hale Hospital now occupies the site. The fourth surviving Martello Tower in Quebec, No. 4,
2376-518: The 1980s, Bono owned the Martello tower in Bray , County Wicklow . Martello Tower South No.7, on Tara Hill, Killiney Bay, is unique, as is its location as an enfilading tower . The Tower is privately owned and has been fully restored, to include a proofed, working King George 3rd Blomefield 18-pounder cannon mounted on a traversing carriage on the crown of the Tower. There is a three-gun battery below
2475-564: The British government embarked on a large-scale programme of building Martello towers to guard the British and Irish coastlines. Around 140 were built, mostly along the south coast of England . Governments in Australia , Canada , Menorca , South Africa and Sri Lanka also constructed towers. The construction of Martello towers abroad continued until as late as the 1870s but was discontinued after it became clear that they could not withstand
2574-671: The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), services ran over the South Eastern Main Line to Petts Wood, leaving at Chislehurst junction onto the Chatham Main Line . Freight services for the Channel Tunnel were routed via the Maidstone East Line . The CTRL was built alongside the line to Ashford where is joined in to gain access to the existing station. The CTRL diverges west of Ashford to pursue a separate route to its new London terminus ( St Pancras ). Thus
2673-558: The Genoese built a newer generation of circular towers (the Genoese towers ), that warded off later foreign raids. On 7 February 1794 as part of the siege of Saint-Florent , two British warships, HMS Fortitude (74 guns) and Juno (32 guns), unsuccessfully attacked the tower at Mortella Point; the tower eventually fell to land-based forces under Sir John Moore after two days of heavy fighting. The British forces were helped by
2772-571: The Hackness tower as a museum. A small number of Martello towers were also built in Wales, of which few survive. The most notable surviving towers are the two located in Pembroke Dock , which were built between 1848 and 1857 to protect the naval base there. Today, one of the towers is privately owned. The other is located on the town's riverfront, next to the old entrance of the naval base. It
2871-705: The Irish Naval Service HQ) and at Belvelly and Rossleague on the Great Island (near Cobh ). There are also Martello towers at Little Island and Rostellan , though these are no longer intact. The British built two Martello towers on the Hook Peninsula to protect the fort near Duncannon , County Wexford and the entrance to Waterford Harbour. There is a third tower on the headland at Baginbun Bay in County Wexford. One of
2970-549: The London and Brighton's line at Reigate Junction , which the London and Brighton opened to traffic on 12 July 1841. Leaving the Brighton line, the railway took a direct route to Folkestone ; plans to serve Maidstone were abandoned. A branch line was to be built from Maidstone Road instead. The line was almost direct between Redhill and Ashford, not deviating by more than 0.5 miles (800 m) in either direction. The engineer
3069-606: The Napoleonic Wars. It is square rather than round, unlike the traditional Martello tower. This tower is known locally as the Gabhla Fhranca ("French Tower") or the Napoleonic Tower. It is marked on an 1838 Ordnance Survey chart and denoted "Signal Tower", suggesting it was used with a series of other stations for communication. The tower's position offers a view of the sea both to the north and south of
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3168-542: The SECR obtained powers to electrify their lines. At a meeting in 1913, SECR chairman H. Cosmo Bonsor said that the time was not right for the company to incur the heavy expenditure of electrification. The outbreak of war meant the postponement of any plans to electrify suburban lines. With the passing of the Trades Facilities Act 1922, the SECR proposed to electrify a number of lines in three stages. The SEML
3267-630: The SEML to see electric trains was Orpington, which was the terminus for electric trains from Victoria via Herne Hill and Shortlands . Public services commenced on 12 July 1925. In preparation for Stage 2 of the electrification, the lines between Charing Cross and Metropolitan Junction were remodelled. Semaphore signals were replaced by colour light signals , with a new temporary manual signal box provided at Charing Cross. The lines serving Cannon Street were electrified. Electric trains were due to start on 1 December 1925, but power supply problems meant that
3366-433: The SER were to make its junction further south. The London and Brighton were to construct the line, and the SER were to purchase it at cost on completion. Both companies would operate trains over the route. The London and Brighton took advantage of this to ensure that gradients would be kept as shallow as possible, even at the expense of substantial earthworks and a mile-long tunnel at Merstham . The SER main line diverged from
3465-542: The United Kingdom. This new line meant that the old main line from Redhill was relegated to branch line status. In 1872, construction began on a branch line from Sandling to Sandgate , near Folkestone. Proposals to extend this, or to build a line from Shorncliffe which would have passed under the Foord Gap Viaduct, to Folkestone Harbour, were defeated by local opposition. Much of the land required
3564-693: The abolition of 32 signal boxes, with eleven more reduced to occasional use and one being manned during morning peak hours only. Electric services on the full length of the SEML began on 12 June 1961. This was accompanied by a voltage upgrade to 750 V DC across the whole the Southern Region. Completion of the scheme would allow the phasing out of steam from the Eastern area of the Southern Region of British Railways . Folkestone East closed to passengers on 6 September 1965. In December 1969, it
3663-487: The abolition of seven more manual boxes. The increased services provided by electric trains meant that there were fewer paths available for freight trains to reach the marshalling yard at Hither Green. Therefore, the Greenwich Park Branch Line , which had closed on 1 January 1917 and thereafter was only used by freight trains as far as Brockley Lane , was brought back into use on 30 June 1929 as far as
3762-705: The centre of Kent to the coast at Folkestone where it joins the Channel Tunnel . The line was built by the South Eastern Railway (SER), which was in competition with the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), hence the duplication of routes in Kent. The original main line was given sanction by Act of Parliament in 1836. The route first authorised was from London Bridge via Oxted , Tunbridge , Maidstone , Ashford and Folkestone . The route
3861-511: The claims made in Barbudan tourism publications that this was the World's first, and is its oldest, Martello tower, built in 1745. The tower is located on the south coast of the island, a mile or so from River Landing and some seven miles south of the island's main village of Codrington . The tower is 56 feet high, has a raised gun platform and extremely thick walls, but is missing the floors. It
3960-563: The cliff face. An estimated 1,000,000 tons of chalk was dislodged. As the chalk in Shakespeare's Cliff was not as strong as that of Abbot's Cliff, two single line tunnels were bored. East of Shakespeare Tunnel , a low trestle bridge was built across the beach to gain access to Dover. The line between Folkestone and Dover opened on 7 February 1844. In 1843, permission was obtained to build the branch line from Paddock Wood to Maidstone . It opened on 25 September 1844. In May 1844, permission
4059-481: The coastlines of the two main islands of the British Isles as a whole. This is most clearly visible on the south and east coasts of England and the east coast of Ireland , where chains of Martello towers were built. Elsewhere in the world, individual Martello towers were erected to provide point defence of strategic locations. Between 1804 and 1812 the British authorities built a chain of towers based on
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4158-457: The design. But they got the name wrong, misspelling "Mortella" as "Martello" (which means "hammer" in Italian). When the British withdrew from Corsica in 1803, with great difficulty they blew up the tower , leaving it in an unusable state. The towers were about 40 feet (12 m) high with walls about 8 feet (2.4 m) thick. In some towers the rooms were not built in the centre, but more to
4257-490: The development of Folkestone as a port whilst little was done to improve things in what was the premier of the Cinque Ports . As far back as the reign of Elizabeth I , there had been plans to build a breakwater at Dover. In 1836, a parliamentary inquiry was set up, and eventually construction of a breakwater was begun in 1847. The Admiralty Pier was to be wide enough for two railway lines to be accommodated. In use by 1864,
4356-561: The earlier Shorncliffe & Sandgate station. Cheriton Arch opened on 1 September 1884. The new Shorncliffe Camp opened a month later, on 1 October. The LCDR reached Ashford in 1884 from Swanley Junction via Maidstone . They built their own station, Ashford West . It was not until 1 November 1891 that a connection was made between the two lines. On 1 October 1892, the Cranbrook and Paddock Wood Railway opened their branch from Paddock Wood to Hope Mill, for Goudhurst and Lamberhurst . It
4455-474: The effect of thirty years of evolution on the design of coastal fortifications, between the 1790s and 1822. The earlier Ferry Island Fort nearby had multiple guns arrayed to cover the water westward, while the Martello tower used a single gun with 360° traverse to cover all of the surrounding area. Like its predecessors in the UK, it has an ovoid footprint with the thickness of its walls ranging from nine to 11 feet. It
4554-467: The existing fortifications at Fort Henry received two thin towers between 1845 and 1848. However, these are dry ditch defence towers, rather than true Martello towers.) A common characteristic of Canadian Martello towers was removable cone-shaped roofs to protect against snow. Today, many of the restored towers have permanent roof additions – for ease of upkeep, not historical accuracy. Quebec City originally had four Martello towers. Tower No. 1 stands on
4653-424: The fact that the tower's two 18-pounder guns fired seaward, while only the one 6-pounder could fire landward. Vice-Admiral Lord Hood reported: The Fortitude and Juno were ordered against it, without making the least impression by a continued cannonade of two hours and a half; and the former ship being very much damaged by red-hot shot, both hauled off. The walls of the Tower were of a prodigious thickness, and
4752-527: The first such tower constructed in the Caribbean, was built in 1745 by Sir William Codrington , and was designed by Commodore Charles Knowles RN, later Admiral Sir Charles Knowles Bt, who was then commanding the Leeward Islands station. It is attached to what remains of the pre-existing fort. The tower mounted three cannon, and in all the fort mounted ten cannons, none of which remain. The tower
4851-474: The grounds that they had not built on land they had previously purchased. Thus the Lord Warden Hotel was built, opening in 1851. Through the 1850s, Folkestone saw more traffic than Dover, although the latter port was growing at a faster rate. In 1857, a new direct connection was put in at Tunbridge Junction, enabling trains to reach Hastings without reversing. The station at Tonbridge was rebuilt on
4950-463: The harbour by bus, with mail and freight going by rail. A swing bridge was constructed in 1847, and Folkestone Harbour station opened in 1850. Ships could berth at any state of the tide. The SER started a cross-channel steamship service to Boulogne. At Dover, the River Dour had formed a shingle spit and thus a small harbour which required constant dredging to keep open. Cross-Channel traffic
5049-400: The introduction of electric trains from Charing Cross and Cannon Street to Orpington was postponed until 28 February 1926. Cannon Street was closed from 5–28 June 1926 for alterations to the track layout and platforms. On 27 June, new four aspect colour light signals were brought into use between Cannon Street, Charing Cross and Borough Market Junction. New power signal boxes came into service at
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#17327838196785148-615: The introduction of electric trains in the late 1920s, a large number of three-car electric multiple units and two-car trailer sets were built. Some were built new by the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company with trailers by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company , but the majority were converted from ex-SECR, LBSC or LSWR carriages. The former LBSC 6.7kV AC electric multiple units were also converted. After World War II , many of
5247-475: The island and is therefore well-suited for that purpose. By the 1830s the tower was described as a "watch-house of the coast-guard." The British originally constructed River Fort Martello Tower in the early 19th century, on the site of a previous fort (presumed to have been built by the Spanish) to guard nearby River Landing, which was Barbuda 's original quay. Confusion with the previous fort presumably explains
5346-486: The island began in 1841 but was not completed. The construction had begun following an 1839 night-time incursion into Sydney Harbour by two American warships. Concern with the threat of foreign attack had caused the government to review the harbour's inner defences, which were found to be inadequate, and the establishment of a fort was recommended to help protect Sydney Harbour from attack by foreign vessels. Construction resumed in 1855 to provide Sydney with protection against
5445-400: The landside, leaving the walls thicker on seaside. These were cases where an attack with a cannon from the landside was thought very unlikely. Entry was by ladder to a door about 10 feet (3.0 m) from the base above which was a machicolated (slotted) platform which allowed for downward fire on attackers. The flat roof or terreplein had a high parapet and a raised platform in the centre with
5544-654: The line between the London terminus and London Bridge. The major rail depots, visible near Hither Green , are the Hither Green Traction Maintenance Depot (TMD) and the nearby Grove Park Depot and Sidings . Picturesque and unfamiliar sights (to visitors) on the line are oast houses , traditional farm buildings used for drying hops , whose conical roofs are tipped by distinctive cowls . 51°10′21″N 0°32′9″E / 51.17250°N 0.53583°E / 51.17250; 0.53583 South Eastern Main Line diagram This
5643-422: The line was worked by steam locomotives . Early locomotive classes that worked the line include the "Little Mail", and "Mail" class 2-2-2s . By the 1860s the speed limit on the line was 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). In those days, shingle was used for ballast. This was fine for the speeds and train weights then in use, but became less satisfactory as train speeds and weights increased. The use of shingle ballast
5742-679: The line. Martello Tower Martello towers , sometimes known simply as Martellos , are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts . They stand up to 40 feet (12 m) high (with two floors) and typically had a garrison of one officer and 15–25 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
5841-510: The main line, cover the stations with other services on the route running fast over this section At Tonbridge services from the original main route – now the rural Redhill–Tonbridge line – join from Redhill , while the main line to Hastings via Tunbridge Wells diverges. At Paddock Wood the Medway Valley line diverges. At Ashford the Maidstone East Line (from Swanley) and High Speed 1 joins, while several lines diverge:
5940-526: The majority of the 459 locomotives in the six classes. The SER and LCDR agreed in 1898 to form a working arrangement. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) came into being on 1 January 1899. The new company was short of locomotives and was glad to acquire five 4-4-0s that the Great North of Scotland Railway had ordered from Hurst, Nelson & Co Ltd , Glasgow but which subsequently had become surplus to their requirements. These locomotives became
6039-470: The most interesting Martello towers is Meelick Martello Tower at Clonahenoge , County Offaly , guarding the Shannon river crossing to Meelick, County Galway . As this tower supports three guns (unlike the normal Martello tower which is circular on plan and carries only one gun), it is cam shaped on plan. Currently a rampant growth of ivy covers the tower. The tower at Seapoint , County Dublin , which
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#17327838196786138-523: The new generation of rifled artillery weapons. The French built similar towers along their own coastline that they used as platforms for communication by optical telegraphs (using the Chappe Telegraph ). The United States government also built a number of Martello towers along the east coast of the US that copied the British design with some modifications. Great Britain and Ireland were united as
6237-487: The original Mortella tower to defend the south and east coast of England , Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey to guard against possible invasion from France , then under the rule of Napoleon I . A total of 103 Martello towers were built in England, set at regular intervals along the coast from Seaford , Sussex , to Aldeburgh , Suffolk . Most were constructed under the direction of General William Twiss (1745–1827) and
6336-494: The parapet, where there were two eighteen-pounders, was lined with bass junk, five feet from the walls, and filled up with sand; and although it was cannonaded from the Height for two days, within 150 yards, and appeared in a very shattered state, the enemy still held out; but a few hot shot setting fire to the bass, made them call for quarter. The number of men in the Tower were 33; only two were wounded, and those mortally. Late in
6435-524: The pier was completed in 1871. Another problem was a lack of decent hotel accommodation in Dover. The Harbour Commissioners had sold the SER a parcel of land on which the station was built. The SER wanted to build the hotel at a position where it would serve both cross-channel and local traffic. They approached the Harbour Commissioners for permission to buy the desired site, but were refused on
6534-417: The point at which it crossed the SEML, a new spur being provided to give access to Hither Green. The reopened section of line was also electrified and provided with four aspect colour light signalling. In 1934, it was announced that the electrification of the SEML would be extended to Sevenoaks, including the loops at Chislehurst Jn. Electric services from Sevenoaks began on 6 January 1935. In February 1936, it
6633-471: The previous year, the tower's French defenders had abandoned it after HMS Lowestoffe (32 guns) had fired two broadsides at it. The British removed the guns to arm a small vessel; consequently, the French were easily able to dislodge the garrison of Corsican patriots that had replaced them. Still, the British were impressed by the effectiveness of the tower when properly supplied and defended, and copied
6732-509: The re-use of their masonry. The sea washed thirty away and the military destroyed four in experiments to test the effectiveness of the new rifled artillery. During the Second World War , some Martello towers returned to military service as observation platforms and firing platforms for anti-aircraft artillery . Forty-seven Martello towers have survived in England, a few of which have been restored and transformed into museums (e.g.,
6831-455: The smaller towers as well as being powerful fortifications in their own right. The effectiveness of Britain's Martello towers was never actually tested in combat against a Napoleonic invasion fleet. They were, however, effective in hindering smuggling. After the threat had passed, the Martello towers in England met a variety of fates. The Coastguard took over many to aid in the fight against smuggling. Fifteen towers were demolished to enable
6930-549: The south coast of Galway Bay in the townlands of Finavarra and Aughinish . There is also an extant Martello tower located near the settlement of Magilligan Point in County Londonderry , built between 1812 and 1871 to defend against a possible French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars ; it is now a visitor attraction. A Martello-like tower was built on Achill Island , according to local memory during
7029-409: The south coast. On the east coast, concentrated mainly around Dublin Bay, twenty-six towers were in line of sight of each other, providing the ability to communicate with one another, or warn of any incoming attacks. Possibly the most famous is the Martello tower in Sandycove , near Dún Laoghaire , in which James Joyce lived for a few days. Joyce shared the tower with Oliver St. John Gogarty , then
7128-651: The state of the tide, not to a fixed timetable. This was a factor in a serious accident at Staplehurst on 9 June 1865. The development of Dover Harbour was largely out of SER's hands. The harbour itself was under the control of the Harbour Commissioners, who were deputies of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports . Other land that might be developed was in the hands of the Admiralty. Dover Corporation had no influence over either body. They were forced to watch
7227-628: The threat of a naval attack by the Russians during the Crimean War of the 1850s. However, construction was completed only in 1857, well after the war had ended. Fort Denison is well preserved and is now a popular tourist attraction. There is a Martello tower located at Ferry Reach in St George's Parish . The tower is the third fortification on the site. Major Thomas Blanshard built it of Bermuda limestone between 1822 and 1823. The tower shows
7326-399: The three-coach units were reformed as four-car units by the addition of an ex-LSWR 10-compartment carriage. Some units gained a brand new carriage. Other units were formed from various carriages that were part of units that had been damaged by accidents or enemy action. From 1946 to 1950, a number of units were built at Eastleigh Works . The units collectively were designated 4SUB . In 1903,
7425-716: The tower, with a glacis . There is also a coach house, artillery store, tool shed, and gunner's cottage, with resident gunner and gunpowder store. The battery, while restored, remains to be armed and the coach house and artillery store still require some restoration. On the north side of Dublin, one can find Martello towers in Balbriggan , Shenick Island and Red Island at Skerries , Drumanagh Fort , Rush , Tower Bay in Portrane , Donabate , Malahide (Hicks tower owned by Tony Quinn ), Portmarnock , Ireland's Eye , Howth , and Sutton . There were seven Martello towers in
7524-469: The towers at St Osyth and Seaford ), visitor centres, and galleries (such as Jaywick Martello Tower ). Some are privately owned or are private residences, The remainder are derelict. A survey of the East Coast towers in 2007 found of the 17 remaining, most were in a reasonable condition. Many remaining Martello Towers are now Listed Buildings . A fuller list of British towers, with photographs,
7623-416: The tunnels to allow ordinary stock to work through them. In 1954, Charing Cross, and to a lesser extent London Bridge, were remodelled to enable them to handle 10-coach trains on the suburban network. Cannon Street station was remodelled in 1955. On 5 April 1957, a fire destroyed the signal box at Cannon Street and severely affected the operation of trains. Following the construction of a temporary signal box,
7722-541: The tunnels was well supervised by the SER, for it had been discovered by then that the contractors who had built the tunnels on the Hastings line had skimped on the construction by using an insufficient number of rings of bricks to line the tunnels. Rectification resulted in a restricted loading gauge on that line, a situation that was to last until 1986. This "cut-off" line, 24 miles (39 km) in length, reached Chislehurst & Bickley Park on 1 July 1865. This station
7821-599: The two termini, but Metropolitan Junction remained a manually-worked box, although it was provided with a new 60-lever frame. With the introduction of the new service on 28 June, a new station was opened at Petts Wood . On 30 June 1929, four-aspect colour light signals were introduced between New Cross and Hither Green . New power signal boxes were provided at St Johns and Parks Bridge Jn, enabling seven manual boxes to be abolished. On 1 December 1929, four-aspect colour light signals were introduced between Spa Road and New Cross. A new power box at North Kent East Junction allowed
7920-583: The vicinity of Cork Harbour of which five are extant. During the 19th century Fenian uprising , the famous Captain Mackey briefly captured and held the Monning Martello tower near Fota Island in Cork Harbour ; this tower is believed to have been the only Martello tower ever captured, other than the original. The other Cork Harbour towers are at Ringaskiddy , Haulbowline Island (now part of
8019-551: Was Sir William Cubitt . To facilitate fast running, Tunbridge , Maidstone Road and Ashford stations were built with through roads. Headcorn station was to be rebuilt on a similar plan in 1924. Construction began in November 1837 from Reigate Junction eastwards, and in both directions from Tunbridge. The line from London Bridge to Tunbridge opened on 26 May 1842. The line between Tonbridge and Ashford opened on 1 December 1842. No major engineering works were needed until Folkestone
8118-453: Was a factor in a serious accident at Sevenoaks in 1927. In the 1870s, James Stirling introduced a number of new classes: the B and F class 4-4-0s for express passenger work; the O class 0-6-0s for freight; and the A class 4-4-0s and Q class 0-4-4Ts for local passenger work. The R class 0-6-0Ts were built to perform banking duties on the branch from Folkestone Harbour to Folkestone Junction. Classes F, O and Q accounted for
8217-507: Was announced that all electric multiple units built before 1939 were to be withdrawn by 1972. In 1972, work began on rebuilding and resignalling London Bridge, with a new power signal box built at London Bridge . The scheme cost £23.5 million and was completed in December 1978. The line was largely left untouched, until the arrival of the Channel Tunnel at Cheriton, near Folkestone. Prior to construction of High Speed 1 , also known as
8316-646: Was announced that the SR intended to extend electrification of the SEML to Tonbridge, as part of a scheme to electrify the Hastings line. In February 1937, it was announced that this part of a wider electrification scheme would be completed in January 1939. However, in February 1938, it was announced that the Hastings electrification had been abandoned due to the cost of having to either build dedicated rolling stock or rebore
8415-498: Was converted into a small museum that focused on the local history of the dock and its defences. The museum has now shut down because of water influx. Recently Pembrokeshire County Council has decided to put the tower up for sale. About fifty Martello towers were built around the Irish coastline, especially along the east coast, from Millmount (Drogheda), to Bray , around Dublin Bay (29 installations) but also around Cork Harbour on
8514-449: Was extended to Hawkhurst on 4 September 1893. In 1905, the Kent and East Sussex Railway extended their line from Tenterden Town to Headcorn. A junction was built just east of the station. In 1910, work began on the construction of Dover Marine station, groundwork for which was to take three years to complete. The station opened on 2 January 1915 for ambulance trains . From the outset,
8613-527: Was gained to build a railway from Ashford to the Isle of Thanet , serving both Margate and Ramsgate. The line opened as far as Canterbury on 6 February 1846. In 1845, permission was obtained to build a branch line to Tunbridge Wells . This line opened on 19 September 1845, and was extended to Hastings , East Sussex in 1852. Also in that year, permission was obtained to build a railway from Ashford to Hastings, which opened on 13 February 1851. Tunbridge station
8712-598: Was mounted on top. The site is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday in the summer and in the winter by appointment only, by calling the Parks Department. It is part of the Bermuda Railway Trail. When the British rebuilt Fort Recovery on the west end of Tortola they added a Martello tower. Nine of the fourteen Martello towers built in Canada still survive. (In addition,
8811-434: Was of a different character, and was found to be unstable. Cubitt sought the advice of Lieutenant Hutchinson, Royal Engineers , who had experience in using dynamite in the clearing of the wreck of HMS Royal George in 1840. It was decided to blow the cliff away over a distance of 500 ft (150 m). On 18 January 1843, a total of 18,500 lb (8,400 kg) of gunpowder was used in three charges to blow away
8910-530: Was operated by Admiralty ships to Calais. Neither French port was connected by railway at the time. The SER partly financed the construction of the Boulogne & Amiens Railway , which opened in 1848. Calais was reached by rail in that year. Larger and larger ships were built for the cross-Channel service; these could use Folkestone Harbour only at high tide in the 1860s whilst the pier was extended. Trains connecting with cross-Channel ships thus ran according to
9009-625: Was owned by the Earl of Radnor , who was opposed to the schemes. In 1881, powers were obtained to build the Elham Valley Railway . It opened between Canterbury and Shorncliffe in 1889, stopping the LCDR from building its rival scheme, to which there was much opposition amongst the residents of Folkestone. The line opened in 1889. On the main line, two stations were built west of Folkestone: Cheriton Arch and Shorncliffe Camp , which replaced
9108-699: Was reached, where a 100 ft (30 m) high viaduct was needed to cross the Foord Gap. A temporary station was provided at Folkestone, which opened on 28 June 1843. With the completion of the viaduct, Folkestone station opened on 18 December 1843. East of Folkestone, a hard gault ridge was bored through by the Martello Tunnel, which took its name from a nearby Martello Tower . Between Folkestone and Dover, there were three headlands, Abbott's Cliff, Round Down Cliff and Shakespeare's Cliff. The first and last were of sound chalk, but Round Down Cliff's chalk
9207-486: Was rebuilt to allow an increase of speed on the connecting lines from 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). Stage 2 extended electrification along the remainder of the SEML to Dover. Ashford, Shorncliffe and Folkestone Central stations were rebuilt. Colour light signalling was installed throughout, with new signal boxes being built at Hither Green, Chislehurst Junction, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone Junction. This allowed
9306-639: Was renamed Tunbridge Junction on 1 February 1852. Both Dover and Folkestone provided access to the English Channel , and thus to the French ports of Calais and Boulogne . At Folkestone, the Pent Brook stream that ran through the Foord Gap had built up a spit of shingle, which acted as a breakwater and provided an anchorage. The SER built a steeply-graded branch line to the harbour, with a reversal required to reach it. It opened to freight in 1843. Passengers were transferred from Folkestone station to
9405-421: Was replaced with a new one 600 yards (550 m) further south, which opened on 2 March 1868 when the line was extended to Orpington and Sevenoaks . The line between Sevenoaks and Tonbridge opened to freight in February 1868, and to passengers on 1 May 1868. Sevenoaks Tunnel took five years to build, from 1863 to 1868, It is 3,493 yards (3,194 m) long. On opening, it was the fifth longest railway tunnel in
9504-598: Was sought in 1922 to build an electricity generating station at Charlton, London . This was refused by the Electricity Commissioners, who insisted that the company bought electricity from an existing supply company. Objections to this by the SECR were not entertained. On 1 January 1923, the SECR became part of the Southern Railway (SR). The SR decided that the electrification system was to be 660 V DC third rail . The first station on
9603-867: Was the property of Blackrock Urban District Council, was formerly the clubhouse of the Seapoint Boat Club from 1916 to 1931, and was subsequently the headquarters of the Genealogical Society of Ireland (GSI). The GSI vacated the tower when it found that the atmosphere was not conducive to the preservation of records. The restored tower at Ilnacullin is a feature of an island garden in Glengarriff , County Cork . Several other towers are still extant, including one at Rathmullan in County Donegal and two in County Clare on
9702-425: Was to be partly electrified as follows: Charing Cross and Cannon Street to Orpington as part of Stage 1; Orpington to Tonbridge as part of Stage 2, which also included the electrification of the former SEML between Redhill and Tonbridge. Both stages only covered the working of local passenger trains on the lines that were electrified. Stage 3 was to extend the working to through passenger trains and freight. Permission
9801-567: Was to make use of the existing London and Croydon Railway and London and Greenwich Railway companies' tracks. The SER did not have much spare capital. As a cost-cutting measure, authorisation was secured in 1837 to make the junction with the London and Croydon Railway at Norwood, Surrey . instead of at Corbett's Lane . However, the London and Brighton Railway was authorised to build from Norwood southwards in 1847. Parliament suggested that further savings could be made by avoiding having lines running in parallel valleys for 12 miles (19 km) if
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