As part of the Rye Arts Festival, Peter Hibbs spoke about Martello Towers and how he came to have such an interest in them, on Friday, September 20 at the Discovery Centre.
Peter explains: “It was in 1987 that my father took me to The Crumbles (between Eastbourne and Pevensey Bay) to view the shingle expanse before construction of the Sovereign Harbour commenced.
“Martello Tower 64 (one of 74 towers built 1806-08 in Kent and Sussex to guard against the Napoleonic invasion scare) stood derelict above the high tide mark with its door open, inviting the few people who troubled themselves to venture this far off the beaten track to have a look inside.
“Climbing a rickety wooden ladder up to the first floor staircase built into the wall, we made it up to the top of the tower. The gun platform had been converted into a large pillbox with the addition of a concrete roof in anticipation of another invasion scare in 1940.
“Several things grasped my imagination that day; not just the incredible architectural skill of the original builders, but also the refortification of the tower 130 years after its construction. This triggered not only a fascination for the Napoleonic defences of Kent and Sussex, but also of the Second World War anti-invasion defences.
“Sketches I made of the tower in 1987 proved useful nearly 40 years later when I built a 3D computer model of a Martello Tower for my Rye Arts Festival talk!”
Barry Yates commented on the Rye Harbour History Group’s event on the following day.
“Three members of the Rye Harbour History Group presented three very different aspects of our local history to a full house at the Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Discovery Centre on Saturday.
“Angie Perkins described The Coast Blockade at Rye Harbour in the 19th century recounting the experience of a naval officer. David Dennis described the great town of Old Winchelsea and when and how it was washed away by the storms. Roy Brigden described the various lifeboats operating from Rye Harbour, and especially the Mary Stanford Lifeboat disaster of 1928.”
The Rye Harbour History Group meets 10-12:30 every third Saturday of the month at the Discovery Centre.
Image Credits: Peter Hibbs , Barry Yates .