More information : (TQ 89867604) Grain Tower (NAT) (1)
Grain Tower situated where the Thames and Medway meet was originally constructed in the latter half of the 17th century. Rebuilt in 1860 of Portland stone it resembles the later Martello Towers, but the exterior was changed by brick additions to the main structure during the Second World War since when it has been disused. (2)
Grain Tower, Isle of Grain CP. Grade II. Artillery tower. Late 1840s early 1850s, (dated 1855 on door to west). (For full description see list). (3)
Additional bibliography. (4-7)
TQ 8986 7604. Grain Tower was built between 1848 and 1855, and there is no evidence for it replacing an earlier tower. It is one of the last examples of the British Gun Tower, the principal examples of which are the Martello Towers, and it can be regarded as the ultimate evolution of this design. It was designed to protect the entrance into the River Medway and thus the important dockyards at Sheerness and Chatham. By the time it was completed in 1855, however, advances in weapons technology along with the development of the almost impenetratable new iron-clad warships, had rendered the Tower, with its smooth-bore weaponry, almost obsolete. The smooth-bore guns were soon replaced with more up-to-date weapons: initially RMLs, and in 1910, two 4.7-inch QF guns, vital against the threat from torpedo boats, were moved from Wing Battery at Grain. During the Second World War these were replaced by a Twin 6-pounder gun with its attendant battery observation post. Also at this time a brick barrack block was erected to the west side of the Tower to house the men stationed there.
As a result of the artillery changes in Grain Tower, the interior has undergone many alterations, including the installation of a powered ammunition lift and the construction during the Second World War of a concrete platform to house the two searchlights needed for the Twin 6-pounder.
Access to the Tower was provided by a stone causeway from the shore. In 1864 the causeway ran roughly southeast towards the Tower (8b), but before 1889 it was replaced with the present one, running roughly due east from the shore. The present causeway is constructed from interlocking stone blocks laid between timber edging. Large sections, particularly at the exposed east end, have broken up.
The Tower was decommissioned in 1956 since which time it has remained out of use.
Grain Tower was surveyed by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England between August and December 1998 following a request from Kent County Council, and as part of a European project looking at similar sites in Kent, Nord-Pas de Calais and West Flanders. See archive report and plans. (8)
Grain Tower constructed in response to fears of a French invasion during the mid 19th century. Located on a tidal mudflat which projects into the Medway channel. A 3 storey roughly oval artillery tower brick built with walls faced in granite ashlar. Its design is similar to the Martello towers built along the south and east coasts in the early 19th century. These defenses were reused in the years leading up to World War I and during World War II, the tower being re-armed in 1940. Scheduled. (9)
Description and history of the tower and its armaments. (10)
19th century sea fort in good condition. No.1 gun, battery observation post and emplacements clearly visible. (11)
Martello coastal battery located at TQ 8987 7604. The battery opened in 1912. During the First World War it was armed with two 4.7-inch quick-firing Mk.III or IV guns. It was disarmed in 1929. The battery was recommissioned in 1939 for use during the Second World War, when it was armed with twin 6-pounder guns and functioned as an Anti-motor torpedo boat site. In 1944 the battery was downgraded to care and maintenance. (16-17)
The 19th century sea fort is in good condition with battery observation post and emplacements clearly visible. (18) |