Martello Tower and Brick Lined Moat is a Grade II listed building in the Tendring local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 July 1986. Military tower.

Martello Tower and Brick Lined Moat

WRENN ID
pale-tower-hyssop
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Tendring
Constituency
Clacton MP: Nigel Farage (RUK)
Country
England
Date first listed
4 July 1986
Type
Military tower
Address
Martello Tower and Brick Lined Moat, Marine Parade West
OS grid reference
TM 172 142
Coordinates
51.78513, 1.14894
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Martello Tower, now serving as a Coast Guard station, was built between 1808 and 1812. It is constructed from vari-coloured brick made at Grays, Essex, and features a stone parapet with rusticated stone dressings around four windows and a door located at half height. Unlike other defense towers in Clacton, this tower includes a moat, glacis, and outer battery. The brick-lined moat still exists, with walls approximately 7 metres tall and a base width of 8 metres. The construction took four years and cost around £5,000, but the site was deemed too unhealthy for the garrison, which was instead stationed at Weeley. Erosion from the sea has affected the battery.

Local climate

Martello Tower and Brick Lined Moat receives an average of 770 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 63% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 82% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 8 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 93% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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