The Watch-House

This is a coastguard watch-house, built around 1823. It is constructed of brick with a slate roof and a brick stack. Originally a single-story open plan building, a second story was added to the eastern end to create a watch-tower. The eastern facade retains a triangular bay window at first floor level, supported by a dragon beam, which sits above a planked double door at ground floor level. This door provided access for the rocket-cart. A planked door is located on the southern facade, and a square window provides additional light to the watch-tower at first floor level. The original double door on the western elevation has been filled in with brick. A small musket gun port on the northern elevation, originally opposite the southern door, has also been filled in. A small coal store has been added to the east of the building.

Internally, the ground floor has been divided at the western end by a modern stud wall. The original wooden runners for the rocket-cart remain in the eastern part of the building. A staircase with a removable section below a small landing is located in the south-eastern corner, providing access to the first floor. A planked wooden cupboard is in the north-eastern corner.

At first floor level, the stairwell is surrounded by a rail with hexagonal knobs and can be closed by a trap door. The walls are partly lined with tongue-and-groove panelling. An original fireplace with a mantle shelf, incorporating brackets for fixing a telescope, is located on the northern wall. A musket rack is on the west wall, which is boarded to the ceiling. A small peep hole, which can be opened or closed by a sliding wooden panel, is positioned to the south of the musket rack.

The watch-house was built in the 1820s, during the consolidation of the preventative waterguard and the formation of the coastguard. A lease for the watch-house at Leiston is recorded from 1823, and the building is specifically mentioned in the 1840 tithe records. It remained in use until the 1980s and is now owned by Suffolk Coastal District Council. This watch-house is a particularly fine example, having remained largely unaltered and retaining a significant number of its original fixtures and fittings.