The Storm Tower

The Storm Tower was designed by George Wightwick for Sir Thomas Dyke Acland in 1835 as a coastguard watchtower, refuge and signalling point. Due to the threat of coastal erosion the building was demolished, re-sited and rebuilt in 1881 and 2023-24.

MATERIALS: the tower is constructed from a yellow elvan from quarries at Trerice, also known as porphyry or ‘Trerice stone’. C21 stone repairs in Whitton Fell Yorkshire sandstone. Internal brick skin with random stone rubble above. Slate floor. C21 steel roof structure on concrete ring beam, with zinc sheet covering. C21 concrete base and plinth.

PLAN: octagonal, approximately 5m across by 7m tall.

EXTERIOR: the Storm Tower is constructed of roughly-dressed snecked yellow elvan stone with dressed elvan stone quoins, with C21 lime mortar. It stands on a plinth of snecked elvan stone with a granite-slab top rising to a stone base around the tower’s walls. On the east (east-north-east) side are two granite ashlar steps up to the entrance portico which has plain pilasters on granite pedestals, with capitals to an entablature and pediment; the stone used here is slightly different and weathered and may have been introduced in 1881. On five sides of the tower, at ground-floor level, is a rectangular slit opening with an elvan stone cill and dressings. At the top of the tower is a frieze carved in sans-serif with the cardinal and ordinal points of the compass; ‘NORTH’ faces approximately north-north-east. Above this a C21 ogee-moulded sandstone cornice rises to a low, pyramidal roof surmounted by an iron cross on a moulded base. The roof structure and covering are C21.

The tower is surrounded by C21 granite slabs and kerbs forming an octagonal paved and stepped area, and the floor around the tower’s plinth is set with black and white sea pebbles forming the cross of St Piran.

INTERIOR: two further granite ashlar steps lead into the tower, which has a slate-slab floor. There is no door to the tower, but its timber architrave survives. The interior is a single double-height space. The five slit openings and two internal recesses (north-east and south-east) have red-brick dressings and segmental-headed relieving arches (some bricks C21 replacements) whilst the walls above and between the openings and within the recesses are uncoursed rubble stone. The openings are unglazed but retain evidence of glazing and pintle hinge. Within the deep reveal of each opening is a dressed-granite seat. At the top of the tower is a C21 concrete ring beam which supports the exposed C21 steel-frame roof structure.

Apart from the roof and plinth, the Storm Tower was reconstructed using as much of the historic (1835 and 1881) fabric as possible, and therefore only principal material interventions introduced in the rebuilding are dated as C21.