Tower 38 was the last in the line of low-level towers stretching across Pett Level, and was situated at the end of the extension to the Royal Military Canal at Cliff End, near Hastings. It was used by the Coast Guard, and Boatman Charles Russel, wife Sarah and sons George, Charles, James and William are listed as occupants at the time of the 1851 census. The wife of another Coast Guard, Jane Monger, and her son Alonso, are listed as visitors.
The tower was destroyed on 27 April 1872, shortly after Tower 35, as part of the experiment to determine whether the newly-invented guncotton was more effective than gunpowder.
After Tower 35 had been blown up and left in ruins by 800lbs of gunpowder, the 3 charges of guncotton, totalling 200lbs, in Tower 38 were then detonated by electric current at a quarter of a mile distance.
It produced less smoke, but proved far more devastating. Tower 38 was shattered into small pieces with a charge that totalled a quarter of that of gunpowder. The second explosion had been much sharper than the first, and had shattered the tower and spread the fragments laterally, as opposed to vertically.
Two illustrations of one of the Towers (probably 35) were drawn and published in the May 11 edition of "The Graphic", showing the tower one minute before and one minute after the explosion. To see the tower being blown up, go to the Tower 35 page!
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| Tower 37 | Tower 39 |