This low-level tower has survived whilst its neighbours in both directions have been washed away,despite being in a precarious position in 1873. It stands boarded up on the shingle at Norman's Bay and has mostly been unoccupied since the Second World War.
Along with Tower 54, it supported the gun battery situated between them at Rockhouse Bank. In 1820, the tower was fitted with a semaphore machine to enable messages to be sent, and was known locally as the 'Semaphore Tower.' The other towers also fitted with machines were numbers 31 between Bexhill and Hastings, 27 at Dymchurch, and number 4 at Folkestone.
On January 4, 1819, Blockade man John Aston was on duty near the tower, and at about 4 a.m.went to investigate a vessel he had spotted coming close to the shore. He was subsequently attacked by smugglers, but four other officers came to his aid, and despite attacks with sticks and stones being made against them, managed to seize the boat and the smuggled spirits.
The tower was later used by a Mr. A.T.M. Johnson in connection with experiments with a system of wireless telegraphy which he had invented. Having been a professor of music, Johnson's invention revolved around the tuning device he had developed which consisted of a metallic reed. The reed was the subject of a patent and Johnson subsequently formed a company in 1905 and applied to the Postmaster General for a licence. He did this in conjunction with an Eastbourne solicitor, Mr. Walter J. Wenham, son of Alderman J.T. Wenham who owned Tower 55, and was responsible for the destruction of Towers 59, 68 and possibly 63. The syndicate conducted all their experiments in the tower for a year, when the Eastbourne Gazette of November, 7, 1906 announced that "The American and Canadian rights of the Johnson Secret Wireless Telegraphy Syndicate have been sold to an American for two hundred thousand pounds."
The tower was put up for auction as well as Tower 57 in August 1908, but was withdrawn after failing to reach its reserve price, bidding reaching £500. The tower was said to be elaborately fitted after its use in the wireless experiments. However, the tower had become a summer residence by 1910, a balcony added to the seaward side,and extra doors and windows knocked through. Used by a Mr. Cave, his son was in the Royal Navy during the Second World War and served with Commander Hilary Mead, who compiled the first historical survey of the surviving Martello Towers of England in 1948.
An additional concrete roof was added in 1940, the 32-pounder cannon being dismounted. The tower may have briefly been used as a residence again since the war.
Apart from flaking stucco, and the chimney pot balanced at a dubious angle, the tower seems to be in reasonable condition, and is safe from the sea for the time being. A photograph shows that at least two original partitions are still in place with a floor that looks original.
In 1999, Tower 55 was sold for habitation, and was auctioned in April 2004 with a guide price ranging between £130,000 and £150,000- see BBC News. The tower fetched £285,000.
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| Tower 54 | Tower 56 |