Naze Tower, The Naze

Naze Tower, The Naze, Old Hall Lane, Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex CO14 8LE View on map

86ft high brick built navigation tower built for Trinity House in 1720. It was designed to serve with Walton Hall Tower as a guide to vessels approaching the Goldmer Gap and also with a light in Suffolk to lead vessels safely in and out of the Suffolk-Essex border rivers. It is now the only tower of its type to survive and is a prominent landmark. It is octagonal in plan, of 3 reducing stages with clasping buttresses to angles. Round-headed windows punctuate the tower. The upper stage has C19-C20 alterations, due to the insertion of radar equipment. Internally the tower has eight storeys reached by an iron spiral staircase. The tower has been in continuous use – first as a lookout during the Napoleonic Wars and again during the Great War of 1914-18. In the Second World War it was used as a radar station, with its crenellations removed to accommodate a radar dish.

Opening Arrangements

Daily: 1 April - 31 October, 10am - 5pm. Free admission to tearooms in the tower.

• Open on Heritage Open Day

Admission Charges

• Adult: £3.00
• Child: £2.00
• Other Charges: £8 family (2 adults and up to 4 children); £2.50 seniors and students. Under 4 years free.

Directions

2 miles north of Walton-on-the-Naze twon center. Follow brown tourist signs to the Naze. Rail: Walton-on-the-Naze 2 miles. Bus: Clacton to Colchester service.

Parking Spaces

500

Pay and Display parking. Disabled parking bays close to tower.