Martello Tower

Reminding one of a castle or a rook of chess, Martello Tower looks slightly out of place in Sri Lankan soil. There is documented evidence provided by Sir Alexander Johnston, who was acting as Chief Justice in 1806, that the construction of the Martello Tower was purely a British endeavour. The British constructed the Martello Tower in the coastal areas for the defence of the Empire.

Captain Goper of the Engineering Corps constructed Martello Tower in 1796 at Hambantota. This was built according to the Martello (Mortella) Tower in Northern Corsica.

The British Government supported Corsicans against the French in 1794, and an assault was planned upon a tower on Cape Mortella from land and sea. The strong resistance offered from the Fort impressed the British so much that they made detailed plans of the Fort Mortella before demolition. Subsequently, Martello (a corruption of the name Mortella) Towers were built in South Africa, America, Canada, Minorca, the Orkney Isles, Channel Islands, Ireland, etc. In 1804 the British Government constructed 74 Martello Towers along the coast of England.

It is very interesting to note that a Martello Tower in Sri Lanka was constructed before establishing them in Britain. Most probably, the Tower at Hambantota would be the only one remaining in Asia and one of the very few in the world in good condition. This tower has signs of damage. An Army and a Navy battalion of about 30 to 50 soldiers had been continuously stationed here. There are records that enemy ships were attacked from this tower. An invasion from the Kandyan Kingdom was repulsed from this tower, according to the records. This attack from the Kandyan Kingdom was in August 1803, and the Kandyan army surrounded and blockaded Martello Tower, but Ensign Pendergrast, who was in charge of the Martello Tower, repulsed it. The tower is about 25 feet in height and about 40 feet in diameter. It is a two-storeyed building with two rows of windows all around. The windows on the top row are bigger than the windows on the bottom row. There is a brick platform all around the tower, which was utilized to move the canons around. The ground floor was used as storage, and the upper floor as lodgings for the soldiers, and it certainly must have been too hot to be shared by about 30-50 soldiers. It seems no wonder that soldiers often fell sick and died of fever under such unhygienic conditions. Martello Tower is now used as a museum run by the Ministry of Fisheries.

(Heritage of Ruhuna by Dr. H.A.P. Abeyawardana P109)

Unique Sri Lanka

Martello Tower at Hambantota

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