River Fort in Barbuda is a Martello Tower with gun platform. It was built at Coco Point in Barbuda by Sir William Codrington in 1745. The plan for the Fort had been prepared by a Royal Naval Commodore Charles Knowles (later an Admiral).
The fort is remarkably like Fort Denison in Sydney, with a Martello Tower and then gun platform running off to one side. The tower at River Fort is higher than most Martello Towers at 56ft or 17.2m. The Martello Tower was built between 1805 and 1810, although there are indications that there was some fortification here as early as the 1740s. This is regarded as the oldest Martellow Tower in the Caribbean.
It is suggested that the tower mounted three guns while the adjacent platform mounted an additional seven guns.
River Fort in Barbuda is a Martello Tower with gun platform. It was built at Coco Point in Barbuda by Sir William Codrington in 1745. The plan for the Fort had been prepared by a Royal Naval Commodore Charles Knowles (later an Admiral).
The fort is remarkably like Fort Denison in Sydney, with a Martello Tower and then gun platform running off to one side. The tower at River Fort is higher than most Martello Towers at 56ft or 17.2m. The Martello Tower was built between 1805 and 1810, although there are indications that there was some fortification here as early as the 1740s. This is regarded as the oldest Martellow Tower in the Caribbean.
It is suggested that the tower mounted three guns while the adjacent platform mounted an additional seven guns.