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On a foggy Wednesday in June 1661 an English war fleet of seventeen vessels, commanded by the Earl of Sandwich in the Royal James, weighed anchor in the Downs and headed out into the Channel. The earl’s official instructions were to sail to Algiers and to find the best means of persuading the Algerians to […]

Fully restored Martello Tower (No.7) in Killiney Bay, Co. Dublin, Ireland. The British were never shy about adapting foreign military designs. The Martello towers were a copy of the round fortress at Mortella (Myrtle) Point in Corsica, designed by Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino and completed in 1565. The Corsicans had previously built similar towers at […]

Illustration of how the Tower may have looked, c1300 by Ivan Lapper. Moving slowly, and savagely stamping out sparks of resistance as he went, William took until mid-December to reach Southwark on the south bank of the Thames. He found the wooden London Bridge – the only river crossing – barred against him. Cautiously, he […]