Saint Thomas Tower

Marsaskala, Malta

Saint Thomas Tower is a large bastioned watchtower in Marsaskala. It was built above the shore on the seaward face of the headland of il-Hamriga in Marsaskala. It is a substantial fortification intended to prevent the landing of troops in the sheltered anchorages of Marsaskala Creek and St Thomas Bay. Construction of the tower was approved in July 1614, weeks after the raid of Żejtun, in which an Ottoman fleet managed to land at St Thomas Bay. The tower was named after a chapel dedicated to St Thomas which stood close to where the tower now lies.

The tower has very thick walls and has four pentagonal bastioned turrets projecting outwards on each corner. The tower's entrance was through a vaulted doorway with a wooden drawbridge. The drawbridge is still partially intact and it is the only original one to have survived in Malta. The tower is surrounded by a rock-hewn ditch.

After the De Redin towers were built, St Thomas had Żonqor and Xrobb l-Għaġin Towers in its line of sight, but these are now either in ruins or completely demolished.

In 1715, St Thomas Tower was reinforced by the addition of a battery on the seaward face. During the French blockade of 1798–1800, the tower was stormed and captured by Maltese insurgents.

The tower remained in use by the British until the 19th century. At some point, the tower was also used as a prison.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Torri, Marsaskala, Malta
See all sites in Marsaskala

Details

Founded: 1614
Category: Castles and fortifications in Malta

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Annabel Desira (3 years ago)
Lovely interesting historic site. Would be great to see it open more often!
Mark Mallia (3 years ago)
Excellent cultural spot. Beautiful locality!
aldo ellul (3 years ago)
Excellent location but waited to long for our food and then when it arrived it some of the food was cold. To be honest I think they were short staff. Also the restaurant is nice and clean so we'll be giving it another go.
Victor Bonett (3 years ago)
Going through restoration. Will look good once finished
David Grixti (3 years ago)
Never lived near something this old before. Incredible piece of history.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Abbey of Saint-Georges

Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.

The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).