A SYMBOL OF IMPERIAL POWER
DESIGNED & BUILT BY BRITISH ARCHITECTS
The Larnaca police station headquarters building is located on the corner of Athens and Archbishop Makarios III Avenue in the city of Larnaca. Built by the British colonial administration in 1940, it greets all visitors entering the eastern side of the city’s Finikoudes seafront promenade. Designed by the British architect Robin Halliday Macartney, this unique building is based on the ‘Martello Tower’ concept. This design became common in other British overseas territories throughout the 19th century.
AN ICONIC LANDMARK
The Larnaca police station has two wings. These meet at right angles in the middle. At this meeting point, an imposing tower rises above the building’s roof at its centre. Although the cylindrical tower dominates, the building is also characterised by its pointed arches on the ground floor. Since its inception, its key location has helped form part of the city’s vital infrastructure. Today, it remains one of Larnaca’s most iconic landmark buildings.
A STRUCTURE OF DEFENSIVE CAPABILITIES
The Martello Tower became the preferred defensive structure used during the heyday of British imperialism. This came about after the British realised its full defensive capabilities during the French Revolutionary Wars. These Towers took their name from the circular defensive structure at Cape Mortella on the island of Corsica. This tower was besieged by two British warships during the siege of Saint-Florent in 1794. The British only captured the tower after suffering heavy losses, and the tower was identified as the main reason for this. With this in mind, they then went on to build several of these small defensive structures en masse all over their colonial empire after perfecting their design.
THE MARTELLO TOWERS
The general appearance and circular plan of each tower are unmistakable references to an important element of 19th-century British military architecture. Each imposing tower was designed to symbolise the strength of the British Empire. A typical British version of the Martello Tower would usually consist of at least two floors. The cylindrical tower itself would usually be around 12 metres high. The interior would consist of a series of fireplaces built into the walls that were at least 2.5 metres thick. The fireplaces were predominantly used for both cooking and heating. The ground floor was usually used to store munitions and provisions. The first floor would typically be divided into several compartments. This typically housed a garrison of around 25 men.
A SYMBOL OF FORTIFIED FRONTIERS & IMPERIAL POWER
Martello Towers were also used to symbolise a stark reminder of Britain’s willingness to defend its borders across its empire. With this in mind, Robin Halliday Macartney stated that although the Larnaca tower had no defensive significance, he still wanted to build a symbol of fortified frontiers and Imperial British Power. Ironically, this iconic building, which was not originally designed to be the Larnaca police station, played a significant role in the island’s struggle for independence against the British. This began just 15 years after its construction, and today the building remains a symbol of independence for the island.
A THREAT OF INVASION
The British also designed and then built around 150 of these towers across the British Isles. This was in response to the very real threat of invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte, who was at the time usurping much of Europe. These towers were also used as an early warning system. Each tower was constructed within the sight of a neighbouring tower. This was so that news of any impending invasion could be easily transmitted further down the line. Rapid tower construction also continued throughout the British Empire until the late 19th century. As a result, examples of Mortello Towers can be found in Australia, Canada, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Sierra Leone.
CELEBRATED IN LITERATURE
The construction of these towers dramatically slowed, however, during the 20th century. This came after the advent of modern weaponry made the defensive capabilities of the Martello Tower obsolete. British Martello Towers have also been celebrated in literature. The ‘Dublin Tower’, for example, is famous for being the setting for the first chapter of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses.
