The Seaford Museum and Heritage Society established its museum of local history at the Martello Tower in 1979. It contains objects, archives and displays relating to the history of the local area.
Seaford Museum is housed in Tower number 74 and is situated on the Esplanade in Seaford, East Sussex. The Tower is the most westerly of a line of defensive fortifications built along the Kent and Sussex coast during the Napoleonic Wars. The Tower is a round two-storey structure surrounded by a dry, brick-lined moat. It was constructed between 1806 and 1810. The War Department sold it in 1880. During the next 90 years it passed through a number of hands and was used for various commercial purposes. During the 1930s the moat floor was used as a roller skating rink while the tower was used as a cafeteria. In 1976 the Tower was acquired by Lewes District Council and the Museum was installed there in 1979. The Museum has of floorspace which is used for displays, a visitor centre, an archive and a museum shop. From November to March it is open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and Bank Holidays only. During the rest of the year it is additionally open on Sunday mornings and Wednesdays. Public access to the document archive is available, on a supervised basis, once per month. The museum is run as a registered charity by the Seaford Museum and Heritage Society and has a large and eclectic collection of artifacts including large collections of maritime and domestic items. Recent improvements to the museum have been made to allow step free access to the main exhibition areas.
Role in the community
The Museum acts as a centre for a number of heritage and community activities. The Round Table, the local model railway club and various other organisations hold events there. The Museum is also used as a venue for public lectures and a start point for guided tours to places in the locality. The Museum also provides a talk and short video and for schools on the 1986 successful sea defence scheme involving a controversial beach reclamation which has prevented breaches of the sea wall and flooding of the adjacent areas ever since.
