First Tower coastal tower

First Tower

1939

Despite its name, this was not the first coastal tower to be built. It was designated St Aubin No 1, but has always been known as First Tower, the name adopted for the surrounding district, which was the first main extension of housing to the west of the town of St Helier in the early 19th century. It was built before 1787. At one time it had a windmill on the top and it is now owned by the States and used to provide ventilation for an underground pumping station

HER entry

Along with all Jersey's other coastal towers and historic fortifications it is a listed building, described as follows in the Jersey Heritage Historic Environment Record website:

Built circa 1780s, the tower is significant as an integral part of a group of surviving Conway towers in Jersey that not only illustrates the changing political and strategic military history of the Island in the late 18th and 19th century, but represents a turning point in the history of defence strategy across Europe, and global trends in the history of war.

Standard Conway pattern tower. Round and tapered, built of worked rubble granite. The two upper floors are punctuated with circuits of musketry loopholes partially formed in brickwork. Stonework parapet with four machicolations. Shown on Richmond map.

Purchased by the States of Jersey in 1896. In 1898, a water pump and tank were attached to the parapet causing structural cracks. There was also a windmill attached but this was dismantled shortly afterwards. In recent years the tower has been converted to serve as a vent for the nearby sewage pumping station.

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