Image: Karen Lois Whiteread


Image: Karen Lois Whiteread

The history of JMT as a military fortification provides an exciting opportunity to work and communicate with the community. This alongside the wider history of Jaywick offers a rich mix for developing innovative heritage programmes within the spirit of community engagement, a spirit that has always existed here.

Friends
The local community have supported Jaywick Martello Tower since it opened in 2005, and there is now a core of volunteers 'The Friends of   Jaywick Martello Tower' giving their time to support the Tower.

So how can you get involved?
Activities could include attending monthly meetings, organising or contributing to newsletters, giving talks, arranging costal walks, fundraising, carrying out research, giving tours of the building and working with others of all ages to engage with their heritage. Your support can be to suit your own interests.

…  Giving Tours of the Tower
…  Greeting Visitors (relief to receptionist)
…  Giving Talks
…  Attending Talks
…  Arranging Coastal Walks
…  Contributing and/or Producing a Newsletter
…  Assist in educational workshops
…  Community Archive

Winter Talks at Jaywick Martello Tower
February - March 2008
The winter talks series included the following topics:

…  Roger Kennell on the subject of the building of the Martello Towers
…  The Jaywick Miniature Railway
…  The Flora and Fauna of St Osyth and Jaywick
…  The Development of Dot's Newsagents in Jaywick
…  The Napoleonic Wars From the British Perspective
…  Historical Film Showing

Memory Day
30 September 2007
JMT invited the community to bring forward any photographs, postcards, posters - any images that can be scanned to start creating a Digital Archive. We encourage interested people to assist in the creation of a digital Community Archive, by gathering still and moving images and audio materials.

Something to Sing About
July 2007 - April 2008

William Stevens, a local amateur historian, with his wife Pam, have collected over 200 postcards of Jaywick. These early images celebrate a sense of place that is still evident in Jaywick today. A selection is currently on show at the Tower, as part of a rich archive of historic material being preserved for the community. How long is it staying for?