Martello Tower La Preneuse

Five Martello towers were built in Mauritius by the British in the 1830s, squat circular structures of basalt with walls up to three metres thick on the seaward side, designed to hold a small garrison and a cannon on the roof that could traverse a full circle. They went up during the tense years around the abolition of slavery, when the colonial authorities feared both French return and internal unrest. The tower at La Preneuse has been restored and opened as a museum, with the gun platform, the water cistern, the powder magazine and the living quarters shown, and displays on the construction and on the period. It stands directly on the beach with Le Morne visible down the coast, and the visit takes about an hour with a guide.

History

After 1810 the British, wary of a French return, built five Martello towers along the western coast between 1832 and 1835, modelled on the tower at Mortella in Corsica, and La Preneuse was finished in 1833. None of them ever saw action, they were outdated by the late 19th century, and this is the only one that remains fully intact (Wikipedia, Martello Tower at La Preneuse).

The main sights

• The gun platform - the roof emplacement and its traversing arrangement.
• The interior rooms - the garrison quarters, magazine and cistern.
• The wall structure - the thickness of the seaward masonry.
• The beach setting - the tower on the shore with Le Morne beyond.

When to go

May to December for comfortable weather. The tower opens on weekdays and Saturday mornings with reduced hours, so check before going. Visits are guided and take about an hour.

Things to know

The tower is small and the visit brief. Opening hours are limited and inconsistent. Interpretation is mostly through the guide rather than displays. The interior is dark and the stair steep.

Nearby

Tamarin and its salt pans lie north; Le Morne is south down the coast.

Key facts