Built in 1822, the Semaphore Tower on Chatley Heath is a unique survival from a chain of semaphore towers that once stretched from Whitehall to Portsmouth Harbour, commissioned in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo. The semaphore was invented by Rear Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham and stood briefly at the cutting-edge of communications technology and is still in use today. Saved by Surrey County Council in the 1980s, the tower was restored anew by the Landmark Trust in 2021-22 .
This talk will tell the fascinating history of the Tower’s construction and inhabitants, and its recent restoration. Caroline Stanford is the Landmark Trust’s in-house historian and has researched the tower and its history. Caroline writes, speaks and lectures extensively about Landmark’s buildings to a wide range of audiences, and oversees Landmark’s outreach programmes and archives.
Presented by Elmbridge Borough Council in association with Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre