The Devil’s Tower and its correspondents.

It is easy to consider the Devil’s Tower in splendid isolation, as a disappeared monument to Gibraltar’s early warning system against attack by Barbary pirates. In fact it was just one of a chain of watchtowers running the length of the Spanish coast from Alicante to Ayamonte on the border with Portugal. Some of these sentinels dated back to Moorish times and many more were built by Spain, after it had become a united kingdom in 1516, under Carlos I, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles Vth.  

The Barbary pirates’ primary business was the capture of Christian slaves for the Ottoman slave trade. The result was the depopulation of large areas of coastline as only larger conurbations had troops or defensive structures, which made small coastal towns and fishing settlements easy targets.  The construction of towers, in sight of each other, which could signal the approach of predators allowed villagers to safely disappear into the hills before the enemy landed. Warnings were transmitted largely by smoke from damp straw by day and the light of dry straw fires by night.

At the time of the Barbary Corsair’s famous raid against Gibraltar in September 1540, much of this chain was unmanned and in disarray; some were completely derelict. Money provided for maintenance was inadequate and was frequently siphoned off; the noble overlords were neglecting their obligations.

One of the consequences of the Corsair’s Razzia was that Gibraltar’s defences were eventually improved, though more than a decade after the raid. Defence works including Charles Vth wall were aimed at improving resilience to attack and the re-building of the chain of watchtowers along the Andalucian coast was intended to restore the early warning system.

                         
                                            Carlos I (Charles Vth)                                       Felipe II

So in 1577, Prince Felipe, who would succeed Charles in 1558 as Felipe II, appointed Luis Bravo de Laguna as Visitor (ie inspector) of the Atlantic coasts of Andalusia.  Bravo was of minor nobility, an accomplished soldier, though not a military engineer, but above all a man who got things done:

 ‘Your Majesty was pleased to order me to come and build certain towers and watch towers on the Andalusian coast and to visit the places there, (see) how were the people places and ammunition… I determined to do what Your Majesty ordered me, and so I came with a lot of work and started in the City of Gibraltar.  

Arriving in March 1577, Bravo spent his first week here inspecting the improvements, (made by Calvi, Fratino, etc) and preparing his initial report before moving on to Tarifa, Isle de Leon, Cadiz, Huelva by August and so on eventually up to Ayamonte. As the King’s Commissioner he had the authority to be quite blunt and could desire both high and low to follow his instructions.

For example, when he arrived at Conil, he found the castle, the Torre de Guzman, communicated with four towers… one of which, Castilnovo; ‘is a tower of great height, to discover the tunas, with an artillery piece in it, and this one serves as a watchtower and for this reason they have neglected the other ones… it has a fence around it, in which those who are in service of the almadraba can be sheltered.’   The tower had been built by the Duke of Medina Sidonia who had the exclusive rights to the Bluefin Tuna fishery, which was consequently his principal interest.

Bravo’s brief extended beyond the building of twenty towers and refurbishment of many more. If repopulation of coastal areas was to succeed, as well as watchtowers, defensive structures were needed and local people had to be armed. Arriving in Puerto Real in April, he arranged to fortify the newly built Priory Church of San Sebastian. It was the most solid building in town, with wide walls one metre thick, entirely built with stone from the quarries of Porto Real. Its solid bell tower was similar to a watchtower and was endowed with openings in the form of arrow slits, making the church an ideal redoubt for the population to take refuge.

A list of the towers between Trafalgar and Gibraltar contains 31 sites. From Gibraltar to Calahonda another 26; but perhaps those of most interest to us are those between Tarifa and Gibraltar, so let’s have a closer look at some of them.

 

 

La Torre de La Isla de Palomas

 

The original watchtower built in 1588 on instructions of Felipe II, no longer exists. In 1808 the causeway to the island was built and the present tower was installed on the ruins of the old tower, to become the first lighthouse in the Strait in 1812. (Some 28 years before our Europa light). This was the time when Spain was occupied by the French, which situation was resolved by the British with the Peninsular War. Tarifa was garrisoned by troops from Gibraltar in 1811, on the instructions of Governor Colin Campbell, to repel French attempts to take the town. 

 

Torre de Guadalmesi

Named for the nearby Guadalmesi stream, this tower was built to the order of Bravo de Laguna, work starting in 1578. It is not known exactly when it was completed. The tower has a round plan on a 12 metre base and stands 15 metres tall. The structure is not cylindrical, but a truncated cone. This was the advice of Felipe’s Council of War, who determined that to be the best shape to resist artillery. The body of the tower is solid for one third of its height, above which is a single vaulted room accessed by a window /door 5.5 metres above the ground. Access would have been via a wooden or rope ladder that was then pulled up once safely inside. From that room a helical staircase built within the wall gives onto a roof terrace. Primarily a watchtower, it was subsequently used to deny enemy shipping the ability to water at the stream.

 

Torre del Fraile

The tower of the Friar, also called the tower of the Canutos, for the numerous streams surrounding it, the Fontanillos tower (same reason) or Cala Arenas for the nearby cove, was designed by Bravo de Laguna and engineer Juan Pedro Livadote, in 1588. It is a square tower - despite the advice of the War Council - located 120 metres above sea level. Standing 13 metres high it has an access door 6.5 to 7 metres from the base. The internal room has a spiral staircase leading to a roof terrace with two garitas (sentry boxes); one for the lookout the other for firewood. It is now in a very poor state of repair. In the 17thC it supported three watchmen who received 40 reales a month. (If that was each… then that was quite a good job)

 

Torre de Punta Carnero

There had been a watchtower on this site before Bravo de Laguna; it was a square tower sketched by Anton Van Der Wyngaerde when he toured the area in 1567. It  was razed to the ground during Franco’s 1939 Strait Defence Plan against a possible Allied invasion and all that remains is ring of rubble around 20 metres north of Punta Carnero lighthouse.

 

Torre de San Garcia

This was a circular beacon tower located at the tip of San Garcia built between 1580 and ‘85. In 1810 the adjacent fort was destroyed by British troops during the War of Independence (ie. Peninsula War, when Britain saved the Spaniard’s bacon) and the tower was left partially useless when the roof was dismantled. The tower was finally destroyed in 1898 during the Spanish-American war, when it was dynamited along with several others in the region. All that remains is a 13metre diameter foundation.

 

Torre de Arroyo de Lobo

This is a square masonry and stone slab tower thought to be of medieval origin. It is located in Getares Cove controlling the stretch of coast between Punta Carnero and San Garcia and the coastal road from Algeciras to Tarifa. It formed part of the defensive system of the Strait in the Middle Ages. It is 76 metres above the sea and has the Picaro River to its north and the Lobo stream to the south. Merinid ceramic dated 13/14C has been found there as well as Almohad ceramic material of 12/13C. This suggests a medieval origin linked to the nearby town of Al-Jazeera Al- Jadr. The structure is 8 metres long and may have reached 13 metres high, had two floors and a basement, accessible through built in stairs. Not far away is the:

Cerro de la Horca enclosure

More than just a watchtower, this large enclosure sits 197 metres up on the hills above Punta Carnero and measures 120 metres by 70. The walls are 2 metres thick, raised to between 4 and 5 metres and surround several circular enclosures built with 1 metre high dry stone walls. The remains of three towers have been identified, two circular and one square, attached to the walls. As well a signalling between Torre del Fraile and Algeciras, this may have been a fortified refuge. Abundant ceramic material dates the build of this enclosure to 10thC and the period of maximum occupation to the 13^th and 14thC.   The site was abandoned with the Castilian conquest of Al-Yazirat Al- Jadra in 1344.

Torre de Espolon o de La Villa Vieja

This ancient tower no longer exists but collapsed into the sea during a storm of 1901 after its foundations had been undermined.  The tower was located at what is now the entrance to the Reina Cristina Hotel… coincidentally built in 1901. Of Merinid origin it was a 13 metres tall defensive tower, of a type known as an albarrana (from the Arabic exterior) standing in front of the city walls, attached by a short walkway or bridge.

Torre albarrana were built by the Muslims when they occupied the Iberian Peninsula, especially from the 12C during the Almohad dynasty and are mostly found in the south of Spain and Portugal.   The earliest towers had a pentagonal or octagonal plan and often the bridge to the curtain wall had a removable wooden section allowing the tower to be isolated from the wall if it was infiltrated by the enemy.  Albarrana towers are almost uniquely confined to the Iberian Peninsula, very rarely found elsewhere.

This tower had an octagonal floor plan with a single room in the upper half. During the 18thC it was used as a gunpowder store and an engraving from the 1880s shows a sentry box was built into the upper part. The name is recalled in the ultra modern Control tower for Algeciras Port.

                           
                           A typical Albarrana Tower in Jaen.    The new Espolon, Algeciras Port.

La Torre de los Adalides

This Tower of the Champions was an old watchtower situated 100 metres above the sea on a hill, 1.5 kms from the coast, in what is now the Algeciras urbanisation of Las Palomas. Its purpose was to have an excellent observation post to view the bay and the roads from Gibraltar and Malaga. The date of construction is unknown but is believed to have been before the capture of Tarifa in 1289. Only part of its surrounding barbican survives. The tower had three floors; the lowest, separated from the rest, had a ground floor entrance. The first had an external staircase - attached to the wall - to the second, which had an internal stair connecting to the roof. The floor plan was a rectangular 4x6 metres with 1.5 metre thick walls and the building was 14 metres tall.  

This tower was the base of operations for Alfonso XI of Castile during the siege of Algeciras from 1340, serving as the king’s quarters. The surrounding barbican accommodated the commanders of the besieging force; hence its name Adalides. In 1344, the troops settled around the tower took part in the Battle of the Palmones River against Granada troops, which signalled the end of the 20 month siege and the surrender of Algeciras.

After the siege, the tower was abandoned until the British occupation of Gibraltar, when it became a gunpowder store, shown on plans as the Torre de la Polvora and was said to hold 600 barrels. Later, in 1898 the government demolished the tower as it was a clear target for the expected naval bombardment (which never happened) in the Spanish-American war.

Torre del Almirante

During the Middle Ages a tower at this site was part of the system protecting Al-Yazirat Al-Jadr, observing El Rinconcillo beach which was invisible from Algeciras. The location in the Paseo Cornisa (promenade) is an area of Algeciras known as El Polvorin, since 2007 a 1 km linear park. The build date is uncertain but it is first mentioned in 1344 during the siege of Algeciras, when it was the operational base of Admiral Egidio Boccnegra of the Genoese squadron. Details are sparse since it was razed to the ground in the 16thC. The tower was reconstructed in the 17thC as part of the coastal plan against Barbary pirates, first appearing on charts in 1608.

After the loss of Gibraltar in 1704, extensions were made to the tower to face possible British incursions on the coast and a detachment of guards posted there. Later in the century a 24 pounder artillery battery was installed at the site, which participated in the sieges of Gibraltar and the defence of the city during the 1801 Battle of Algeciras. Later the facility was used as a powder magazine and in 1898 was once again equipped with artillery during the brief armed conflict with America. However, at the turn of the century it was destroyed by an explosion. Only a rubble pile and 20thC machine gun positions remain there today.

Torre de Botafuegos

This watchtower, built prior to the 14thC, is a Moorish structure sited 120 metres above sea level on the so-called Monte de la Torre in Los Barrios, near the Botafuegos stream, a tributary of the Palmones River. Some 15kms from the sea, it monitored the road from Al-Yazirat Al-Jadr to Medina Sidonia and a route called The Trail connecting to Tarifa. Its purpose was to guarantee communication between the coast and the interior.

The tower is square 6x6 metres with a horseshoe arched entrance at ground level, a clear difference from similar structures whose entrance would be at the first floor. This is the only extant tower with a Caliphate style doorway in the Bay area. The two upper floors are vaulted with the first floor having a narrow opening overlooking the door. There is an internal staircase between first and second floor. The outer walls are 180cms (6 feet) thick of sandstone masonry and whilst the roof has been lost completely, the remainder is in a relatively good state of preservation. The location is a farm called Almoguera, on land belonging to the Larios family; another connection to Gibraltar.

Torre de Entre Rios

                                                                

This watchtower, sometimes called the Guadarranque Tower, is situated between the Guadarranque and Palmones rivers, hence the name, in the municipality of Los Barrios. Constructed between 1587 and ’88 by Luis Bravo de Laguna, it is modelled on the nearby Torre de Rocadillo, though some researchers contest the design model. Built of irregular masonry bonded with mortar, it has a square plan and a height of 11 metres up to the parapet (whose dimensions are unknown since it is missing) and is solid up to 5 metres where the only room is located.

The room is accessible by a west facing door at 7 mtrs and still retains supports for a rope ladder and hooks to carry merchandise.  It also has a fireplace and a small window opposite the door giving a clear view of the coast. The fireplace has a straight chimney and was used to generate the smoke for the day signal, whilst the night signal was straw burnt on the roof. A helical stair gives access via a small opening to the roof where there was once a sentry box, now long gone. The door opening, window jambs and stair treads have all been executed in piedra ostionera (oyster-stone) which is not quite what it sounds. The stone they have used is what geologists call raised beach material; a composition of sand and shells compressed by millennia into a malleable stone that is decorative and easy to work. It is used extensively in Cadiz and Chiclana and found occasionally in Gibraltar.

                                    

 Construction of this watchtower was financed by the Royal Treasury, since it sat on royal lands, which expedited the build… persuading nobles to pay for construction on their lands was an onerous task, even for the determined Bravo de Laguna. The tower was manned by three watch keepers and it is known that from around 1668 two of its Gibraltarian keepers were Juan Ramos and Alonso Delgado.

Torre de Rocadillo

This watchtower near the mouth of the Guadarranque and sometimes referred to as Torre de Gallo, is supported on the Roman wall (and Phoenician bastion) of the archaeological site of Carteia, about a mile west of Puente Mayorga. Built in 1588 by Juan Pedro Livadote on instructions from Bravo de Laguna, it is 12 metres high on a rectangular base and is solid masonry in its lower half. The vaulted guard room is accessed by rope ladder and has a fireplace and a narrow window overlooking the Guadarranque River. The upper platform is accessed by a partially preserved spiral stair. In 2021 work was carried out for photogrammetric restitution, including a 3D model. (Photogrammetry is the art, science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the processes of recording, measuring and interpreting photographic images and patterns of recorded electromagnetic energy and other phenomena….  I didn’t know either).

Torre de Cartagena

Also known as El Castellon this tower, located on the Carteia site, was built in the 13thC to defend the borders of the Nasrid kingdom, after treaty between Nasrid sultan Muhammad II and the Merinid Abu Yusuf in the year 1275.  It passed into Christian hands in 1342 after a small siege, when it became the property of the Crown of Castile. It was a square, freestanding structure sitting on a small hillock near the seashore at the mouth of the Guadarranque River.  This tower commanded a view of the entire bay to Punta Carnero as well as the Serrania de Ronda and as far as the City of Malaga. Some studies suggest it was occupied by a small military detachment, perhaps as late as the 19thC.

Only the lower part of the tower - around 3 metres - is preserved, including remains of a primitive pavement. The base and horizontal courses are stone slabs with in-fill of random limestone and sandstone rocks; the whole being rendered in tapia. Internally there were once two rooms and a roof terrace. 

 

Torre de Sierra Carbonera

This tower, sitting on the summit of the Queen of Spain’s Chair, may well have been Moorish but since it was demolished in 1967 and all that remains are a few poor quality photographs, we can only speculate.  The site now accommodates a SIVE installation which performs a broadly similar task… watching the Bay and Strait... as well as various radio transmitters.

 

Torre Pedrera

This was a later tower built on the slopes of the Sierra Carbonera, named for a nearby stone quarry. It has been suggested that it probably dated from the construction of the Spanish Lines (La Linea de Contravalacion) which completed in 1735. It follows that when the Lines were demolished in 1810 the tower may have been also. This brings us right round the Bay to:

 

The Devils Tower

Gibraltar’s tower, built of limestone at the eastern end of the isthmus, was known as the Torre de Diablo, and demolished as recently as 1940, during the Second World War, to clear a field of fire. The construction is similar to some of the towers we have looked at above, but it was clearly cylindrical (not Felipe’s favoured truncated cone) so the question is… How old is it?

Gibraltar historian Dorothy Ellicott thought it might be Moorish, perhaps 11thC. She may have been correct; early photographs show it dressed with tapia. A more recent historian suspected it was from the time of Luis Bravo de Laguna… but it appears on the Wyngaerde map of 1567, some 10 years before Bravo de Laguna arrived.  Is it possible that this scholar wasn’t far out; could it have been one of the works executed by Calvi or Fratino which were started in 1558 or even that of Daniel Specklin in 1550-52? It is possible… but seems unlikely.

The truncated cone towers, with a batter of 4 degrees, had found favour amongst military engineers for some time. So, despite differing opinions, the suggestion is that our tower is likely to predate that era. All that can be said with certainty is that the tower is pre-1567 as the provenance of Wyngaerde’s map is cast iron.

 

Later development:

By the 1700s the towers had become defensive and many were supplied with 4 pdr cannon. Charles III planned to fortify the coast and the old towers were surveyed. Installing 1 or a pair of 4 pdrs meant the roofs had to be strengthened and the parapets lowered. Most towers had a garita added on the roof with an embrasure for rifle shooting. Many towers had an overhang called a machicolation added to the parapet to facilitate pouring boiling oil etc on the heads of attackers.

After 1829 many towers became Casa de Carabineros posts. This armed corps was charged with surveillance of the coast and borders and repression of smuggling. Adjoining or nearby barracks were constructed and in 1940 these posts became Guardia Civil barracks.

Laws were first passed in 1949 to protect this architectural heritage. In 1985 the historical patrimony laws came into force and the towers were declared Bien de Interes Cultural.

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This information was collated from tourism publications, newspapers, various blogs and sundry academic papers. For detailed information, the student can do no better than the publications of Snr Angel J Saez Rodriguez, Professor of History at Colegio de Los Pinos, Algeciras… except for the Devil’s Tower on which he has nothing to say. 

First published at Gibraltar History Society Chronicle Dec 2023.        Paul Hodkinson,