Naze Tower

About the museum

Trinity House built the 86 ft octagonal Naze Tower in 1720 as a navigation mark for ships using the busy port of Harwich. It is Grade II* listed and is described as the only tower of its kind. Over the centuries it served as a venue for fashionable tea parties, a lookout and signalling station in the Napoleonic Wars, a naval signalling post in the early 1900s, a military lookout in the First World War, a radar tower in the Second World War and a communications site used by the United States Air Force during the Cold War.

The tower was derelict and on the Heritage at Risk register when the present owners bought it in 1996. After extensive restoration it opened to the public for the first time in its history in 2004, and further restoration with Historic England support followed in 2015–16. It is still owned and run by a local family, and admissions, the café and art sales pay for its upkeep.

Over eight floors the tower now houses a museum on the history of the tower and the Naze, an art gallery with three exhibitions a year by East Anglian artists, a small shop, café seating and a roof viewing platform with panoramic coastal views. The museum also covers the geology, ecology and coastal erosion of the Naze and displays fossils and artefacts found there.

Highlights

• Museum floor on the tower’s history and the geology and ecology of the Naze
• Fossils and artefacts found at the Naze
• 360-degree views from the rooftop viewing platform (111 steps)
• Art gallery with three exhibitions a year by East Anglian artists
• Tea rooms inside the tower

Permanent exhibition

• Museum on the Naze Tower and the Naze – Displays on the history of the tower and the geology, ecology and coastal erosion of the Naze, with fossils and artefacts found there.

Founded

2004

Admission & discounts

Tickets are valid for one day. Members enter free, and entry to the tea rooms only is free. Tickets can be bought online.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Wheelchair access is by ramp to the ground-floor reception and shop only; the upper floors are reached by a 111-step spiral staircase with eight rooms giving regular rest points and some seating. The café counter is in an accessible shepherd’s hut outside the tower and outdoor seating is fully accessible. Public toilets, including an accessible toilet and baby changing, are in the Naze Centre next to the tower.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Baby changing facilities

The site promotes family days out: climbing the tower, the museum and art, and the surrounding Naze heritage park with picnics, kite flying, the beach and shark’s tooth hunting. Family workshops and events are held from time to time, and a family ticket is available.

Getting there & parking

By road, follow the A120 to Harwich, the A133 to Clacton and the B1033 and B1034 to Walton, go through the town centre and follow the brown tourist signs to the Naze car park.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

In 2026 food, drinks and ice cream are served from a shepherd’s hut beside the tower, with seating outside and inside the tower on the first and second floors (café 10:00–17:00, hot food until 16:00). A small ground-floor shop sells books, gifts, souvenirs and cards; artworks in the gallery are for sale.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Up to 30 guests.

The tower can be hired for small meetings and parties with catering; the tea rooms seat up to 30. It is also offered as a filming location.

Plan your visit