Layer Marney Tower

The Layer Marney Tower poses a great day out in Essex. Although it is the tallest Tudor Gatehouse in the country, Layer Marney Tower doesn’t dominate the skyline until you are almost upon it. However, sail up the River Blackwater as a marauding invader and you couldn’t fail to be impressed by its stately grandeur. The site was chosen following the defeat of the Anglo Saxons at the Battle of Maldon in 991, as a good look out point. The Marney family had a dwelling here probably from 1166, but it is the Tudor Palace, built by Henry, Lord Marney, that people now come to see.