White Tower restoration reaches its first anniversary goals
Restoration and landscaping works carry on with alacrity at Torri l-Abjad (The White Tower) in a challenging project by Din lArt Ħelwa to bring new life to this coastal watch tower which is a most visible landmark within the limits of Armier. With the lead financial support of the HSBC Malta Foundation, Din lArt Ħelwa teams, led by volunteer Martin Vella, have already accomplished several tasks which constitute important milestones for the project which celebrates its first anniversary this week.
The work has been planned in stages and the first tasks undertaken were the demolition of the many illegal structures around the tower, the elimination of the dividing wall in an old blockhouse, removal of inappropriate paint and cement covering the blockhouse and ground floor walls, with the same spaces repainted. Dangerous ceilings, many of which had collapsed, have been removed as well as old wiring, and new cables have been laid, while the installation of new apertures has also been completed in the blockhouse. Trees have been planted by HSBC volunteers to regenerate and landscape an area close-by at the bay of Daħlet ix-Xmajjar.
An ambitious part of the project made possible with the support of Atlas Insurance has been the restoration of the nearby ditch room which had to be first cleared of its overgrown vegetation and the removal and reconstruction of its partly collapsed ceiling, while new steel and wooden apertures have been installed on its interior and a complete new electrical installation completed.
Works on the artillery ditch and the environs of the ditch room have also been supported by the Ministry for Finance (Good Causes Fund) and the Ministry for Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change.
This work is part of a three-year project for the reinstatement of the White Tower at Armier. The objective is to bring new life to the tower so it can be used as an educational centre for culture and environment with a strong focus on marine and coastal awareness. Once the physical fabric has been restored, finance obtained from the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation will be used to fund the interactive educational and visitor experience programmes included within the tower blockhouse.
Torri l-Abjad at Armier is one of the 13 coastal watch towers still surviving which were built during the reign of Grand Master Martin de Redin. Over the following 300 years, the site was further developed for military uses by the Knights and by the British Armed Forces, given in private leases to various owners after which it fell into grave state of disrepair. Restoration by Din l-Art Ħelwa began in earnest in 2017 after it was granted in a management agreement to the heritage NGO by the Mellieħa Local Council.