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Wisley Common in Surrey is a haven
for rare and unusual species
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of all types, and full of surprises.
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Just around the corner,
on Chatley Heath, is something
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that's genuinely one of a kind.
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Amongst the bustle of the M25
and the A3 and the austere beauty
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of the heathland stands
a monument to our naval history.
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Now, on Countryfile, we wouldn't
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normally be filming on a building
site, but the chance to explore
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this incredible building is one
I just couldn't miss.
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This mysterious structure
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is the last surviving
semaphore tower in Britain.
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Semaphore is a type of signalling
by means of flags, lights
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or moving arms, which were used to
represent letters or numbers,
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a precursor to Morse code.
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Invented by the French
in the late 18th century,
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signalling towers like these allowed
large-scale transmission of messages
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faster than
horse-riding messengers could carry.
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Britain's long wars with Napoleon
underlined the need for rapid
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communications between London and
key naval ports like Portsmouth.
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In 1816, work began on a chain of
15 semaphore stations linking London
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with the South Coast.
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The Chatley Heath Tower
would be its vital link.
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200 years on, old age
has taken its toll.
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The tower is crumbling
with damp problems.
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The Landmark Trust - a charity
which restores important
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historic buildings - has made the
tower their latest rescue.
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Ah, Caroline, hi!
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How are you?
I'm very well, thank you.
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Welcome to Semaphore Tower.
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Caroline Stanford is the historian
at the trust.
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So, this was where the messages
were sent from? Exactly. Exactly.
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You can see that the handle
is here, on the mast.
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Unfortunately, the scaffolding's
in the way at the moment,
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so we can't set it today.
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But you would spin it round.
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These brass dials on both sides,
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they show you what position
the arms are in
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and which letter
they're spelling out.
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And the messages were often
sent in code.
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I mean, even though the semaphore
arms could do all 26 letters
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of the alphabet, and more
in fact, it was quite long
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to spell everything out,
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so for the regular messages like
"French ships on the horizon,"
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or something, they could just send
an abbreviated code.
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So, a little emoji, almost, to
say, "This is the story in full."
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Exactly. It's like text speak,
yes, exactly.
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So, was this state of the art
in its day? It really was.
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So, if you think way back, centuries
ago, they would have spelled out
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such messages of alarm through
simple beacons, through fires.
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This, with its semaphore arms
and its letters of the alphabet,
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is like the 5G of fire beacons.
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Standing at 90 feet,
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Chatley Heath's tower
was the tallest in the chain,
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meaning its signallers could see
and be seen by neighbouring towers
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a full seven miles away.
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Each manoeuvre was reckoned
to take about 30 seconds.
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The messages relayed could range
from taking in a ship full of
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French refugees to reporting
the death of a Prime Minister.
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Incredibly, getting a message
103 miles from Portsmouth to London
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could take as little
as seven minutes.
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What was the job like? It was
obviously relatively desirable.
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It was a kind of perk for retired
naval officers who perhaps
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were a bit down on their luck.
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We know there was the first
lieutenant, who was Edward Harris,
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and he had a wife and five kids
who lived here.
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All in this building?
All in this building,
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plus two more naval ratings,
who were the kind of gofers for him.
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For over 20 years,
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the tower relayed messages
between London and Portsmouth.
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In 1839,
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the electric telegraph came along,
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so London to Portsmouth suddenly got
even faster than seven minutes,
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and after that,
the Chatley Heath Semaphore Tower
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really became rather redundant.
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Seeing this imposing structure
in action
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must have been really impressive.
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I can't wait to come back when
all the scaffolding has come down.
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Oh, it's just lovely to think
that a building that's been such
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a big part of our history
will be saved for future generations
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to understand and explore.
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Yeah, absolutely,
and given a new use too,
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so it won't just be sitting
here as a museum.
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It will be open for people to come
and stay here for holidays
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and hopefully, be sending
a few messages of their own.