A seaside town is battling to save its historic Victorian gun tower, built to block an invasion by Napoleon's nephew, after the council puts it up for sale for £70,000. The Cambridge Gun Tower, or Martello Tower, has stood in the water, defending Pembroke Docks, west Wales, since it was put up in 1851 to protect against the French. It was constructed at a time when Britain's Foreign Minister, Palmerston, was convinced that the French were planning under Louis-Napoleon, after he was elected president of the second French Republic in 1848. Pembrokeshire county council is planning to auction the historic tower off in July, however, as it is costing the council too much to maintain. Pembroke is battling to save its Cambridge Gun Tower, also known as the Martello tower, after the council announced plans to auction off the historic fortification next month Chair of community group Pembroke Dock Town Team, Mark Carter, said the town 'does not want to see another asset sold off'. 'We are going to do everything we can to make sure it is there for the community in the future,' he said. 'Too much of our heritage is left standing empty when it should be used. 'We have got to lobby the council to get us more time. The time they have given us is ridiculous.' County Councillor Jon Harvey has called for the council to 'pull' the auction while Councillor Josh Beynon said that although the sale is 'disappointing', the town needs to come up 'with a plan' to save the building. It is one of two Cambridge towers at the dock and the last in public hands, the other being owned privately. The grade-II listed tower went up in 1851 along with two others, named as 'Palmerston's follies', as well as Portsmouth's Fort Elson (1853) and Gosport's Fort Gomer (1855). It was armed with roof-mounted guns, 12-pound brass howitzers and 33 men to defend against an expected French invasion, although it never fired a shot. Panic had struck Palmerston, who was foreign secretary at this time, that the second French Republic, which had been formed in 1848, would attempt to invade Britain. However by 1854 the military preparations were considered obsolete as France and Britain found themselves in an alliance against Russia, cooling tensions. A state visit by Louis-Napoleon in 1855 to London, reciprocated four months later to Queen Victoria, further eased fears of a French attack. A French invasion of Italy in 1860, nonetheless, re-ignited fears that a Republican army would try to land on British shores. Eight more forts were constructed around Portsmouth to defend the naval city, while the smaller Martello towers received no further attention, considered to be too small to be useful. They were disarmed in 1882, having never seen active service, and only used again in World War I and World War II. In 1904, four brick barracks were built on nearby hill Llanion to garrison 1,000 men to defend the harbour, however, by 1967 the troops had been removed. The Martello Tower, which remained in public hands unlike the West Martello Tower, finally found an alternative use when it was re-opened by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1996 as a tourist information centre. Five years later the historic building was leased to the Pembroke Dock Museum Trust, which converted it into a museum. This ran until 2017, when flooding within the tower forced it to close. An application was made the following year to transfer the building to the museum trust, but the council turned this down. And now, looking to off-load the asset, the council have put it up for auction. Explaining the decision to sell it, a spokesman for the council said: 'The county council can confirm that the Martello Tower at Front Street, Pembroke Dock, is to be sold unless a viable and sustainable offer is received from the community. 'We are still prepared to listen to any community group that wants to make such a proposal.' The three-storey tower's new owner will be responsible for its repair and maintenance. It will be auctioned by John Francis on July 17 this year. Franco-British relations between 1830s to 1900s Lord Palmerston France's July revolution in 1830 re-ignited tensions across the English Channel between the two countries. They had passed through a brief period of calm after Napoleon I's huge invasion army, which had caused the British to construct 101 towers along their coastline for defence, had threatened the United Kingdom after the breakdown of a previous ceasefire. Charles X was deposed and in 1848 Napoleon's nephew, Louis-Napoleon, became leader of the second republic. This spurred on further fortification building in Britain due to fears that the French could try to invade. 1848 - Louis-Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon, is elected leader of the second republic that was declared in February. 1849 - France invades Italy, which at the time was fighting for independence from Austria, in order to restore Pius IX to the papal throne. They attempted to invade Rome but were defeated 1849 - Britain's then foreign minister Palmerston contends that France is preparing to invade Britain. 1851 - The Martello towers are built at the Royal Dock in Pembroke and further fortresses are constructed around Portsmouth 1853 - A visit to France by British official Delane leads him to conclude that Louis-Napoleon is set upon a 'forward foreign policy', heightening fears in Britain 1854 - Panic at a French invasion drops off as Britain and France find themselves in an alliance against Russia 1855 - Napoleon III (Louis-Napoleon) visits London on a state visit. Four months later Queen Victoria is invited to Paris for a similar visit 1858 - Fort Elson is finished in Portsmouth 1859 - France intervenes in Italy again, where Austria is fighting independence forces 1860 - Fears over a French invasion of Britain are re-ignited for the third time due to France's Italian intervention. A line of eight forts is commissioned around Portsmouth, while the Martello towers in Pembroke receive no further improvements. Fort Gomer is finished in Portsmouth 1870 - Fears of a French invasion are put to an end after France enters a war with Prussia in Germany. None of the forts built in defence ever fired a shot against French forcesAll rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility