A woman tragically died after falling 87ft from an iconic 300 year old tower in a seaside town on the Essex coast, an inquest has heard.
The victim was on a day out with her husband when she died from the fall from the top of Naze Tower on the cliffs at The Naze headland in Walton-on-the-Naze.
Named as Cherry Box, 63, she had travelled from Basildon for the day on August 2 scaled up the tower while her husband waited on the ground with their pet dog.
Coroner Michelle Brown confirmed to Essex Coroner’s Court that Mrs Box fell from the top of the tower, and was declared deceased by paramedics attending the scene at about 3.52pm the same day.
She said: “Identity was confirmed by her husband.
"Following a post-mortem, a provisional cause of death was given as 1A, multiple severe traumatic injuries, awaiting toxicological examination.”
Mrs Brown adjourned the hearing pending further investigation.
Over eight floors, the tower houses an art gallery with three exhibitions a year, alongside a café and a roof viewing platform with panoramic views.
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Trinity House built the octagonal tower in 1720 as a navigational mark to aid shipping.
Originally housing a beacon, it is the predecessor of the reflective lighthouse that became commonplace in the 19th century.
The Naze Tower is a Grade II listed building of historic interest, and is the only one of its kind in existence.
This listing places it in the top 5 per cent of heritage buildings and the top twenty listed lighthouses in the country.
Rosemary Nye-Browne saved the tower when she bought it for £50,000 in 1996.
The panoramic viewpoint takes in the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich, Hamford Water, and turbines out in the North Sea.
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