The Wignacourt Tower is the fisrt of the many coastal watchtowers built as a defensive outpost during the Knights of the Order of St.John's stay in Malta. It was built at the expense of Grand Master Adolf de Wignacourt in 1610 and designed by the Maltese architect Vittorio Cassar. The original main first floor entrance was approached over a drawbridge from a flight of stone steps. These steps were unfortunately removed in the fifties to widen the road in front. The ground floor entrance is a later addition. From 1610 to 1649, Wignacourt Tower was Malta's northernmost defensive outpost until St Agatha's Tower was built in Mellieha. In 1715 a coastal battery was added to increase its firepower. During the eighteenth century, the Tower was equipped with two 6-pounder and three 18-pounder cannons and in the following century it was used as a police station and telegraph post.