 The local Coastguards used it as a lookout until the 1930s, when it was gutted by fire.The desolate condition of Clavell Tower was the inspiration behind Baroness P. D. James's 1975 novel "The Black Tower".The tower was used by Anglia Television as a principal location in their six part adaptation of the story starring Roy Marsden in 1985, and featured in the music video for The Style Council's 1985 single "Boy Who Cried Wolf".