Perrott's Folly, , also known as The Monument, or The Observatory, is a 29-metre (96-foot) tall tower, built in 1758. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in the

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...

area of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, United Kingdom.

History

Built in the open Rotton Park by John Perrott in 1758, who lived in

Belbroughton Belbroughton ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,380. It is about six miles north of Bromsgrove, six miles east of Kidderminster and four ...

, the tower now stands high above the local residential and business housing. There are many stories to explain why the tower was built. One is that John Perrott wanted to be able to survey his land and perhaps entertain guests. Or the tower might have been used to spot animals for hunting. Or that he built the tower so that he could see his wife's grave, away. From 1884 to 1979 the tower was used as a weather recording station for the

Birmingham and Midland Institute , mottoeng = Endless Learning , established = 1854 by Act of Parliament , city = Birmingham , province = West Midlands , country = United Kingdom , president = Sir David Cannadine , vice_president = Dr Serena Trowbridge, Sami ...

. In 1966 the Geography Department of the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

took over the running of the observatory until operations were transferred to the main campus. It has been suggested, but not proven, that the towers of Perrott's Folly and

Edgbaston Waterworks Edgbaston Waterworks (Edgbaston Pumping Station) () lies to the east of Edgbaston Reservoir, two miles west of the centre of Birmingham, England. The buildings were designed by John Henry Chamberlain and William Martin around 1870. The engine h ...

may have influenced references to towers in the writings of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

, who lived nearby as a child.

Prospects

The Perrott's Folly Company was formed in 1984 to renovate the tower and make it accessible to the public. The company obtained grants from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

and

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...

to secure the building. In the summer of 2005 the Perrott's Folly Company, in partnership with

Birmingham Conservation Trust Birmingham Conservation Trust is a charity which saves and restores historic buildings in the city of Birmingham, England. History Birmingham Conservation Trust was founded in 1977 by Birmingham City Council as a vehicle to preserve and restore ...

, completed work to stabilise the structure. However, money still has to be found to complete repairs to some of the key features. In April 2008 the tower was temporarily opened to the public, housing an art exhibition in co-operation with the

Ikon Gallery The Ikon Gallery () is an English gallery of contemporary art, located in Brindleyplace, Birmingham. It is housed in the Grade II listed, neo-gothic former Oozells Street Board School, designed by John Henry Chamberlain in 1877. Ikon was set u ...

. It was opened again in May 2008 as part of a weekend of celebrations of the life of

. The Perrott's Folly Company was formally closed in August 2009. The tower was managed by Trident Housing Association between 2005 and 2017 and is now managed by Re.Future Collective, a Birmingham based Arts and Architecture Collective.

References

Sources

* ''A Guide to the Buildings of Birmingham'', Peter Leather, * *

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20180109181043/http://www.follyproject.org/ {{Coord, 52.4744, N, 1.9312, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Folly towers in England Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands Grade II* listed buildings in the West Midlands (county) J. R. R. Tolkien Edgbaston Towers in the West Midlands (county) Towers completed in 1758