Derry Ormond Tower is a

Grade II* 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 ...

-listed

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

situated above

Betws Bledrws Betws Bledrws, is a village between Lampeter and Llangybi, Ceredigion, Wales that was also known as Derry Ormond when under the influence of Derry Ormond Mansion. Situated on the on the valley floor of the River Dulas, approximately north of Lam ...

, north of

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, ...

in the county of

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It was built in the early nineteenth century as an unemployment relief project. The tower forms an eyecatcher within a landscaped park attached to the, now demolished, Derry Ormond House. The park is listed on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government. Th ...

Derry Ormond Tower south-west of Betws Bledrws, Ceredigion (geograph 3249963)

History

The tower was designed by

C. R. Cockerell Charles Robert Cockerell (27 April 1788 – 17 September 1863) was an English architect, archaeologist, and writer. He studied architecture under Robert Smirke. He went on an extended Grand Tour lasting seven years, mainly spent in Greece. H ...

who also designed Derry Ormond House, funded by John Jones, squire of Derry Ormond, and built by local unemployed men between 1821 and 1824. The project was overseen by a local builder named David Morgan. His gravestone in the churchyard of Betws Bledrws church describes him as "the contractor and builder of the Derry Ormond Tower". While originally it was named "St David's Pillar", in the historic

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

mapping of 1888 it was referred to by its present name (which refers to the locality of Derry Ormond).

Conservation

The tower was Grade II* listed on 28 February 1952 "as one of the most prominent romantic monuments in the region, of which the Pendinas Column of 1853 at

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

is the only other of similar form." Despite being renovated by D. B. Hague in the 1970s, the tower has since fallen into disrepair. The entrance has been bricked up, with only a small hole allowing access to the ground floor, while the stairs are precarious with a gap approximately ten feet up that prevents further access. The park surrounding the tower is designated Grade II on the

Description

The tower, which is based on an upturned cannon, was built on common land near Derry Ormond. The pedestal of the column is built of coursed square rubble stone, high and wide. The column itself is high and has a square plinth and a rounded base in diameter. The column swells in the middle and has a neck ring and a now-eroded band of

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

s at its top. Apparently it was surmounted by a viewing platform, but is now covered by slate slabs and consolidated in concrete. The stairway to the top had narrow loops to admit light through the shafts.

References

{{coord, 52.14535, -4.06226, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Monuments and memorials in Ceredigion Monumental columns in Wales Towers in Wales Grade II* listed buildings in Ceredigion Registered historic parks and gardens in Ceredigion