Browne's Folly, or Brown's Folly (), is a folly tower sitting within a 39.9

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near the English village of Bathford in Somerset, notified in 1974: the site itself is known as the Farleigh (sometimes Farly) Down Stone Quarry and is managed as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

by the

Avon Wildlife Trust The Avon Wildlife Trust aims to protect and promote wildlife in the area of the former county of Avon – now Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, in England. It has its headquarters in Bristol and ru ...

(AWT). The tower was built in 1848 and is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The site is situated on steep west-facing slopes which overlook the River Avon. The calcareous soils have developed on

Lower Lias The Lias Group or Lias is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) found in a large area of western Europe, including the British Isles, the North Sea, the Low Countries and the north of Germany. It consists of marine limestones, sh ...

clays,

fuller's earth Fuller's earth is a term for various clays used as an absorbent, filter, or bleaching agent. Products labeled fuller's earth typically consist of palygorskite (also known as attapulgite) or bentonite. Primary modern uses include as absorbents ...

and

oolitic limestone Oolite or oölite () is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 millimetres; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisol ...

strata of Jurassic age. The local geology is of major importance in the context of the British

Bathonian In the geologic timescale the Bathonian is an age (geology), age and stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 168.2 ±1.2 annum, Ma to around 165.3 ±1.1 Ma (million years ago). The Bathonian Age succeeds ...

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

. The site forms part of the Bath and Bradford-on-Avon Bats Special Area of Conservation and includes the remains of quarries used for the extraction of

Bath Stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...

. These provide a rich variety of wildlife habitats. Downland flora has covered the spoilheaps where wild thyme, harebell and nine species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

(including the rare

Fly Orchid ''Ophrys insectifera'', the fly orchid, is a species of orchid and the type species of the genus ''Ophrys''. It is remarkable as an example of the use of sexually deceptive pollination and floral mimicry, as well as a highly selective and highly ...

) are found. Yellow Bird's-nest occurs here. The damp cliff faces support a variety of

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

and spiders. Pockets of ancient woodland on the lower slopes are home to

woodpeckers Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. ...

, and unusual plants such as Bath asparagus.

Old quarries

The quarry workings provided stone for the façade of Buckingham Palace. The underground workings are of great speleological and historical interest; they are well decorated and contain many delicate stalactites and examples of gull formation (caves features formed by land slippage). The disused underground quarries are used for roosting by the

Greater Horseshoe Bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an Insectivore, insectivorous bat of the genus ''Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats i ...

, and five other bat species are present at the site. The main bat roost area is clearly marked on the survey created by the SMCC, and everyone is asked to avoid the area. Boris, the oldest Greater Horseshoe Bat ever recorded in Britain, was discovered at Browne's Folly in January 2000. The SSSI forms part of the Bath and Bradford-on-Avon Bats Special Area of Conservation.

Access

In 2000, access was unilaterally withdrawn by the Avon Wildlife Trust pending the results of a mine inspector's report on the safety of the mines. This report was required because of the Health and Safety at Work Act which affects employees and volunteers of Avon Wildlife Trust who might have to enter the mine to count the bats. These legal requirements do not affect leisure access by cavers. Prior to 2000, access to the mine was controlled by the Council of Southern Caving Clubs and cavers coexisted with a thriving bat population with voluntary restrictions on access during the bat roosting season.

References

{{SSSIs Avon geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Avon Bath and North East Somerset Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1974 Nature reserves in Somerset Towers completed in 1848