Browne's Folly is a

folly tower A folly tower is a tower that has been built as an architectural folly, that is, constructed for ornamental rather than practical reasons. Folly towers are common in Britain and Ireland, and often do have some practical value as landmarks, or as vie ...

on the Farleigh Rise near the village of

Bathford Bathford (pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable) is a village and civil parish east of Bath, England. The parish, which includes Warleigh, has a population of 1,759 and extends over . History The ancient charter ''Codex Diploma ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. The Folly was designated 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 1988. It gave its name to Brown's Folly, a 100 acre

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, notified in 1974.

History

The tower was built in 1845 by Colonel Wade Browne, the squire of Monkton Farleigh Manor, to provide employment during an agricultural recession. It replaced a

semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

tower which had previously stood on the site. In 1907 the tower was renovated by the owner of the estate,

Charles Hobhouse Sir Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse, 4th Baronet, TD, PC, JP (30 June 1862 – 26 June 1941) was a British Liberal politician and officer in the Territorial Force. He was a member of the Liberal cabinet of H. H. Asquith between 1911 and 1915 ...

, who had his shooting parties meet at the tower. Demolition was suggested in 1938 but did not take place. A depiction of the Folly appears on the unofficial coat of arms of Bathford Parish Council.

Structure

The tower is made of coursed rubble stone, has a square plan and tapers as it rises. Inside, there is a spiral staircase in some degree of disrepair and with no handrail. The upper stage has round-arched openings but the

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

d handrails are missing the entire way up the staircase. The Folly is structurally sound. While dangerous to climb, the tower is currently open to the public. Since 1998 it has been maintained by the

Folly Fellowship The Folly Fellowship is a UK charity and company limited by guarantee. It was created in 1988 by Gwyn Headley, Wim Meulenkamp and Andrew Plumridge as an amenity society to protect, preserve and promote awareness of Britain's follies, grottoes an ...

, which replaced the roof.

References

External links

Video of the inside of the tower
{{Authority control Bath and North East Somerset Folly towers in England Towers in Somerset Observation towers in the United Kingdom Grade II listed buildings in Bath and North East Somerset Towers completed in 1845