Alfred's Tower is a

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 ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England, on the edge of the border with

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, on the

Stourhead Stourhead () is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset. The estate is about northwest of the town of Mere and includes a Grade I list ...

estate. The tower stands on Kingsettle Hill and belongs to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. It is designated as a Grade I

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 ...

Henry Hoare Henry Hoare II (1705–1785), known as Henry the Magnificent, was an English banker and garden owner-designer. Family Henry's grandfather, Richard Hoare, was a goldsmith-banker and Lord Mayor of London. His father, Henry Hoare I, bought th ...

II planned the tower in the 1760s to commemorate the end of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

against France and the accession of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

, and it was erected near the site of Egbert's Stone, where it is believed that

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

King of Wessex This is a list of monarchs of the Kingdom of the West Saxons (Wessex) until 886 AD. While the details of the later monarchs are confirmed by a number of sources, the earlier ones are in many cases obscure. The names are given in modern English f ...

, rallied the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

in 878 before the

Battle of Edington The Battle of Edington or Battle of Ethandun was fought in May 878 between the West Saxon army of King Alfred the Great and the Great Heathen Army led by the Danish warlord Guthrum. The battle took place near Edington, Wiltshire, Edington in ...

. The tower was damaged by an aeroplane in 1944 and restored in the 1980s. The triangular tower has a hollow centre and is climbed by means of a spiral staircase in one of the corner projections. It has a statue of King Alfred and a dedication inscription.

Location

The tower stands near the site of 'Egbert's Stone', where it was said that

, rallied the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

in May 878 before the important

(historically known as the battle of ''Ethandun''), where the Danish army, led by Guthrum the Old, was defeated. It is the start of the

Leland Trail The Leland Trail is a footpath in Somerset, England. It was named after the antiquary John Leland (antiquary), John Leland, and runs from King Alfred's Tower in Penselwood, southwest to Ham Hill Country Park near Yeovil. History The path was ...

, a footpath which runs south-west to Ham Hill Country Park.

History

The project to build the tower was conceived in 1762 by the banker

II (1705–1785). The tower was intended to commemorate the end of the

against France and the accession of

. In 1765,

Henry Flitcroft Henry Flitcroft (30 August 1697 – 25 February 1769) was a major English architect in the second generation of Palladianism. He came from a humble background; his father was a labourer in the gardens at Hampton Court. Flitcroft began his career a ...

, a

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

architect, designed the tower. Building began in 1769 or early 1770, and was completed in 1772 at a cost estimated to be between £5,000 and £6,000. There may have been some delay due to difficulty in obtaining the bricks. In addition to the commemorative function, the tower was also intended to serve as an eye-catcher for those touring the parkland of the Stourhead Estate. In April 1770, when the tower was just high, Hoare is quoted as saying: "I hope it will be finished in as happy Times to this Isle as Alfred finished his Life of Glory in then I shall depart in peace." The tower was damaged in 1944 when a

Noorduyn Norseman The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable. Intro ...

aeroplane crashed into it in fog, damaging the uppermost ; one source states that all five on board were killed. It was designated as a Grade I

in 1961. Restoration work in 1986 included the use of a Wessex helicopter to lower a piece of masonry onto the top. The statue of King Alfred was also restored at this time, including the replacement of his missing right forearm.

Architecture

The triangular tower is over high with a girth of . Each of the three corners of the triangular structure has a round projection. The centre of the tower is hollow, and to stop birds from entering the space a mesh has been added at roof level. The viewing platform, which has a

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

and offers a view over the surrounding countryside, is reached by a 205-step spiral staircase at the corner furthest from the entrance. The brick tower has Chilmark stone dressings and is surmounted by an embattled parapet. The south-east face of the tower has a Gothic-arched entrance door, a statue of King Alfred, and a stone panel bearing an inscription (see below). This is the face that most visitors see first when walking from

garden or from the nearby car park.

Inscription

Around the Stourhead estate are several inscriptions. The plaque of the inscription is in poor condition and needs restoration. It was drafted in 1762 and installed in 1772. The stone tablet above the door on the east face of the tower reads:

ALFRED THE GREAT AD 879 on this Summit Erected his Standard Against Danish Invaders To him We owe The Origin of Juries The Establishment of a Militia The Creation of a Naval Force ALFRED The Light of a Benighted Age Was a Philosopher and a Christian The Father of his People The Founder of the English MONARCHY and LIBERTY

In popular culture

The tower is mentioned in

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

's poem "Channel Firing" (written in April 1914) as a place "far inland".Hardy, Thomas
"Channel Firing"
Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 18 March 2020.

References

External links

{{Commons category, King Alfred's Tower
Unofficial website
last updated in 2015, via Internet Archive Towers in Somerset Monuments and memorials in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset National Trust properties in Somerset Tourist attractions in Somerset Folly towers in England Towers completed in 1772 Alfred the Great Observation towers in the United Kingdom Grade I listed towers Grade I listed monuments and memorials it:Stourhead#Alfred's Tower