Luttrell's Tower is a three-storey stuccoed yellow brick

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 ...

south of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England, near the village of

Calshot Calshot is a coastal village in Hampshire, England, at the west corner of Southampton Water where it joins the Solent.OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013). History In 1539, Henry VIII ord ...

. It has a six-storey circular stair turret extending above the rest. It stands on the shore of the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whi ...

, close to the grounds of Eaglehurst House. It is owned by the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

History

The tower was built circa 1780 for Temple Simon Luttrell by

Thomas Sandby Thomas Sandby (1721 – 25 June 1798) was an English draughtsman, watercolour artist, architect and teacher. In 1743 he was appointed private secretary to the Duke of Cumberland, who later appointed him Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park, wh ...

, who was a founder member and first Professor of Architecture at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

. Temple Luttrell was a Member of Parliament who was allegedly involved in smuggling on the south coast (though no firm evidence of this exists). The tower's lookout, extending above the height of the main building, would have afforded a commanding view of the activities of the customs men in the area, both out to sea and inland. A tunnel running from an entrance just above the beach straight into the cellar of the tower would have made transferring contraband from the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

a low risk operation. It is possible that the tunnel predates the tower. Once the goods were on the mainland, the proximity of Southampton would have made distribution expeditious. In the early 19th century the tower was sold to

Richard Lambart, 7th Earl of Cavan Richard Ford William Lambart, 7th Earl of Cavan (10 September 1763 – 21 November 1837), styled Viscount Kilcoursie from 1772 to 1778, was a British military commander throughout the Napoleonic era and beyond. He became head of the British Army ...

. The earl set up tents around the base of the tower and lived in it for a while. Finding the tower too small he later built Eaglehurst House slightly further inland. Documentation in the tower suggests there may have been tunnels from the base of the tower into the cellars of Eaglehurst House; if so they are now blocked up.

Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi ( ; ; 25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system. This ...

used the tower for his wireless experiments of 1912. He rented Eaglehurst House and the tower between 1911 and 1916, and used the top of the tower for his transmissions. His youngest daughter, Gioia, was christened at Fawley Church in 1916. Steps down to the beach were added in 1927 to a design by

Clough Williams-Ellis Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Military Cross, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate architecture, Italianate village of Portmeirion in North ...

. During World War 2 the tower was taken over by the military who fitted steel shutters over the windows. After the war the tower along with the house was purchased by Valder Gates who had the wartime damage the buildings had suffered repaired.

Modern use

The tower became a Grade: II* Listed building on 8 October 1959. Since 1968 it has been owned by the

, a charity that rescues and restores historical buildings. It is now let as a holiday home.

References

External links

{{commons category Folly towers in England Grade II* listed buildings in Hampshire Landmark Trust properties in England Towers in Hampshire Towers completed in 1780 1780 establishments in England Tower houses in the United Kingdom Brick buildings and structures in the United Kingdom