Sir Tatton Sykes Memorial Tower

The Sir Tatton Sykes Memorial Tower, dated 1865, stands on Garton Hill, near Westfield. It was designed by J Gibbs of Oxford as a memorial to Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet of Sledmere, who died in 1863, and funded by voluntary subscriptions for Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet. The tower is approximately 120 feet high and of a roughly square plan, tapering to a spire. It is constructed from magnesian limestone and reddish sandstone ashlar in a polychrome Gothic Revival style.

The tower's design features three stages and decorative buttresses at the angles. A pointed plank door sits within a stone surround to the lower stage, with foliate capitals supporting a roll-moulded arch. Above the entrance are two bands of foliate modillions, the upper one supporting a central band with a plaque. An inscription encircles the tower, reading: 'ERECTED TO THE MEMORY / SIR TATTON SYKES BARONET / BY THOSE WHO LOVED HIM AS A FRIEND / AND HONOURED HIM AS A LANDLORD'. Above this is a sculpted relief depicting Sir Tatton on horseback beneath a tree, within a trefoil-headed, pointed roll-moulded arch, flanked by shields and three stars. This arch is supported by squat, octagonal polychrome responds with foliate capitals. Similar piers at the angles rest on the buttresses and are surmounted by cornices inscribed with the monogram 'TS' and pinnacles.

The second stage features a polychrome band ornamented with a star motif, followed by a red band, then a two-light, pointed window with red nook-shafts and a central shaft all with foliate capitals and a polychrome star to the arch. A further inscription encircling the tower reads: 'THE MEMORY / OF THE JUST / IS BLESSED / PROVERBS X 7'. Above the inscription is a single, trefoil-headed light with shafts to the sides, followed by a polychrome band. The third stage has a cornice with an acanthus and anthemion motif supporting the date plaque. Above this are three lancet lights with shafts in oriel windows, each beneath a gable. The octagonal spire is ornamented with the monogram 'TS', a foliate cornice, and finials, topped with a cross. The sides of the tower are similarly decorated, featuring trefoiled niches to the lower stage, and to the left side, a sculpted panel depicting farm implements and a tree.