Laura'S Tower

Laura's Tower is a tower built as a folly on the castle motte around 1790 by Thomas Telford. It is constructed from coursed and squared red sandstone and features a conical copper roof. The tower is octagonal and consists of a single storey above a basement. A double curved external staircase leads to a roll moulded, two-centred arched doorway, with another arched doorway at ground level between the arms of the staircase. The upper windows are wide lancets, and there are a series of arrow slits above. An embattled parapet is supported by corbels. There is a possibility that the base of an earlier tower exists on the site below. The tower was built for Laura, the daughter of Sir William Pulteney, to serve as a summer house.