The Portobello Tower is a Grade II listed building in the South Staffordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 16 May 1953. A C18 Commemorative tower.
The Portobello Tower
- WRENN ID
- north-ember-mist
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- South Staffordshire
- Constituency
- Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge MP: Sir Gavin Williamson (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 16 May 1953
- Type
- Commemorative tower
- Address
- The Portobello Tower, Hilton Park, Hilton
- OS grid reference
- SJ 950 046
- Coordinates
- 52.63955, -2.07532
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Portobello Tower is a commemorative tower built between 1739 and 1765 for Henry Vernon, possibly designed by Richard Trubshaw of Haywood, Staffordshire. Constructed from ashlar stone with herringbone pattern tooling, the tower features hexagonal piers and consists of three stages, complete with a moulded plinth and storey bands.
The south side has a ground floor doorway with a raised and beaded architrave, and a lintel that ramps up to a keystone. Opposite the doorway on the north side is a niche with a similar surround that contains a marble plaque. The plaque is inscribed with details commemorating the tower's purpose, including information about Henry Vernon and Admiral Vernon, who took Portobello with six ships of the line on November 22, 1739.
The upper stages of the tower have semi-circular arched windows with raised surrounds, bracketed sills, imposts, and raised keys. Inside, there is a spiral staircase leading to the top of the tower. The Portobello Tower was likely built to commemorate Admiral Vernon, who is known for introducing the practice of watering down rum for sailors, a drink that became known as grog, named after his nickname "Old Grog." The tower is currently roofless and in a state of dereliction.
Local climate
The Portobello Tower receives an average of 800 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 54% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 74% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 37 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 69% of listed buildings. Of these, 19 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
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- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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