Chatley Semaphore Tower

Chatley Semaphore Tower is a semaphore tower built in 1822, which was restored after fire damage in 1989. It is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with a stone coping on the parapet that conceals a flat roof, and a hipped Welsh slate roof covering the porch and kitchen wing, along with brick chimneys.

The tower is octagonal, rising five storeys above a basement, with a square porch on the north side and a one-storey kitchen wing with a basement on the south side. The tower features a deep plinth, a plat band above the ground floor and below the parapet, and alternate recessed faces. Windows are located at the entrance and on alternate sides, with the rear side containing a stack and other sides having blind windows. The windows, which were replaced in 1989, have 12-pane sashes, projecting ashlar cills, and gauged brick arches. A replica semaphore mast, also from 1989, rises from the roof. The porch is accessed by a flight of five replacement stone steps with plain railings and features a 1989 six-panel door and side windows. The kitchen wing has 1989 six-pane basement windows, a 12-pane sash window on the west side, and a door on the gable end, with rebuilt impost band and brickwork above.

The interior was gutted by fire in 1984 and restored, with one original fireplace re-installed in the "parlour." The tower ceased to function as a signalling tower in 1847 and was subsequently used for domestic accommodation.

Chatley Semaphore Tower is an unusually fine example of early 19th-century telegraph-signalling stations and is the only surviving tower of its type.