Clavell Tower

Folly and observatory, now (2014) holiday accommodation. erected 1830-31, by Robert Vining for the Reverend John Richards Clavell. Re-sited and restored in the early C21.

MATERIALS: constructed of rendered brick and coursed local stone rubble, with ashlar dressings, on a concrete foundation. Early-C21 timber sash windows.

PLAN: a circular tower of three storeys plus a semi-basement.

EXTERIOR: the basement breaks forwards of the rest of the tower. It has strip pilasters and stone mullioned windows, with an entrance to the north-east side which is flanked by Tuscan columns that support the two flights of cantilevered Portland stone steps leading to the ground floor. The ground floor is surrounded by a Tuscan colonnade of twelve columns which each align with the pilasters below. It has a simple entablature surmounted by a parapet decorated with pierced quatrefoils. There is a round-headed doorway and three round-headed windows to the ground floor. The two upper storeys are divided by a stone stringcourse, and each has four round-arched windows which are aligned with the cardinal points. The parapet has false machicolations and a frieze of pierced quatrefoils.

INTERIOR: not inspected (2014). Prior to restoration, the staircase and roof timbers were no longer extant, but although the floors were badly rotted the teak joists largely survive with some are replacements. The stairs and the roof timbers have been replaced, and new fireplaces and joinery introduced. The basement retains its original floor of Purbeck stone.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 14/01/2015