Peterson's Tower is a Grade II* listed building in the New Forest National Park local planning authority area, England. First listed on 11 April 1975. A Victorian Tower. 13 related planning applications.
Peterson's Tower
- WRENN ID
- hallowed-sandstone-azure
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- New Forest National Park
- Constituency
- New Forest East MP: Sir Julian Lewis (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 11 April 1975
- Type
- Tower
- Period
- Victorian
- Address
- Peterson's Tower, Barrows Lane, Sway, SO41 6DE
- OS grid reference
- SZ 279 967
- Coordinates
- 50.76957, -1.60449
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Peterson's Tower is a folly tower built between 1879 and 1885 for A.T. Peterson. It is constructed from mass concrete in lifts, with the concrete being rammed into wooden frames. The tower stands 66 meters high and has a slender, square plan, featuring a higher polygonal stair-turret and a lantern at the top. The structure consists of a plinth and three stages, with a total of ten storeys. The central stage is larger, and there is a moulded string between the stages. Each face of the stages has recessed pointed panels, and the windows are mostly pointed, reflecting an Indian architectural style, particularly in the drum and domes of the stair-turret and lantern. At ground floor level, there are two single-storey wings. Peterson intended to be entombed at the top of the tower with a permanent strong light, but this was not permitted. The tower serves as a landmark in the tradition of 18th-century follies and is a remarkably early example of concrete construction.
Local climate
Peterson's Tower receives an average of 940 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 72% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 93% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 8 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 93% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 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.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 13 applications
- 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
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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