Willett Tower is a Grade II listed building in the Somerset local planning authority area, England. First listed on 21 December 1984. Folly.
Willett Tower
- WRENN ID
- noble-keep-blackthorn
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Somerset
- Constituency
- Tiverton and Minehead MP: Rachel Gilmour (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 21 December 1984
- Type
- Folly
- Address
- Willett Tower, Elworthy
- OS grid reference
- ST 095 335
- Coordinates
- 51.09393, -3.29262
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Willett Tower is a folly designed to resemble a ruined church tower, built around 1820. It is constructed from iron stone random rubble with brick dressings. The tower has three stages and features crenellations, with one larger merlon on the south side to create the appearance of a stair turret. There are stepped buttresses at the second stage and arched openings at the third stage, along with arched entrances on the east and west sides. The south side has about 5 metres of wall, standing 6 metres high, including the arched opening. Inside, there are remains of rafters and signs of a stairway leading to a viewing platform. Although the quality of the workmanship is poor, the tower is a prominent feature in the landscape, situated on a wooded hill and visible from a distance. It was likely built for Daniel Blommart of Willett House, possibly by the architect Richard Carver, who designed Willett House.
Local climate
Willett Tower receives an average of 940 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 71% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 79% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 20 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 79% of listed buildings. Of these, 8 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
- No related consent applications matched
- 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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