Hadlow Tower

Heritage listing

Details HADLOW HIGH STREET (south side) TQ 63 49 7/84 Hadlow Tower, Hadlow Castle 17.4.51 GV I Tower, part of the remains of Hadlow Castle, a large Gothick house of late C18 origins. Tower begun 1838 (lantern added in 1840) for Walter Barton May to the designs of George Ledwell Taylor (Thirsk); modelled in part on William Beckford's 1812 tower (collapsed 1825) at Fonthill, Wiltshire, designed by James Wyatt. Rendered brick to imitate stone with the finer architectural detail and decoration built up in the Roman cement render. Gothick. Plan: The tower was added at the south east corner of the original house (built by May's-father) with the stable courtyard to its north east. The main house was dismantled in 1951: what is left today is the stable courtyard, converted to housing, with the tower in the south east corner linked to the courtyard buildings by a freestanding wall, formerly the west wall of the house. Tower octagonal on plan with a circular stair turrett adjoining at the south west and a doorway on the north face. A lower, rectangular tower adjoins at the west. The original function of the main tower, beyond advertising the wealth and architectural ambition of the family, is obscure. The interior is relatively plain, especially when comapred with the lavish Interior of the house. It does not appear to have been heated originally and the smaller tower, between it and the house, was used as accommodation for men servants prior to 1951 (Thirsk). Exterior: An extraordinary landmark, especially in the flat Hadlow landscape. 170 feet high, plus the lantern and covered with quite delicate Gothick detail in Roman cement, becoming progressively more elaborate on the upper stages. Slender 3-tier gabled projections to each of the cardinal faces with diagonal buttresses, st

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.