Uncategorized | Posted on April 23rd, 2021 | return to news
5 fun facts about Horton Tower
A commanding Dorset folly near Chalbury Common, this magnificent building is set on the top of a hill and is visible for miles. Here are some fascinating fun facts about Horton Tower:
1
The gothic, five-storey, brick tower was built in 1750 by Lord of Horton Manor, Humphrey Sturt, who was an architect and a Dorset MP.
2
The reason for its construction is not known but it’s possible Sturt planned to use it as an observatory for stargazing. It’s now a Grade II* Listed Building.
3
At 43 metres high (140 feet) it was once claimed to be the tallest no-religious building in Britain.
4
Visitors used to be able to enter the tower and look up to the top, as the floors had fallen away.
5
Vodafone now use the tower for their masts and have undertaken restoration work. Their mobile phone signal masts are fixed to the sides, near the top of the tower.
Bonus fact
In the 1960s a cock fighting scene in the film The Mayor of Casterbridge was filmed at Horton Tower starring Terence Stamp and Julie Christie.
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