Cotehele Prospect Tower Cornwall. Follies and folly towers at follytowers.com

Cotehele house on the banks of the River Tamar, built around 1602 was where the Edgcumbe family resided for centuries. Richard Edgcumbe was an MP for Tavistock and a rebel against King Richard III. He was chased relentlessly across the land by Sir Henry Trenowth and his men, before eventually retreating to a secret hiding place in the woods at Cotehele. On near discovery of his whereabouts he evaded certain death by running to the cliff's edge, weighing down his hat with a large stone before throwing it into the Tamar. His pursuers who had heard the splash, looked over the edge and seeing the hat floating down the river assumed Richard had jumped in and had drowned. He hadn't, he was hanging precariously to a branch below the overhang under the cliff! When they had finally given up the search, Richard escaped to Brittany. He joined forces with Henry of Richmond and returned to England once again to defeat Richard III at Bosworth Field. He was knighted for this and to commemorate the victory he built the little chapel of Thomas a Becket near the spot where he had hidden in Cotehele woods. Cotehele House and its surrounding land is now owned by the National Trust.

The estate's prospect tower stands at the edge of a field within sight of the house. It is a triangular, 60ft slate and knobbly stone tower with concave sides, 3 spirelets and has blind church style windows. From a distance it looks similar to a church bell tower. It was built at around 1789 in celebration of a royal visit by King George III and Queen Charlotte to Cotehele. Although locally the story differs. The tower may have been erected so the servants of the house could signal to the Maker Church, at Mount Edgcumbe some 11 miles distant when the family were travelling from 1 house to another.

In 1980 the National Trust installed a spiral wooden staircase to enable visitors to climb to the viewing platform at the top once again. It should be noted that halfway up the visitor is plunged into total darkness and the smell of the damp, ageing stone is overwhelming, the views from the top are superb. A very memorable follytower to visit.

Below: The view from the platform across the fields. Unfortunately for me I was suffering from vertigo after climbing the dark creaky wooden staircase so I could only manage to get in this quick shot!

Cotehele House is owned by the National Trust. It is open daily during the summer months. The tower is only a short walk from the house.

Below: The Tower's Concave walls

The Tower's Concave Walls

Co-ords 242200 068900 / SX 422 689

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				C o t e h e l e T o w e r The Edgcumbe's of Cotehele Cotehele house on the banks of the River Tamar, built around 1602 was where the Edgcumbe family resided for centuries. Richard Edgcumbe was an MP for Tavistock and a rebel against King Richard III. He was chased relentlessly across the land by Sir Henry Trenowth and his men, before eventually retreating to a secret hiding place in the woods at Cotehele. On near discovery of his whereabouts he evaded certain death by running to the cliff's edge, weighing down his hat with a large stone before throwing it into the Tamar. His pursuers who had heard the splash, looked over the edge and seeing the hat floating down the river assumed Richard had jumped in and had drowned. He hadn't, he was hanging precariously to a branch below the overhang under the cliff! When they had finally given up the search, Richard escaped to Brittany. He joined forces with Henry of Richmond and returned to England once again to defeat Richard III at Bosworth Field. He was knighted for this and to commemorate the victory he built the little chapel of Thomas a Becket near the spot where he had hidden in Cotehele woods. Cotehele House and its surrounding land is now owned by the National Trust. The estate's prospect tower stands at the edge of a field within sight of the house. It is a triangular, 60ft slate and knobbly stone tower with concave sides, 3 spirelets and has blind church style windows. From a distance it looks similar to a church bell tower. It was built at around 1789 in celebration of a royal visit by King George III and Queen Charlotte to Cotehele. Although locally the story differs. The tower may have been erected so the servants of the house could signal to the Maker Church, at Mount Edgcumbe some 11 miles distant when the family were travelling from 1 house to another. In 1980 the National Trust installed a spiral wooden staircase to enable visitors to climb to the viewing platform at the top once again. It should be noted that halfway up the visitor is plunged into total darkness and the smell of the damp, ageing stone is overwhelming, the views from the top are superb. A very memorable follytower to visit. Below: The view from the platform across the fields. Unfortunately for me I was suffering from vertigo after climbing the dark creaky wooden staircase so I could only manage to get in this quick shot! Visiting Cotehele House is owned by the National Trust. It is open daily during the summer months. The tower is only a short walk from the house. Below: The Tower's Concave walls Co-ords 242200 068900 / SX 422 689 Bookmark this Page Top of Page Reproduction of part or all of the contents of any of these pages is prohibited except to the extent permitted below. These pages may be downloaded onto a hard disk or printed for your personal use without alterations. Any other use needs consent of the web site owner Mr C Curtis :- see Contact Page. These pages may not be included in any other work or publication, or be distributed or copied for any commercial purpose except as stated above.
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The Edgcumbe's of Cotehele