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Clavell`s Folly or the more usual name of Kimmeridge Tower, stands on top of the oddly named 'Hen Cliff' overlooking Kimmeridge Bay near Swanage in Dorset.
For how much longer it will stand there was open to debate as it was now only 4 metres away from the crumbling, unstable cliff edge. It is also in a very poor state of repair, being a case of whether it will fall down on its own, or fall over the cliff edge first. However, at time of writing, December 2006, It is thankfully in the process of being moved back away from the cliff, another Folly tower saved from destruction. In David Castle's photograph below we see the tower being carefully disassembled stone by stone, ready for the tower's relocation to a safer position, a planned 25-30 ft away from the cliff edge..

Photo Submitted by and copyright of David Castle December 2006

Builder
It was built in the 1820's by the Reverend John Richards as a summer house. The Rev. Richards had actually changed his surname to Clavell, when in 1817 he inherited the Smedmore estate that the tower is part of.
For some reason the family surname is spelt with a double 'L' on the end, yet the tower is shown on some maps spelt with a single 'L' at the end.
The tower consists of 3 floors and a shallow basement, with the first 2 floors at least, having what appear to be fireplaces let into the walls. It is said, like so many of these things, that it was used as an observatory at one time.

Fire Damage
After use in the First World War, and then as a coast guard lookout, fire destroyed the interior around 1920.
After being the subject of many paintings, and also providing material to authors such as Thomas Hardy and P D James's - who used the folly in her book "The Black Tower" - it now stands neglected.
Thomas Hardy not only used it as a location when he was courting a young lady, but used it as an illustration for his 'Wessex Poems'.

The Structure
Outside you have what was once a covered colonnade with presumably access from the 1st floor, the remains of the balustrade still to be seen in places. Each of the floors had four windows for a panoramic view of the sea.
The interior was is in a dangerous condition, when I last visited, and is fenced off. The remanents of the wooden floors that are inside at the present, are obviously not original having been provided since the disastrous fire, oddly there does not seem to be any provision for stairs in these later additions either.

Tower of the Winds
The tower sits high and exposed on the cliff top, so this could account for an alternative name it has of 'Tower of the Winds', though it is now generally known as Kimmeridge Tower.
On the other side of the bay, also in lonely isolation but more treasured it seems, is a 'Nodding Donkey' oil pump. Oil has been pumped from these cliffs since the late 1950`s and the largest European onshore site is nearby at Wytch Farm, Corfe Castle.
One wonders why some of the revenue earned from the oil, could not have been put to use in saving the tower.

See The LATEST Developments    at The Landmark Trust. The trust restore follies and then let them out as holiday accommodation, the income generated being used for their upkeep. The downside is the public can longer have access.

Visiting:-
The bay is still owned by the Smedmore estate to this day, and a small toll is charged on the road down to the bay. A nice steep walk up the cliffs allow you to inspect the tower, ....whilst it is still there.

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