Willett Tower

The Brendon Hills in West Somerset, are close to the border with Devon. This range of hills has 4 follies. They are two towers, 1 at Combe Florey, the other at Cothelstone. Also at Cothelstone, there is a very unusual alcoved sedillia or seat containing an odd headless statue. The final folly which make up the four is this excellent sham ruin of a church tower, built in 1820, and perched very high up on top of Willett hill, near Elworthy, and Willett village.

Willett's Tower stands at the summit, decaying, desolate, and completely surrounded by dense woodland. It is sham ruin based on a church tower, being square, with a curtain pierced with a large pointed arch at one side. A distant, but uglier, relative of old John's Folly Tower perhaps?

Closer inspection reveals there may have been a second supporting arch flanking the entrance arches, but now collapsed and forgotten. The tower has a buttress at each corner, and as there is evidence of a base of the second curtain wall a short distance from the tower, and a tall stump of slate at the tower side, it would make perfect sense to say that there were indeed once 2, making the design of the tower symmetrical, unless it was purposely designed to make the inquisitive visitor imagine this of course!

The tower is constructed of layers upon layers of Somerset slate sandwiched into red mortar and brick. A Mr Belmerton constructed this oddity, possibly as an eye catcher tower for the surrounding villages, before the trees grew up, now virtually obscuring it from the ground far below. We can see in the photograph below that the tower once contained a wooden staircase, where one could enjoy the stunning view of the surrounding countryside, but this has long since perished.

Gwyn Headley points out in his book "Follies Grottoes and Garden Buildings", that there may have been another tale as to the tower's origin. It may be that it was actually erected in 1774, and paid for by subscription, at a total cost of £130, with a Mr Bernard, the Lord of the Manor of Crowcombe providing £80 towards the cost..

Above and Below: a nice angled shot of the sham tower and its corner buttresses.

Visiting:- Willett's Tower is accessible. However it does involve a walk of about 0.5 mile following the path up the very steep, and sometimes muddy hill from the -very small- car park, (off the B3224 road towards Bishops Lydeard and marked, not too surprisingly, "Willett's Hill"). The land is managed by the Forestry Commission, and visitors are advised to keep to the path at all times, as the land is also used as a shooting let.

Willett's Tower looms up above the conifers as the visitor approaches it.