PGW(Dy)49(CAM)

Paxton's Tower  

II*  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Carmarthenshire  

Llanarthney  

254125  

219142  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Folly tower  

1808-15  

Registered for its historic interest as a folly tower built in 1805-09 for the owner of Middleton Hall, Sir William Paxton (1744-1824) by the architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1753-1827). The tower (LB: 9384) sometimes known as Nelson’s Tower or Paxton’s Folly occupies the open, grassy summit of the escarpment known as Allt Pistyll-Dewi or Allt Fawr. It forms a spectacular landmark overlooking the Tywi Valley and was built as a memorial and as an eye-catcher from the house and park at Middleton Hall to the south-west. The tower is triangular, three storeys high, built of coursed local rubble stone. It is topped by a smaller hexagonal look-out tower, with crenellated parapets and six round-headed, now blocked, windows. There are tall round turrets at the corners and three arched openings on the ground floor, above which are mullioned windows. Formerly, the windows contained stained glass and the second floor was used as a banqueting hall. An early description by Samuel Lewis in A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1833) refers to a sumptuous banqueting room. Stone inscription panels on the walls are now blank. The tower is dedicated to Lord Nelson and his victories. It is also said that Sir William, displeased at having lost the County election of 1802 after an expenditure of some £15,000, built the tower with money he had offered his electors during the campaign to build a much needed bridge over the Tywi. When the good people failed to elect him, he is said to have used the money to build the folly instead. Below the tower, is a small, single-storey cottage with a partially stone-walled garden. It has been restored by the Landmark Trust. The cottage is a two-unit, two-window building of rubble stone, with a slate roof. It does not appear on the estate sale plan of 1824 but is one of two cottages marked as ‘lodge’ on the 1831 Ordnance Survey map and therefore was probably built during the period when Middleton was owned by E.H. Adams. It was occupied by the caretaker for the tower. On later maps it is called Tower Lodge. Setting: Located in rural Carmarthenshire, the tower forms a spectacular landmark in the surrounding landscape. There is an important visual connection between the tower and the park at Middleton Hall. Significant Views: Spectacular panoramic views from the summit of the hill and tower, particularly over the Tywi Valley to the north. The visual connection between the house site and park at Middleton Hall and Paxton’s Tower are also important. Source: Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire (ref: PGW(Dy)21(CAM)).