Faringdon Folly - please complete this Questionnaire

Faringdon Folly Tower is our most notable landmark and as such is very important to the town and people who live here and nearby.
Most people love it and many visit the tower or the hill frequently. We all look forward to the Christmas light on the tower.

The tower is in need of extensive repairs including a new roof and electrical wiring. We also want to invest in the woodland to increase biodiversity, plant trees and provide information boards, and maybe provide some public art to encourage visitors to the hill whether the tower is open or not.

Friends of Faringdon Folly are busy applying for grants to carry out this work and your support will increase our chances of success, so please complete the Folly questionnaire (it is very short),

This will help to ensure that the Folly Tower and Woodland are well-maintained and available for years to come for the benefit of the Town and surrounding villages.

Please return it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

 South West Oxfordshire

"Within three minutes' walk of the town, is Faringdon Hill, well known for its extensive view over the surrounding country; it rises gradually from the vale of White Horse, the whole of which it commands, as well as a rich and varied prospect of parts of five counties, viz Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Buckinhamshire.

There are many single points of view, which equal, or perhaps surpass, that to be seen from this place, but when a circuit is made of its summit, and new beauties are found at every step, it cannot fail to be pronounced the finest circular view in the kingdom,"
Extract from Pigot & Co's Directory of 1824

The Folly Tower, standing on Folly Hill, is a wonderful viewpoint and a landmark that can be seen for miles around.

The 104ft high tower was built in 1935 by Lord Berners, the then owner of Faringdon House, for his young friend Robert Heber Percy.

The style is unusual in that the stark perpendicular building is topped with gothic flourishes and mock battlements, added at the insistence of Lord Berners. It is the last folly to be built in England.

As a millennium celebration, Peter White, a local Electrical Contractor, installed power and a massive light that panned the countryside. Thousands of people visited the Folly Lighthouse until it was removed in April 2000. Since 2000, Peter also provided various lights that shine from the top of the tower throughout the Christmas and New Year period.

Friends of the Folly are a local group who support the Folly Trust, the owners of the Tower and woodland since 1985.

To arrange private visits or to find out about becoming a Friend of the Folly please contact Eddie Williams on 01367 241142 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

More about Faringdon's history, including Lord Berners, Faringdon House, Robert Heber Percy, The Folly Tower and Lighthouse Faringdon can be found on the history pages of Faringdon Online