Faringdon
Folly
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It is generally believed that Faringdon Folly is the last folly to be (deliberately)built in England During the early part of the 19th Century, before the tower was built, it was claimed that no fewer than 30 parish churches could be seen from the hilltop. When one considers the contours of the landscape and the number of trees, it is difficult to see how such a claim could have been substantiated 6 counties can be seen from the top of the tower. Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire It is definite that 4 can be seen - and maybe 5 on a clear day That is was built to provide employment for local people. However, only 1 extra person was employed by the estate It was a 21st birthday present for Robert Heber Percy from Lord Berners. However he was 23 by the time it was built I guess the idea to build it may have arisen on or around his 21st birthday. It is said that Robert heber Percy really wanted a horse The grand opening, with fireworks, was on 5/11/1935, Robert Heber Percy's 24th birthday. It is reputed that John Betjeman, living at Uffington, 6 miles away, wrote a poem about the occasion, but no record of this verse or his opinion has been traced That on a clear day the Bristol Channel can be seen. The western edge of Cotswold hills prevents this It is true that it is a genuine folly, and built with no particular purpose in mind. Lord Berners is quoted as saying 'the great point of the tower is that it is entirely useless' It is 100feet high, not the 140feet that is sometimes reported. The Folly Hill is 447 feet above sea level It is true that on a clear day you can see for 25 miles. The woodland covers 4 acres. This is more than 2 football pitches (based on a football pitch being 7700 sq yards) There really are 154 stairs from the bottom to the top. (or is it 153?) Lord Berners put a notice above the door of the Tower saying' Members of the public committing suicide from this tower do so at their own risk' Lord Gerald Wellesley(7th Duke of Wellington), a neighbour and friend of Lord Berners was the architect. The design was changed several times as Lord Berners came back from Italy and wanted a classical design, and after he had returned to Italy it was changed to more contemporary, and then changed back again on Lord Berners return. Lord Berners, disliking the stark perpendicular style of the tower insisted it should be topped with a gothic styled coronet. There were many fears and local objections, and the row ended up in Faringdon Courthouse. Vice Admiral Clifton Brown, living at Stanford Place(over a mile away) who claimed it would spoil his view. When it was pointed out that a telescope would be needed from that distance, Clifton Brown said exactly- it was his habit to scan the horizinf with a telescope every morning. Faringdon RDC said 'it would spoil the amenities of a local landmark' One woman wrote to her locsl paper claiming that Lord Berners intended to install a revolving lightouse beam and fog-horn in his tower which would disturb the sick and the dying for miles around' During WWII, soldiers from The Royal Artillery camp at Shrivenham made use of the Folly for exercises with wireless sets. It was also used by the homeguard as a lookout post, where it was manned by 2 men until the threat of invasion had passed. The door to the tower is made of sheet steel which was formerly the door to a security vault in Abingdon. The hummock has been known as Folly Hill long before the tower was built. It has been said that Sir Henry Unton planted trees on the hill after the Civil War, but he failed to realise that the soil was rather unsuitable for big, bushy topped trees and many of them died, to be replaced with firs and cedars at a later date. For this agricultural stupidity the hill became known as Unton’s Folly, now Folly Hill. Legend also has it that the Poet Laureate Henry James Pye (died 1818) traipsed up the hill each day with a sapling or seedling of Scots Pine. Because of this it became known as Pye's Folly and in due course Folly Hill. Before that it was known as Cromwell's battery and later Lord Berners' folly. Henry James Pye renowned for his tedious poetry, his work on Folly Hill has been described as the most poetic act of his life. His critics lampooned him in the nursery rhyme 'Sing a song of sixpence,…………….. four and twenty black birds baked in a Pye………….. The tower was first opened to the public in 1985, after Robert Heber-Percy had given it to Faringdon. Prior to that it was only ever lent to Guides and Scouts who charged the public pennies to boost their funds Robert Heber Percy died on Nov 5th (1986)- his birthday. At his funeral the Church bells rang ' Holy holy holy... Lord God almighty just as everyone stood to sing the first hymn. The mourners had to wait for bells to finish sounding before the organ could start. All wreathes were only of leaves as he had a passion for the trees in Faringdon
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