King Alfred's Tower

Alfred's Tower
Alfred's Tower
Alfred's Tower, August 2006
King Alfred's Tower is located in Somerset
King Alfred's Tower
Location within Somerset
General information
Town or cityBrewham, Somerset
CountryEngland
Coordinates51°06′53″N 2°21′54″W / 51.1148273°N 2.3650446°W / 51.1148273; -2.3650446
Construction started1769
Completed1772
ClientHenry Hoare
Height49 metres (161 ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Henry Flitcroft

Alfred's Tower is a folly in Somerset,[1][2] England, on the edge of the border with Wiltshire, on the Stourhead estate. The tower stands on Kingsettle Hill and belongs to the National Trust. It is designated as a Grade I listed building.

Henry Hoare II planned the tower in the 1760s to commemorate the end of the Seven Years' War against France and the accession of King George III, and it was erected near the site of Egbert's Stone, where it is believed that Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, rallied the Anglo-Saxons in 878 before the Battle of Edington. The tower was damaged by an aeroplane in 1944 and restored in the 1980s.

The 49-metre-high (161 ft) triangular tower has a hollow centre and is climbed by means of a spiral staircase in one of the corner projections. It has a statue of King Alfred and a dedication inscription.

  1. ^ "Alfred's Tower – Where Is It?". www.alfredstower.info. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Streetmap coordinates".[permanent dead link]