In the village with the simple name of 'Hill', near Sutton Coldfield in what was then Warwickshire, lived retired pawnbroker Hugh Lewis. At the time of his death in 1908, Lewis was remembered as 'a man of very eccentric habits' and chief amongst these were the building of a high wall around his house and the erection of a 'Look out Tower' on Hill Village Road - inevitably it became known as Lewis's Folly.
The plans for the tower survive, dated 1892, and they show that Lewis (1832-1908) asked Noah Deeks junior to draw up a plan for a five storey tower with a flat roof for the prospect. Deeks was variously described as architect, surveyor and Inspector of Nuisances (a large and unappetising category that included sewers and toxic soups).
Another interesting survival is the document announcing Lewis's intention to build the 'Look out Tower' which was submitted with the plan, and approved on 26 August 1892 - planning permission was not yet a universal requirement, but some local authorities checked plans on grounds of public health and sanitation. At that date Lewis gave his address as Boswell Road in Sutton Coldfield, but he would soon move to Woodfield House on Hill Village Road, and the tower was erected a short distance from his new home. The bricks were said to be destined for a new church in Birmingham, but when the plans fell through they were acquired by Lewis for his new project.
Lewis died in 1908, leaving a brief handwritten will in which he left his entire estate, estimated at £80-£90,000 (before duties), to the Guest Hospital in Dudley. This was a substantial sum for Lewis had reportedly speculated 'with great success' in his retirement. Affairs were almost settled when Lewis's estranged wife appeared and challenged his will: the hospital trustees agreed to pay Mrs Lewis an annual allowance, allowing the hospital to benefit from the bulk of the bequest. Lewis was buried at St Peter's, Little Aston, where an inscription records only his dates and his benevolence to the hospital.
Woodfield House and adjoining parcels of land were offered for sale in 1909. Lot 8 was a field, with frontage onto both Hill Village Road and the Lichfield Road (now the A5127), on which stood the 'brick erection know as The Tower'. A clue to the tower's chance of survival is given in the auctioneer's description of the field as 'absolutely ripe for immediate development'. The tower was apparently unpopular with the locals (although they had apparently been happy to watch fireworks set off from its rooftop), and within days of Lewis's death the local paper reported that the 'hope has frequently been expressed that it may not be long before this not altogether picturesque landmark is razed to the ground'. The unloved, and in fairness unlovely, tower disappeared soon after and, as expected, the land was developed and Hill Village Road is now lined with houses.
Woodfield House is also gone, replaced by flats, but you can still see part of its high brick wall. According to local legend this was built by Lewis to alleviate poverty. The Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group's website records that Lewis had 'acquired a large quantity of bricks cheaply. At that time there was a steady trickle of workmen tramping along Lichfield Road hoping to find work and a better life in Birmingham, but rather than give them charity Lewis would offer them a square meal in return for a stint on building the wall.'
This stretch of wall is today the only reminder in Hill village of the benevolent and eccentric Hugh Lewis. Thanks to the Garden Historian for suggesting the tower as a subject.
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