Saxonbury Tower, Eridge Park, East Sussex

In 1828 Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny, built a tower on high ground at Eridge Castle, on the extensive Nevill Estate in East Sussex, close to the border with Kent. The elegant tapering tower was both belvedere with ‘magnificent’ prospect and eye-catcher. It echoed the architecture of the multi-turreted mansion begun in about 1787 with work continuing well into the nineteenth century. After falling into decay the tower found a new purpose in the last years of the twentieth century.

In October 1828 the newspapers reported that the Earl of Abergavenny (1755-1843) had recently completed

work on a tower which stood fifty feet high on Saxonbury Hill. A number of the earl’s friends had been invited to climb the stone staircase to the viewing platform to admire the panorama.

All of the best folly towers compete to have a view over the most counties or landmarks, and in the case of the Eridge tower the boast was that sixteen parish churches could be seen.

A year after it was built the ‘Saxonbury Tower’, as it had been named, was noted in a guide to the fashionable spa town of Tunbridge Wells, a few miles away. No architect is recorded, but archives reveal the builder was J. Card and the total cost was £295. Above the door is the date 1828 and the initials HA for Henry Abergavenny. No architect is named, but it was most likely John Montier of Tunbridge Wells, who was described as ‘the Earls Architect’ when he died in 1837.

In 1862 William Nevill, 4th Earl of Abergavenny (1792-1868), decided to add a flagpole to the tower, but once it was in place he was unhappy with the proportions and decided to increase the height of the tower. £120 was spent on raising the tower by 21 feet until it stood 67 feet tall. The flagstaff stood a further 34 feet high and the finishing touch was a huge flag bearing the Nevill arms which was hoisted whenever the earl and his family arrived at Eridge. Both of the postcards shown here date from after this work was completed.

The tower stands on the site of a ‘military station of the Saxon invaders’ from which it takes its name. The ancient remains were well known, which might account for a misunderstanding in 1878 when, at a mere 50 years young, the turret was described as the tower ‘from which the Nevills of old, in more troublous times, kept watch and ward as far as the eye could reach.’

The ‘conspicuous object’ was admired by visitors and was illuminated to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. It became more prominent still in 1888 when it was limewashed (since faded/peeled). The deer who were described as ‘quietly browsing the scene’ presumably took themselves off elsewhere on the evening of Queen Victoria’s 80th birthday in 1899, when the fireworks set off from the top of the tower could be seen as far away as Lewes.

Records show that the tower was given a new iron platform and roof in 1896, but by the time Barbara Jones was researching for the first edition of Follies and Grottoes, which would be published in 1953, it was in a dilapidated condition. Only the ‘intrepid climber’ could make it to the top to enjoy the ‘most sublime views’ as some of the stone stairs were missing.

The folly remained in a poor condition until the 1990s when it was restored, minus the battlements, and given a new purpose as home to antennas for a mobile ‘phone company. Listed at grade II, the tower has continued to earn its keep in this way until the present day.

Eridge Castle was pulled down in the 1930s to make way for a more manageable residence (‘almost blatantly modern’ thought one passer-by in 1937) and remains the seat of the Marquesses of Abergavenny.

Saxonbury Tower stands on private land with no public access. Thanks to Eridge Park Estate Office for help with this post. For more on the estate see https://eridgepark.co.uk

Update August 2024: a few weeks after this post was published, the Folly Fellowship held there annual Garden Party at Eridge Park, courtesy of the Marquess of Abergavenny. Member Peter Godfrey modelled the celebratory cake on the Saxonbury Tower http://follies.org.uk

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