In the middle of the 20th century books featuring the adventures of the Lockett children captured the imaginations of young readers. One title in particular appealed to the Folly Flâneuse: what ghastly goings-on could have taken place at the ‘half completed and abandoned tower’ known as Steeple Folly? And which real clifftop folly might have been the inspiration for it?

The author of this tale was Mary Evelyn Atkinson (1889-1974), who published as M.E. Atkinson. She was born in London, the daughter of a schoolmaster at Highgate School, but when a small child the family removed to Swanage in Dorset, where her father founded the Durlston Court Preparatory School in 1903. This county would provide the setting for the books in which Bill, Jane and Oliver Lockett roam, free from adult supervision, encountering one adventure after another.

Steeple Folly was published in 1950, and like the others in the series received a warm welcome in the press, with the Western Times writing that the ‘adventures of the Locketts never fail to enthrall’. Beautifully illustrated by writer and illustrator Charlotte Hough (1924-2008) the story, full of nursery teas, housemaids, and gymkhanas, was aimed at a middle-class readership: to the modern reader Atkinson comes across as a complete snob, letting her protagonists patronise the servants and sneer at children who are schooled at ‘some rotten little local outfit’. And to make matters worse she doesn’t even approve of follies! With a rather limited vocabulary she calls the tower ‘that absurd erection’, ‘absurd Steeple Folly’, ‘that stone absurdity’ and, in case anyone has missed her point, adds that at close range the ‘the folly looked positively immense- but just as absurd as ever’.

The folly is largely incidental to the plot, which won’t be explored further in case anyone wishes to read the story, but the Folly Flâneuse wondered what genuine hilltop tower might have inspired Steeple Folly. The most obvious suggestion is the Clavell Tower, aka Kimmeridge Folly, on the Dorset coast which Atkinson would have known as it is only 10 miles or so from Swanage, near the hamlet of Steeple. It is close to landmarks that feature in the book, such as the famous Blue Pool, and like Steeple Folly it is perched on an eminence with extensive views. To be clear: this is pure supposition, but it does give the Folly Flâneuse an excuse to feature this marvellous building.

The tower was built as an observatory, or belvedere, by Revd John Clavell (c.1760-1833) of Smedmore House in 1830. It continued to be a seaside retreat for his heirs, the Mansel family, and in 1852 the cannon that surrounded the tower were fired and flags hoisted to mark a family wedding. Later it served for a period as a coastguard look-out shelter, but meanwhile the soft cliffs of the Dorset coast were slowly eroding and edging ever closer to the tower.

By 1926 the tower itself was deteriorating, and in that year vandals were prosecuted for ‘dislodging and throwing down stones of which the tower is built’. In 1948 the artist John Piper wrote an essay on ‘The Nautical Style’ in which he admired the ‘absolutely sound’ condition of the ancient chapel on St Alban’s Head, in Dorset. He compared this to the Clavell Tower: ‘ a pretty but pathetic attempt at folly building on the coast, six hundred years younger than the Romanesque chapel, but crumbling to bits’.

A 1959 article in Country Life reported that the ruined Clavell Tower was now dangerously close to the edge of the cliffs. It was the tower and the adjacent perilous precipice that the author P.D. James chose as one of the settings for her 1975 murder-mystery The Black Tower, in which her fictional folly has a rather gruesome history. The tower has subsequently appeared on the cover of various editions of the book, as well as playing itself in the 1985 TV adaptation.

The tower continued to moulder until the end of the 20th century, when the Mansels of Smedmore set up the Clavell Tower Trust and took advice from English Heritage. After much analysis and discussion it was agreed that the only option was to dismantle the folly and rebuild it further inland.

This was beyond the means of the Clavell Tower Trust, and a conversation was started with the Landmark Trust to see if they could take on the project and rebuild the tower as a holiday let. The charity’s trustees were understandably concerned about the complexity of the process, but in 2002 gave ‘cautious acceptance’ to the plans. With Heritage Lottery Funding in place to augment funds from a public appeal, and donations from a vast number of charitable trusts, work began in 2006, and the first of many eager guests arrived in August 2008.

Visit the Landmark Trust’s website for details of visiting the tower on open days in September, or to find out about staying in this fabulous folly https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/news-and-events/upcoming-events/clavell-open-day-22/

And for a full history of the tower, including the restoration, see the Landmark Trust’s excellent history album https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/about-us/history-albums/#C

John Piper’s essay was first published in 1938 but revised in 1948 for inclusion in the anthology Buildings and Prospects. His photo’ of the deteriorating tower is in the collection of Tate https://www.tate.org.uk/art/archive/items/tga-8728-1-10-44/piper-photograph-of-clavell-tower-kimmeridge-wareham-dorset

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Late in 1963, a series of books was published with an eye for the Christmas market. Three of the titles featured British landmarks in the form of Bridges, Monuments, and Follies, and they were launched in time for ‘Christmas reading, New Year travelling’. Whilst Sir Hugh Casson, as editor of the series, was the big name to capture the attention of shoppers, the real heroes were Paul Sharp who provided the wonderful whimsical illustrations and bold design, and the writer E.M. Hatt, whose bright prose is a delight to read.

The books (there were eventually 8) were published by Chatto & Windus on behalf of the National Benzole Company, with the stated aim being to ‘stimulate and satisfy the curiosity of the motorist, and thus increase the pleasures of his journey’. Of course the books were the brainchild of the marketing department, and there was an ulterior motive: the more motorists explore, the more petrol they buy. The Follies volume was the first, and understandably it is Casson’s name on the cover, but although Sir Hugh writes in his introduction that the follies are ‘wittily and accurately described and affectionately depicted’, Hatt and Sharp are not mentioned by name until the acknowledgements on the final page of the book. The Folly Flâneuse hopes to give them the credit they are due here.

Ella Mary Thompson (1907-1972) was born in Bristol where her father was a newspaper reporter. She spent some time in Paris at the Sorbonne  and then in 1932 she married her father’s journalist colleague, Richard William Hatt. Hatt came from a prosperous Bath family who had been wigmakers, hairdressers and perfumers, but his career was influenced by the field of his uncle, who was Chairman of the Wessex Associated News. A son was born in July 1933, but tragically Richard died at the early age of 40 in September of the same year. After her husband’s death Ella was offered help and support by his sister, the artist Doris Hatt, and her partner Margery Mack Smith.

In 1939 Ella was working in Bristol as a proof-reader and indexer, but by 1942 she had moved to London and found employment with the publishing house Faber & Faber, working with T.S.Eliot. Alongside her work as an editor, she began to write books for children. A volume of verse, Callers at our House, illustrated by Leslie Wood, appeared in 1945, and three stories were published in 1947: Priscilla the Paddington Mouse, with illustrations by Francis Gower, The Cat with a Guinea illustrated by Leslie Wood, and The House that was No-one’s Affair with illustrations by Margaret Wolpe. The 1947 publications were well-received in the press, and recommended as Christmas gifts. She also translated a wide range of works from French and German – her eclectic list of subjects including cookery, caving, and compost.  The latter had become something of a Faber specialism, as director Richard (Dick) de la Mare was passionate about the organic movement, and this section of the list became known in-house as ‘muck’.

Mrs Hatt, as she was formally known at Faber & Faber, published under the name E.M.Hatt, seldom revealing her gender. But there was one exception: in 1962 ‘Ella Hatt’ wrote the text for the last in a series of books produced by National Benzole on the subject of ‘Our National Heritage’. The foreword to Our National Heritage: Gardens was written by Vita Sackville-West, and again the writer and illustrator were relegated to a note at the back of the book. The delightful illustrations and design were by Paul Sharp, and as Vita wrote ‘How delightful it is to come across such a series in a world which tends more and more towards cheapness and vulgarity’. The success of this publication probably led to Hatt and Sharp working together on the Follies series the following year. Hatt’s text for Follies is lively and engaging (the Barwick Park follies are ‘the jolliest collection of frolics’), probably because she had a genuine interest in the subject: her grandson recalls car journeys being interrupted to investigate nearby curiosities.

The visual side of the book was the work of Paul Spencer Sharp (1921-1998). He was born in Sowerby Bridge in Yorkshire, and would have been familiar with follies from a young age, as the mighty Wainhouse Tower dominates the view towards Halifax. Sharp studied at Wakefield School of Arts and Crafts, where in 1939-40 he won an award for designing the school Christmas card. His prize was a copy of the recently published High Street by J.M.Richards with the now-famous illustrations by Eric Ravilious – which must have influenced the young artist. He went on to Leeds College of Art before serving with the RAF in the Second World War. He finished his education at the Royal College of Art and then taught at Farnham School of Art, where he rose to become head of the Department of Design. He left teaching in 1960 to concentrate on graphic design, and would go on to work for clients including the Paul Mellon Centre, the National Gallery, Sothebys, Royal Doulton, Spink and the Mermaid Theatre.

The series of books for National Benzole was a major project for Sharp, and his obituary in The Independent reveals that he drove over 150,000 miles ‘to visit some of the most obscure corners of the British Isles’ whilst researching and sketching. The obituary was written by Paul Atterbury, a specialist in 19th and 20th century art, now recognised from his appearances on TV’s Antiques Roadshow. His father, Rowland, ran the Westerham Press where Sharp was a favoured designer and friend, and where the National Benzole books were printed. Paul Atterbury’s draft obituary (not published in its entirety) remembered his ‘calm and well-ordered graphic style’, and his ability to ‘catch in a few lines and a few minutes, the essence of a building […] he could draw through the car window, or under an umbrella in a howling gale. Nothing could stop him’.

In 1967 the three books on follies, castles, and monuments were reissued in a single volume by The Reprint Society, a book club. Top marks to them for righting the wrong and giving Hatt and Sharp full credit on the cover.

The Folly Flâneuse was delighted to be introduced to the work of artist Doris Hatt, whose work often features Cabot Tower and Walton Castle in Bristol as a backdrop https://www.courtgallery.com/artists/210-doris-hatt/biography/

There’s a short film about Sharp’s work here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxMRRKXsJfg

Thanks for reading. If you have any thoughts, or can add any further information, please scroll down to the comments box at the bottom of the page.