architecture, eyecatcher, Folly, sham castle, staffordshire, Tower

The Round Tower, Tutbury Castle, Tutbury, Staffordshire

Tutbury Castle is best known as one of the fortifications in which Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned. The ruins that stand today have been remodelled on a number of occasions since those days, and in the middle of the 18th century the motte, long since missing its genuine tower, was embellished with a sham ruined turret called the Round Tower.

In 1751 Bishop Pococke visited the area and was ‘told’ that George Venables-Vernon (1709-1780), of neighbouring Sudbury Hall had just purchased the castle from his ‘relation Captain Vernon’. In fact Vernon was leasing the site from the Duchy of Lancaster.

The tower seen through the entrance gate, which is also thought to have been embellished in the 18th century.

Pococke described Tutbury Castle as a ‘curious piece of antiquity’, but quickly spotted that parts of the structure were built ‘in imitation of ancient ruins’. Unfortunately he didn’t elaborate, and we can’t be certain that the Round Tower was there at that date. But it was extant by 1773 when it is named as ‘the Round Tower’ on a map of Tutbury.

A Plan of the Demain [sic] Lands of Tutbury (detail),  surveyed by Thomas Richardson, 1773. MPC1/113. Reproduced courtesy of The National Archive
It also appears in a drawing dated 1777, confirming it as the work of George Venables-Vernon (1709-1780), who was created the 1st Baron Vernon of Kinderton in 1762*.

Staffordshire Views SV-XI.83a, sepia drawing of Tutbury Castle, 12 August 1777. Courtesy of the Trustees of the William Salt Library.

Vernon’s programme of landscaping at Sudbury in the 1750s included replacing the formal gardens with a Brownian design featuring a lake and clumps of trees. Tutbury Castle was a distant eye-catcher from within this improved park, and the sham turret on the highest point would have added to the drama of the skyline. As early as 1760 visitors to Sudbury noted the old fortification on the horizon, and a tourist in 1783 wrote of the fine view from the park to ‘Tutbury Castle on a high eminence’.

Sudbury Hall as seen in February 2022. The house is currently closed, and hopefully the cars will disappear before it reopens at Easter.

The picturesque ruins attracted the attention of artists including Paul Sandby, who painted this view in the 1790s.

Paul Sandby’s view of Tutbury Castle, 1790s. ©Trustees of the British Museum

Archaeologists suggest that before the tower was built the ancient motte was raised with rubble, thus ensuring that the tower would be prominent in the view from Sudbury. This poor foundation probably accounts for the later addition of buttresses to support the Round Tower.

Postcard, probably early 20th century, showing ‘The Keep’. Courtesy of a private collection.

In the 20th century the little turret had a moment of fame when it featured on an advertising poster. The petrol company Shell commissioned artists to paint follies for a series of posters entitled ‘To Visit Britain’s Landmarks’. These were pasted onto the sides of lorries, creating both a promotional tool and a travelling art gallery. Leonard Rosoman (1913-2012) chose to paint Tutbury Castle’s little sham tower, and later recalled the job as his ‘big break’.

Courtesy of Shell Heritage Art Collection.

Tutbury Castle is today a privately-run visitor attraction and wedding venue, and can be visited during the opening season. The Round Tower maintains its function as a very pretty eye-catcher on the approach from Sudbury, albeit with many modern distractions competing with it.

*The folly is usually said to have been constructed between 1780 and 1792, based on information in the first volume of Stebbing Shaw’s History and Antiquities of Staffordshire …, published in 1798. Shaw attributed the folly to the ‘present possessor’ of Tutbury Castle, which at that date was George the 2nd Lord Vernon (1735-1813). But Shaw used research conducted by an earlier Staffordshire historian, without updating the text, and the error has been perpetuated ever since.

For the full history of Tutbury Castle, which reopens at Easter, see https://tutburycastle.com

Sudbury Hall is a National Trust property and will reopen as ‘The Childrens [sic] House at Sudbury Hall’ in spring 2022 https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/the-childrens-country-house-at-sudbury

Thank you for reading. Please scroll down to the comments box below if you would like to share any thoughts.

The Needle’s Eye, Wentworth Woodhouse. Subscribe and discover many other fascinating follies.

Subscribe

Subscribing to The Folly Flaneuse ensures you will never miss a post. All you need to do is provide me with your contact information and you will automatically receive an email each Saturday when I post new content on thefollyflaneuse.com. Your email address will never be sold or shared

 You can remove yourself anytime by contacting me.

* indicates required

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.