Folly of the National Trust

 

MANY’s  the time I ride over my local “alp”, Box Hill on the North Downs, up the zig zag road made famous by the 2012 Olympics road races.

Not so well known is a tower which stands on a ridge - the north western tip of Lodge Hill – above the second hairpin of the ascent and hidden by trees.

Sad to say, in National Trust literature I  have seen they reveal only part of its history and dismiss it as a 19^th century folly.  It was erected by Thomas Broadwood, of the famous Scottish family of piano makers who at the time lived in Juniper Hall, which is below and in sight of the tower.

Broadwood instruments have been enjoyed by such famous people as Mozart, Haydn, Chopin, Beethoven and Liszt. 

That much the NT literature will tell you, although curiously they give a passing mention to its true purpose on their website.  

For this “folly” stands in memory of one of the most important military victories in British history.

Thomas Broadwood had it constructed as a memorial to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, when France’s Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by the Duke of Wellington. By so doing, Wellington, aided by Prussia, Austria and Russia, achieved what Nelson’s famous victory at Trafalgar in 1805 had failed to do, bring to an end the French Emperor’s rampage across Europe.

For after losing most of his ships at Trafalgar, Napoleon in 1807 tried to get his hands on Denmark’s fleet.  The British, unsure of Denmark’s intentions, put a stop to that by bombing Copenhagen, sinking Danish war ships in the harbour there.

Then came the moment of destiny, Waterloo, 1815.

But it was a close run thing, according to Wellington.

French forces were only narrowly defeated.

In one account of this period, I read that Napoleon was asked what he would have done had he won?

He replied, he would have sailed for Chatham and marched on London.

What he had planned next will remain pure speculation. Would he have declared Britain a republic? What would have become of the monarchy?

George the third was on the throne.

But no matter, Napoleon lost and the occasion demanded a fitting tribute.

And so Broadwood built his tower, the piano maker’s celebration.

He wanted a clear view of his creation from the windows of Juniper Hall below, as he ate his breakfast each morning. So he had trees cleared from the hillside to create a wide uninterrupted view, which remains to this day. And on each anniversary of the battle he would fly the flag from the tower.

Visitors to Juniper Hall,  now a field centre, will look up and wonder why is that tower there.

What a pity the National Trust don’t see fit to tell the full story.

Occasionally, I will ride up there on my mtb, and take a look at Broadwood’s tower. Folly, indeed!

The two story circular tower is constructed of flint with lime mortar with four window openings and one door opening on the eastern side. An overhanging castellated structure surrounds the top. There are no remains of the spiral staircase inside the tower. Recent renovations removed a small tree which had taken root near the top of the tower.