An Unexpected Journey

Views across the Vale of Evesham - towards the Malverns.

A herd (or Parcel) of deer.  Not wild - part of the tourist attraction.

Tentatively moving outside of our lock-down comfort zone, Paul and I went further afield (12 miles!) and visited Broadway Tower for some different fresh air and a different view and perspective.  It might look like an unexpected journey to Mordor but wasn't quite so ominous in reality!

​Highest Little Castle in the Cotswolds, Broadway Tower was the brainchild of Capability Brown, and was built for the Earl of Coventry in 1798 by renowned 18th Century architect James Wyatt.

• Saxon influence with circular arches over the windows and entrance
• Three turrets
• Three canted (angled (oblique) line or surface particularly which cuts off a corner) sides
• Numerous gargoyles and balconies

On a clear day it is possible to 16 counties from the top of the Tower.

James Wyatt (1746 – 1843, died in a carriage accident, and is buried in Westminster Abbey. Wyatt was very influential and prolific – here is a brief listing of national architectural influence, and within the local area:

• 1776 became surveyor to Westminster Abbey – overseeing restoration work in 1803 and from 1807-13.
• 1780 alterations to Ragley Hall, Warwickshire
• 1787 – 1793 was responsible for restoration work in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle
• 1788 Sufton Court, Herefordshire
• 1788-97 restoration work on Hereford Cathedral
• 1794 commissioned by the 6th Earl of Coventry to build Broadway Tower a folly on the edge of the Cotswold scarp
• 1793 – 1805 employed at Croome Park in Worcestershire, including remodelling of the Dry Arch Bridge (originally designed by Capability Brown) and the Worcester Gates (Punchbowl Gates)
• 1798-1808 restoration work at Doddington Park, Gloucestershire

 
In the late C19th Broadway Tower was a countryside retreat for members of the Arts & Crafts movement, and it was rented  by Sir Edward Burn-Jones and William Morris. 

William Morris was so inspired by Broadway Tower and other ancient buildings that he founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877. “The most inconvenient and the most delightful place ever seen … how the clean aromatic wind blew the aches out of our tired bodies, and how good it all was”. 

In semi lock-down - we are inclined to agree!