King Alfred's Tower

Alfred’s Tower is a tall brick folly on Kingsettle Hill in Somerset, standing near the Wiltshire border on the Stourhead estate. It belongs to the National Trust and is listed as a Grade I building. The triangular structure rises over forty metres and has a hollow centre. A spiral staircase of 205 steps leads to the viewing platform with a crenellated parapet. Chilmark stone dressings and an embattled parapet crown the top. The tower was planned in the 1760s by Henry Hoare II to mark the close of the Seven Years’ War and the start of George III’s reign. It stands close to Egbert’s Stone, where Alfred the Great gathered his forces before the Battle of Edington in 878. A Noorduyn Norseman aeroplane struck the upper section in 1944, and the tower was restored in the 1980s. A statue of King Alfred and a dedication plaque were also renewed at that time. Visitors climb the spiral stair to the platform and look out over the surrounding countryside. The Gothic-arched entrance on the south-east face shows the statue and inscription. The tower marks the start of the forty-five-kilometre Leland Trail that runs to Ham Hill Country Park. From the platform, wide views stretch across the landscape designed by Henry Hoare’s family.