Difference between revisions of "The Pepperbox"
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The Pepperbox is a hexagonal, three-storey tower constructed of English bond brick, with a low, pyramidal Welsh slate roof that was rebuilt around 1900, topped by a weather vane.<ref name=l /><ref name=wh /> The ground floor's doorways are segmental-headed,<ref name=l /> indicating that the building originally stood on open arches.<ref name=meu>{{cite book|last1=Headley|first1=Gwen|last2=Meulenkamp|first2=Wim|title=Follies, Grottoes and Garden Buildings|date=16 June 1999|publisher=Aurum Press|location=London|isbn=1854106252|pages=537-538}}</ref> The first floor features 3-brick plat bands, while the second floor features a stepped cornice with windows boasting timber lintels.<ref name=l /> Nonetheless, the building's doorways (one per face) and windows (one per face on the first and second floors) are all bricked in, a process that happened at an unknown time.<ref name=head /> | The Pepperbox is a hexagonal, three-storey tower constructed of English bond brick, with a low, pyramidal Welsh slate roof that was rebuilt around 1900, topped by a weather vane.<ref name=l /><ref name=wh /> The ground floor's doorways are segmental-headed,<ref name=l /> indicating that the building originally stood on open arches.<ref name=meu>{{cite book|last1=Headley|first1=Gwen|last2=Meulenkamp|first2=Wim|title=Follies, Grottoes and Garden Buildings|date=16 June 1999|publisher=Aurum Press|location=London|isbn=1854106252|pages=537-538}}</ref> The first floor features 3-brick plat bands, while the second floor features a stepped cornice with windows boasting timber lintels.<ref name=l /> Nonetheless, the building's doorways (one per face) and windows (one per face on the first and second floors) are all bricked in, a process that happened at an unknown time.<ref name=head /> | ||
| − | The name "The Pepperbox" came about due to the tower's resemblance to a pepper pot or pepper box,<ref name=q>{{cite book|last1=Quinn|first1=Tom|title=Hidden Britain|date=29 August 2008|publisher=New Holland Publishers|location=Cape Town|isbn=1847731295|page=33|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Sbfms1oJn8MC&pg=PA33&dq=pepper+box+wiltshire&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwij9ZvR-YDaAhVGJ1AKHSInBjcQ6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=pepper%20box%20wiltshire&f=false|accessdate=22 March 2018}}</ref> used in the 17th and 18th centuries,<ref name=al /> and consequently also inspired the name of the hill that it stands on.<ref name=wh /> The tower bears some similarities with the influential, octagonal Tower of the Winds in Athens, Greece, as does the 1782 [[Mount Stewart#The Temple of the Winds|folly of the same name]] at [[Mount Stewart]] in | + | The name "The Pepperbox" came about due to the tower's resemblance to a pepper pot or pepper box,<ref name=q>{{cite book|last1=Quinn|first1=Tom|title=Hidden Britain|date=29 August 2008|publisher=New Holland Publishers|location=Cape Town|isbn=1847731295|page=33|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Sbfms1oJn8MC&pg=PA33&dq=pepper+box+wiltshire&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwij9ZvR-YDaAhVGJ1AKHSInBjcQ6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=pepper%20box%20wiltshire&f=false|accessdate=22 March 2018}}</ref> used in the 17th and 18th centuries,<ref name=al /> and consequently also inspired the name of the hill that it stands on.<ref name=wh /> The tower bears some similarities with the influential, octagonal Tower of the Winds in Athens, Greece, as does the 1782 [[Mount Stewart#The Temple of the Winds|folly of the same name]] at [[Mount Stewart]] in [[County Down]], although the Pepperbox predates Nicholas Revett and James Stuart's recording of the Athens tower by some 150 years.<ref name=head /> |
The folly stands at the highest point on Pepperbox Hill, the peak of a chalk ridge some seven and a half miles south-east of Wiltshire's county town, Salisbury. The hill has views far reaching views both east and west,<ref name=q /> including views over city.<ref name=wh/> The author Gwen Headley suggests that the tower was built in the open countryside at such a location because Eyre believed that the land which the hill overlooks would "last forever," and that this potential impetus has been obscured by the changing of the landscape in the subsequent centuries.<ref name=head /> | The folly stands at the highest point on Pepperbox Hill, the peak of a chalk ridge some seven and a half miles south-east of Wiltshire's county town, Salisbury. The hill has views far reaching views both east and west,<ref name=q /> including views over city.<ref name=wh/> The author Gwen Headley suggests that the tower was built in the open countryside at such a location because Eyre believed that the land which the hill overlooks would "last forever," and that this potential impetus has been obscured by the changing of the landscape in the subsequent centuries.<ref name=head /> | ||
Latest revision as of 17:09, 10 July 2020
| The Pepperbox | |
|
National Trust | |
|---|---|
 The Pepperbox | |
| Grid reference: | SU21252486 |
| Location: | 51°1’22"N, 1°41’54"W |
| Built 1606 | |
| Information | |
| Website: | Pepperbox Hill |
The Pepperbox, also known as Eyre's Folly, is a folly tower that stands at the highest point on Pepperbox Hill, the peak of a chalk ridge southeast of the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire.[1] It is within the village of Whiteparish,[2][3] but is more closely associated with the village of Alderbury, which the tower overlooks.[2][3]
Built in 1606 by Giles Eyre, the folly is a three-storey hexagonal tower constructed of brick, although the entrances and windows have since been blocked up. The building's original purpose is unknown, though theories include that it was built to provide Eyre with views of Longford Castle or to provide local landowners' wives, including Eyre's wife Jane, a lookout tower to watch the hunt. The tower is considered one of the oldest follies, and today it is a Grade II listed building.[4] It is currently owned by the National Trust.[1]
Contents
Origins and purpose
The listing particulars date The Pepperbox to the early 18th century,[5][4] but it is accepted that the tower was built in 1606 by Giles Eyre of Brickworth House, hence the alternate name "Eyre's Folly".[5]
The original purpose of the tower is unknown.[6] One story is that Eyre was envious of the surreal Longford Castle, built by Sir Thomas Gorges, and built the Pepperbox to overlook the castle. Indeed, the epitaph on Eyre's gravestone describes him as "a man much oppressed by publick power."[7] Another story is that the tower was built as a hunting stand,[7] perhaps so the local landowners' wives – including Eyre's wife Jane, whom he married in 1603 – could watch the hunt in comfort without being exposed to public gaze.[5][6] In their book Follies, Grottoes and Garden Building, authors Gwen Headley and Wim Meulenkamp consider the hunting stand theory to be "saner" idea given that the tower lacks a "folly atmosphere."[7] One account writes that: "It can be counted as a folly but may have been used a lookout so that ladies could follow the progress of the hunt, away from the rain and mud."[2]
Description and location
The Pepperbox is a hexagonal, three-storey tower constructed of English bond brick, with a low, pyramidal Welsh slate roof that was rebuilt around 1900, topped by a weather vane.[4][2] The ground floor's doorways are segmental-headed,[4] indicating that the building originally stood on open arches.[7] The first floor features 3-brick plat bands, while the second floor features a stepped cornice with windows boasting timber lintels.[4] Nonetheless, the building's doorways (one per face) and windows (one per face on the first and second floors) are all bricked in, a process that happened at an unknown time.[5]
The name "The Pepperbox" came about due to the tower's resemblance to a pepper pot or pepper box,[6] used in the 17th and 18th centuries,[3] and consequently also inspired the name of the hill that it stands on.[2] The tower bears some similarities with the influential, octagonal Tower of the Winds in Athens, Greece, as does the 1782 folly of the same name at Mount Stewart in County Down, although the Pepperbox predates Nicholas Revett and James Stuart's recording of the Athens tower by some 150 years.[5]
The folly stands at the highest point on Pepperbox Hill, the peak of a chalk ridge some seven and a half miles south-east of Wiltshire's county town, Salisbury. The hill has views far reaching views both east and west,[6] including views over city.[2] The author Gwen Headley suggests that the tower was built in the open countryside at such a location because Eyre believed that the land which the hill overlooks would "last forever," and that this potential impetus has been obscured by the changing of the landscape in the subsequent centuries.[5]
The folly is surrounded by a diverse habitat boasting many uncommon species including juniper, orchids and yew woodland.[1]
Later day history
In the early 18th century, the Pepperbox was allegedly used as a haunt by highwaymen, who would attack carriages as they reached the summit of Pepperbox Hill, this being due to the vulnerability of the horses and carriage occupants who were worn out by their climb up the hill.[6] The tower was also used as a lookout post by the local Home Guard during the Second World War.[2] When it was designated a Grade II listed building the listing used a s a formal name "The Pepperbox".
Today, both the folly and the hill it stands on are property of the National Trust.[2]
A folly amongst follies
The Pepperbox is considered one of the earliest follies, and has been accepted as such before the term "folly" was first used.[2][7] It and the three other follies in and around Salisbury, including the arch in the city itself, are regarded as the four oldest follies in Wiltshire.[7]
Regarding the Pepperbox, Headley writes that due to the tower being "isolated, unprotected, enigmatic and blank," the sudden sight of the "strange, anonymous small building" provokes questions from unfamiliar passers-by. She notes that the tower is considered a folly because it is a "misunderstood building."[5]
Pevsner considered the Pepperbox one of several early 17th century "oddments" in the county, alongside the two triangular gatehouses of Amesbury, built in 1600 and 1607, and the Newhouse in Redlynch, built in 1619 by Sir Thomas Gorges and, like the Pepperbox, a brick building with a hexagonal centre.[8] The Pepperbox is listed in Peter Long's book The Hidden Places of England.[9]
See also
- Longford Castle
- Fonthill Abbey
- Pepper Pot, Brighton (also named in reference to its pepper pot-style shape)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Pepperbox Hill: The National Trust
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 The Pepperbox of Pepperbox Hill (South of Alderbury): Wiltshire History
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 'Alderbury and Whaddon: a Millennium Mosaic of People, Places and Progress' by Alderbury and Whaddon Local History Research Group|, ISBN 0 9538004 0 7}}
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 National Heritage List 1355631: The Pepperbox (Grade II listing)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Headley, Gwyn (19 July 2012). Follies: Fabulous, Fanciful and Frivolous Buildings. National Trust Books. p. 69. ISBN 1907892303.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Quinn, Tom (29 August 2008). Hidden Britain. Cape Town: New Holland Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 1847731295. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Sbfms1oJn8MC&pg=PA33&dq=pepper+box+wiltshire&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwij9ZvR-YDaAhVGJ1AKHSInBjcQ6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=pepper%20box%20wiltshire&f=false. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Headley, Gwen; Meulenkamp, Wim (16 June 1999). Follies, Grottoes and Garden Buildings. London: Aurum Press. pp. 537-538. ISBN 1854106252.
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Wiltshire, 1963; 1975 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09659-0
- ↑ Long, Peter (March 2004). The Hidden Places of England (4th ed.). Berkshire: Travel Publishing. p. 577. ISBN 1904434126. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4ePshlzYVkAC&pg=PT582&lpg=PT582&dq=eyre%27s+folly&source=bl&ots=Sc67qBKBx5&sig=OIHNwp3db9-D014T6l-zZQjBWcw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHscLmioHaAhUSbVAKHeoPCBw4ChDoAQhIMAc#v=onepage&q=eyre's%20folly&f=false. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
