Broadway Tower

A Folly with a View

Rising 65 feet above Broadway Hill, Broadway Tower is a striking Gothic-style folly built in 1798 as a romantic gesture from the 6th Earl of Coventry to his wife, Barbara. Designed by architect James Wyatt under the landscape vision of Capability Brown, the tower was never meant as a fortress but as a picturesque landmark to enhance the Cotswold skyline. Its hexagonal form, battlements, turrets, and gargoyles give it the appearance of a miniature castle, standing at 1,024 feet above sea level – the second-highest point in the Cotswolds. From this vantage, the tower was originally intended to be visible from the Earl’s estate at Croome Court, serving both as a beacon and a symbol of enduring affection.

From Beacon to Bibliophile’s Lair

The hill itself had long been a beacon site, used to send signals across the landscape, including warnings of the Spanish Armada in 1588. In the 19th century, the tower took on a new life as the home of Sir Thomas Phillipps, one of history’s greatest manuscript collectors. He established the Middle Hill Press within its walls, turning the folly into a scholarly hub known as the ‘Lighthouse of Wisdom’. Over decades, the tower housed printing operations and attracted intellectuals, later becoming a seasonal retreat for figures of the Arts and Crafts movement, including William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who found inspiration in its windswept isolation.

Arts and Crafts Retreat

In the 1870s and 1880s, Broadway Tower became a beloved country escape for Morris and his circle. They used it as a pastoral retreat, far from the industrial cities, where they could immerse themselves in the English countryside. Morris’s time here influenced his philosophy on craftsmanship and heritage, and he later founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. The tower’s simple, almost rustic conditions – with stories of bathing on the roof and hauling supplies up narrow staircases – added to its charm as a place of creative renewal and escape from Victorian modernity.

A Tower for the Public

By the early 20th century, the tower had been converted into a farmhouse, serving as a home for tenant farmers. In the 1970s, it was restored and opened to the public as part of a country park, preserving its history while making it accessible to visitors. Today, the tower functions as a museum across three floors, with exhibits on its construction, the Phillipps press, and the Pre-Raphaelite connection. The rooftop viewing platform offers sweeping views across the Vale of Evesham and, on clear days, up to 16 counties, making it a favourite spot for photographers and walkers alike.

Layers of 20th-Century History

Beyond its Georgian and Victorian past, the site carries Cold War echoes in the form of a nearby Royal Observer Corps monitoring post, now restored and open to visitors. This underground facility, once a closely guarded secret, adds another dimension to the tower’s story, linking the ancient beacon hill with modern surveillance. A memorial to the crew of a Whitley bomber that crashed here in 1943 further underscores the site’s layered significance, where centuries of history – from Saxon beacons to wartime service – converge on this elevated Cotswold ridge.