Broadway Tower, Worcestershire facts for kids
Broadway Tower is a unique building called a folly (a building made for decoration, not for a real purpose). It stands on Broadway Hill, close to the village of Broadway in Worcestershire, England. This spot is the second-highest point in the Cotswolds hills. The base of Broadway Tower is 312 meters (1,024 feet) above sea level. The tower itself is 20 meters (65 feet) tall.
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History of Broadway Tower
The idea for Broadway Tower came from Capability Brown, a famous landscape designer. It was designed by James Wyatt in 1794 to look like a castle. The tower was built for Lady Coventry between 1798 and 1799.
Why was Broadway Tower built?
The tower was built on a "beacon hill." This means it was a place where people would light large fires (beacons) on special days. Lady Coventry wondered if a beacon lit on this hill could be seen from her home in Worcester, which was about 35 kilometers (22 miles) away. So, she paid for the tower to be built to find out! It turned out the beacon could be seen very clearly.
Who lived or worked at the tower?
For some years, the tower was home to the printing press of Sir Thomas Phillipps. He used it to print books.
Later, in the 1870s, artists like William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti had a friend named Cormell Price who rented the tower. William Morris even wrote a letter saying he was "up at Crom Price's Tower among the winds and the clouds."
Broadway Tower and World War II
Near the tower, there is a special memorial. It remembers the crew of a bomber plane called an A.W.38 Whitley. This plane crashed there in June 1943 during a training flight in World War II.
The Cold War Bunker
In the late 1950s, Broadway Tower played a role in monitoring nuclear fallout in England. A secret underground Royal Observer Corps bunker was built about 45 meters (50 yards) from the tower. From 1961, people worked in this bunker all the time. It was one of the last bunkers built during the Cold War. Even though it officially closed in 1991, it is still one of the few fully equipped bunkers left in England today.
Broadway Tower Country Park
Today, Broadway Tower is a popular place for tourists to visit. It is the center of a country park. You can visit different exhibitions inside the tower for a fee. There is also a gift shop and a restaurant.
The tower is located on the Cotswold Way, a famous walking path. You can reach it by following the Cotswold Way from the A44 road at Fish Hill. Or, you can take a steep walk up from Broadway village.
