The Folly, Pontypool 19 August 2017

Now if only I could remember my trigonometry I could use this cast iron fence pole to calculate the height of The Folly; but with my Grade 9 O Level Maths, no chance!

The original tower was built c. 1765 by Squire John Hanbury, local ironmaster. It was a true folly, serving no practical purpose with neither roof nor floor. In July 1940 the government ordered its demolition, fearing it provided a landmark to German bombers for the nearby Royal Ordnance Factory at Glascoed. (This did not prevent casualties there when a German bomber returning from a raid on Birmingham, strafed women coming into the open on a break from the well camouflaged factory).

Plans to rebuild it in 1946 and again in 1948 came to naught due to pressure on building supplies for more important reconstruction. Finally, in 1990, the proposal was made again and after a successful fund raising campaign, construction started in 1993 and in 1994 the tower was officially opened by the Prince of Wales. There were objections by some local socialists on the grounds that resurrecting the tower was glorifying Hanbury, "oppressor of the working man".