Flounders Folly tower sits
on top of Callow Hill a few miles outside the small town of
Craven Arms in Shropshire, distantly visible from the main A49
road between Shrewsbury and Ludlow.
It is named after its founder, Benjamin Flounders, a wealthy
Yorkshire businessman who had been involved both with the
railways and canals in the north of England.
The tower, which is some 80 feet tall and 16 feet
square, dates back to 1838. Flounders was then 70 and
the owner of the nearby Culmington Estate - he died in 1845.
From the folly there are spectacular views of the
surrounding Shropshire countryside, with the Long Mynd to the
west and Wales beyond, and more open land to the
east.
Flounders Folly fell into disrepair after the Second World
War and decayed over a period of years; the castellated top of
the tower collapsed in 1987.
In 2001 the tower - which was once owned by the actress Julie
Christie - was bought by the Flounders Folly Trust,
and restored over a period of several years with the help of
volunteers and grants from various sources. On occasions the
tower is open to the public.
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The view from Callow Hill and Flounders Folly
across patchwork fields to the southern end
of the Long Mynd
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Stone marking the
date of building
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Flounders Folly
on Callow Hill, close to Craven Arms, Shropshire