Conygar Tower
Encyclopedia
The Conygar Tower in Dunster
, Somerset
, England was built in 1775 and has been designated as a Grade II listed building.
It is a circular, 3 storey folly
tower built of red sandstone, situated on a hill overlooking the village. It was commissioned by Henry Luttrell
and designed by Richard Phelps and stands about 18 metres (59 ft) high so that it can be seen from Dunster Castle
on the opposite hillside. There is no evidence that it ever had floors or a roof.
The name Conygar comes from two medieval words Coney meaning rabbit and Garth meaning garden, indicating that it was once a warren where rabbits were bred for food.
In 1997 a survey carried out by The Crown Estate identified cracks in the walls which were repaired in 2000.
Dunster
Dunster is a village and civil parish in west Somerset, England, situated on the Bristol Channel coast south-southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. The village has a population of 862 .The village has numerous restaurants and three pubs...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England was built in 1775 and has been designated as a Grade II listed building.
It is a circular, 3 storey folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
tower built of red sandstone, situated on a hill overlooking the village. It was commissioned by Henry Luttrell
Henry Luttrell, 2nd Earl of Carhampton
General Henry Lawes Luttrell, 2nd Earl of Carhampton PC was a politician and soldier.-Military career:Educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, Luttrell was commissioned into the 48th Regiment of Foot in 1757. In 1762, during the Seven Years' War, he became Deputy Adjutant-General...
and designed by Richard Phelps and stands about 18 metres (59 ft) high so that it can be seen from Dunster Castle
Dunster Castle
Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century,...
on the opposite hillside. There is no evidence that it ever had floors or a roof.
The name Conygar comes from two medieval words Coney meaning rabbit and Garth meaning garden, indicating that it was once a warren where rabbits were bred for food.
In 1997 a survey carried out by The Crown Estate identified cracks in the walls which were repaired in 2000.