Vandalian Tower

This evening, while Hector was sleeping and Son1 was around to keep an eye on him, and Mr DA was out on the town, I decided to go for a drive with my camera and see what I could find. So, this is the Vandalian Tower at Harting, the first time I’ve seen it up close, having often noticed it from a distance.

According to Historic England:

It was built to commemorate a scheme, in which Sir Matthew Fetherstonhaugh had a share, for the projected exploitation of a territory in West Virginia which had been purchased from the Iroquois Indians. This territory was to be called Vandalia, and the tower was in consequence called the Vandalian Tower. Sir Matthew, having commissioned the tower, died in 1774, and the Vandalian venture collapsed on the outbreak of the war with America in 1775. The Hellfire Club is thought to have met at the site...The tower was partly destroyed by fire in 1842 and the ruins were stabilised in 1982.