Broadwood’s Tower, Lodge Hill, Dorking, Surrey
If you decide to go walking in the Surrey Hills you’ll inevitably come across Broadwood’s Tower on Lodge Hill, just over 3 miles from Dorking; it’s a romantic looking folly that’s round and built of flint with a castellated overhang near the top, and it will bring to mind those old fairytales you heard when you were a kid: ‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!’
Broadwood Tower was built round about 1815 by Thomas Broadwood, who was part of a wealthy piano manufacturing family; he lived at Juniper Hall, an impressive 18th century pile that can be seen on the slopes down below. To add to the magic and romance, an oak tree grew right in the middle of the folly, probably from a seed that was dropped by a bird; in recent years, the National Trust, who own the site, took the decision to remove the tree as it wasn’t doing the tower any good and left to its own devices would eventually have brought it down.
To the south of Broadwood’s Tower is Box Hill, which can easily be reached via one of the many walks in the hills. Enchanting.
All information correct at the time of writing