The Pepperbox

Although the Historic England listing dates The Pepperbox to the early 18th century, it is accepted that the tower was built in 1606 by Giles Eyre of the nearby Brickworth House, hence the alternate name "Eyre's Folly". Eyre is known for being the father of settler John Eyre and grandfather of Giles Eyre, a judge. The original purpose of the tower is unknown. It has alternately been suggested that the 1606 date is an erroneous dating due to a coincidence of names, and that the tower was more probably built by Eyres' great-great-grandson Giles Eyre (1664–1734) in the early 18th century. The elder Giles Eyre was the first of five generations of owners with the same name covering the period…

The Pepperbox is a hexagonal, three-storey tower constructed of English bond brick, with a low, pyramidal Welsh slate roof that was rebuilt around 1900, topped by a weather vane. The first floor features three-brick plat bands, while the second floor has a stepped cornice with windows under timber lintels. used in the 17th and 18th centuries, and consequently also inspired the name of the hill that it stands on. The highest point of Pepperbox Hill is further along the ridge to the north-west, where there is an Ordnance Survey triangulation pillar. The site is in the north-west corner of the parish of Whiteparish, but is more closely associated with the village of Alderbury, which the tower…