Wilder's Folly

The brick tower or belvedere on Nunhide Hill was built in 1769 by Reverend Henry Wilder (1744–1814) while he was courting Joan Thoyts (c. 1748–1837), younger sister of John Thoyts of Sulhamstead House. The building featured an open ground-level arcade. The painted first floor room was accessed by an exterior wooden staircase. The two floors above ground level featured glazed ogive windows. The castellated top contained a flat lead roof. In the late 19th century the building's windows were bricked up and the tower became a dovecote.