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Compass Point Storm Tower
The Storm Tower at Compass Point, Bude–Stratton, Cornwall, England, is an octagonal lookout tower, modelled on the Tower of the Winds in Athens, Greece.[1][2][3] It is known locally as the Pepperpot.[1] The tower was built in 1835 on the instructions of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet, to a design by George Wightwick, as a place from which coastguards could observe ships on the adjacent Atlantic Ocean.[1][3] Historic England describe it thus:[3]
The current roof is not original.[1] As built, the tower was aligned to magnetic north, but polar drift means this is now seven degrees out.[1] The tower sits on a sandstone and shale cliff that is described as friable and which is subject to erosion, averaging 1 metre (1.1 yd) a year, but with the potential for a 25-metre (27 yd) loss at any time.[1] As a result, the tower had to be moved a short distance from the cliff edge in 1881.[1] Because of the ongoing threat of erosion, the tower was again dismantled and reconstructed 100 metres (110 yd) further inland, at a cost of around £450,000, over a six-month period starting in late April 2023 and finishing in March 2024.[1] Funding was provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (£249,362), public crowdfunding (£58,000), Cornwall Council (£50,000) and Bude-Stratton town council (£40,000).[1] The work was undertaken by specialist contractors Sally Strachey Historic Conservation.[2] The tower has been Grade II listed since September 1985,[3] giving it legal protection against unauthorised alteration or demolition. References
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