Building record 0420802035 - BOURBON TOWER, Stowe Landscape Gardens
Summary
Protected Status/Designation
- Listed Building (II) 1212156: THE BOURBON TOWER
- SHINE: Stowe medieval to post medieval landscape garden, medieval deserted villages of Lamport & Boycott, shrunken village of Daford, also moats, manors and fishponds, ridge and furrow earthworks & cropmarks, and areas of ancient semi natural woodland
Map
Type and Period (3)
- TOWER (18th Century to 19th Century - 1700 AD to 1899 AD)
- (Former Type) GATE LODGE (18th Century - 1700 AD to 1799 AD)
- (Former Type) MILITARY TRAINING SITE (19th Century - 1800 AD to 1899 AD)
Description
Plan Form - CYLINDRICAL
Grade II. Cylindrical tower of ironstone circa 1741 probably by Gibbs. Small round arched windows and machicolated parapet, surmounted by octagonal turret, apparently replacing original conical roof. Known as the Keepers Lodge, but altered and renamed in honour of a visit by the exiled Louis XVIII in 1808. Ramparts dated 1814 (B14).
Built in 1742 by Lord Cobham originally as a keeper's lodge to control access to the estate from the south and east. It was renamed the Bourbon Tower in 1808 to commemorate a visit by the exiled French royal family. In January 1808, Louis XVIII and other members of the royal family planted clumps of trees around the tower and a stone inscription was placed above the door (now lost). In 1843, the Duke of Buckingham instructed Edward Blore to turn the Bourbon Tower into a mock fort for use by the local Yeomanry complete with a saluting platform. A crenallated octagonal turret (24ft high x 10ft wide) was errected on top of the tower with a saluting battery and flag staff. Other military facilites in this area of the park included a Cavalry drill park and rifle range. At about this time the four small towers (illustrated in 1805) were replaced by a substantial earthwork. The Sergeant Major of the Buckinghamshire Yeomanry lived in the building until 1923. It was gutted by fire, but was still used as the home of Stowe School clay pigeon club from 1936-1993. A survey underaken by English Heritage in 2000 located earthworks interpreted as the remains of the saluting platform and the sites of the four smaller towers, and with the designed plantings of trees. The saluting battery, storage recess and embrasures were located on the western side of the tower, and the gateway, magazine and gun cartridge dump to the east. The earthworks associated with the smaller towers were to the north and south. The pattern of tree stumps and surviving trees was also noted. The pond to the SW can still be seen as an earthwork and in an area of boggy ground, but it is cut by a field boundary. Maps from 1900 show that it was clearly associated with the tower and was linked by a footpath. It is believed that the pond was more functional for stock to drink and to attract deer more than ornamental. Features to the east of the tower have been damaged by ploughing (B18).
A watching brief carried out during tree planting produced only one piece of 19th century pottery (B19).
Its position in the landscape must relate to the creation of the extended park (B20).
Sources (6)
- ---SBC17422 Aerial Photograph: 04/09/76. BCM A2/11/20-22. SP\674376. Yes.
- <14>SBC3681 Bibliographic reference: DoE. 1983. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. p35.
- <18>SBC19185 Unpublished document: English Heritage. 2000. The Bourbon Tower, Stowe, Bucks..
- <19>SBC19711 Unpublished document: Northamptonshire Archaeology. 2002. Interim Report on the Archaeological Watching Brief During Tree Planting at Stowe Park.
- <20>SBC23346 Unpublished document: P Woodfield. 2005. Whittlewood Project: Historic Buildings Surveys: Stowe with Dadford and Boycott.
- <21>SBC19550 Unpublished document: Oliver Jessop (National Trust). 1999. Bourbon Fields: Observations on the Excavation of a Pipe Trench West of the Bourbon Tower.
Location
Grid reference | SP 68331 37966 (point) |
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Civil Parish | STOWE, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (3)
Related Events/Activities (4)
- Event - Survey: Bourbon Fields: observations on the excavation of a pipe trench west of the Bourbon Tower (EBC16210)
- Event - Survey: Site visit (EBC13583)
- Event - Survey: The Bourbon Tower, Stowe: an archaeological survey (EBC16209)
- Event - Intervention: Watching brief (EBC16247)
Record last edited
Mar 27 2020 8:55AM