Gothic Tower, Brightling, East Sussex
John Fuller (1757 – 1834), better known as "Mad Jack" Fuller, was Squire of the hamlet of Brightling, in Sussex, and a Member of Parliament between 1780 and 1812. He was a philanthropist, patron of the arts and sciences, andbuilder of follies. He purchased and commissioned many paintings from J.M.W. Turner, and was sponsor and mentor to Michael Faraday.
The tower is approximately 35 feet (10.6 m) high and 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter, and is thought to have been built in the late 1820s. Numerous explanations abound as to the purpose of the tower. One suggestion is that Fuller used to come here to watch from afar the construction of the railway through Robertsbridge, four miles away. Another fable connects the structure with the threatened Napoleonic invasion; the one version seems of too early a date and the other too late. It is also said that Fuller had this tower built so that he could keep an eye on the workmen's progress during the restoration of Bodiam Castle, which he purchased in 1829. There has also been some conjecture that it was used as a signaling tower.
Gothic Tower, Brightling, East Sussex
John Fuller (1757 – 1834), better known as "Mad Jack" Fuller, was Squire of the hamlet of Brightling, in Sussex, and a Member of Parliament between 1780 and 1812. He was a philanthropist, patron of the arts and sciences, andbuilder of follies. He purchased and commissioned many paintings from J.M.W. Turner, and was sponsor and mentor to Michael Faraday.
The tower is approximately 35 feet (10.6 m) high and 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter, and is thought to have been built in the late 1820s. Numerous explanations abound as to the purpose of the tower. One suggestion is that Fuller used to come here to watch from afar the construction of the railway through Robertsbridge, four miles away. Another fable connects the structure with the threatened Napoleonic invasion; the one version seems of too early a date and the other too late. It is also said that Fuller had this tower built so that he could keep an eye on the workmen's progress during the restoration of Bodiam Castle, which he purchased in 1829. There has also been some conjecture that it was used as a signaling tower.