Racton Monument, Sussex May2013

Visited with a mate

This is a strange place, it stands alone on a windswept hill and is a ruin of its former self.
Originally called Racton Folly, it was built by the 2nd Earl of Halifax between 1766 and 1775 and was designed by architect Theodosius Keene. Built of red brick, originally faced with flints, most of which has disappeared. It had four storeys and is about 80ft high.
Its original purpose is uncertain, but it might have been intended as a summerhouse to complement the main Stansted House. Or other suggestions is that it was built as a view point for the Earl. Somewhere he could watch the return of his merchant ships in the Solent.
Planning permission was granted for the owner to turn it into a dwelling but nothing has ever been done. There have been several suicides at the site, most recently in 2009.









looking up inside one of the small towers


looking up inside the main tower










looks like 1929




I found this place quite hard to get a decent photo of, inside all the rooms are round with striking bright light beaming in from all angles, and outside the three main sides look very similar

The shot looking up is brilliant! Love this place

Oh..."That needs climbing"

Make an amazing place to live.

A fine example of the skills of bricklayers who would be normally employed in the construction of the large bottle kilns of the period. Sadly no examples of the really large kilns have survived, although smaller examples can be seen. Whilst I am sure that 'folly or summerhouse' can be used to describe this structure, I certainly doubt these were the structure's only purpose .Anybody who is familiar with the history of the early merchant shipping trade will realise that being forewarned about the imminent arrival of one of his ships, would have enabled the Earl to make vast amounts of extra money on certain of his cargoes. It is hard to envisage today that even after sighting the English shore, it could take a merchant ship of that period many days to finally enter port. Beating up channel against prevailing winds and tides on the final leg of a voyage could actually be one of the most dangerous parts of a voyage - hence the number of wrecked sailing ships recorded through the ages in UK waters. I am sure the Earl's shipping agents would have used this structure to maximise the financial gain of the Earl's many shipping enterprises. In some respects the cargoes of that period were somewhat like the stocks and shares of today - vast amounts were gambled and vast amounts could be made by those 'in the know'.

Great pics!

Interesting site..
You have some good shots,
Thanks!