The Tower of Winds

Unfortunately on the day I visited Shugborough the tower was closed so I was unable to see the interior. This is what the guide book has to say about the tower:

The Tower of the Winds was completed in 1765 and is based on the Temple of the Winds in Athens. the Greek original derived its name from the depiction of each of the winds as reliefs at the top of each octagonal side.

Shugborough’s tower stood at one time at the edge of an ornamental lake and was flanked by two bridges. At the other end of the lake it was faced by an elegant Chinese Pagoda. Sadly the pagoda was lost during severe flooding in the late eighteen century and the lake was drained in order to prevent such a disaster recurring.

At one time the basement of the building was used as a dairy and the upper floor is believed to have been used as a gambling den by the 1st Earl in the mid-19th century.

4 Comments CherryPie on Feb 27th 2013

4 Responses to “The Tower of Winds”

  1. jamsodonnell says:

    I’s an attractive little building

  2. Astrid says:

    Very intriguing building. Love the ‘little roofs’ above the doors, like a Greek temple.
    I can taste your disappointment for not being able to go inside.