History

Part of a picturesque concept of a toy fort to be used as a summerhouse, look-out and picnic place on the top of the cliffs. It is built in the middle of the Iron Age cliff castle of Summerhouse Camp and dates probably from the period of 1780-1820 when such conceits were popular. During WWII it was apparently used as a site for a defensive point of some kind. The early history of the fort is unknown.

Exterior

Built of local limestone rubble in the form of a octagonal curtain wall about 2m in height, with corner towers at least one of which on the north side seems to have been a privy. The finished design of both walls and towers is uncertain since they are both damaged and much covered in ivy but there appear to be small battlements in the form of a cock-and-hen parapet in parts. On the east side a small barn-like building is incorporated into the curtain. This is unroofed and featureless apart from a doorway but it has a WWII gun-loop on the north corner.

Reasons for Listing

Included for its special interest as a picturesque folly dating from about 1800.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29505918

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)