Seen by many on the road from Newport to Abergavenny, the Folly Tower stands as a landmark for the people of Pontypool along with the Shell Grotto further along the ridge.
Built by John Hanbury, the local iron master who owned Pontypool Park, sometime around 1770, the tower appears to have been renovated by Capel Hanbury Leigh around 1831. It is reputed to have been used as a lookout for the local hunts and as a summerhouse for the family.
It has commanding views of the surrounding countryside and on clear days it is said that you can see 7 counties from the top.
Various notes of its importance are recorded, with a school trip by Griffithstown Infants School in 1914, using the tower for general revisions of geography. By 1924 it had become a popular place of pilgrimage on bank holidays with many 100’s of people taking a picnic and enjoying the air.
In May 1935, it was estimated that over 15,000 people watched the lighting of a bonfire to celebrate the silver Jubilee of King George V and saw the surrounding hilltops being lit with similar fires in celebration.
By the late 1930’s the tower was slowly failing into decline and shortly afterwards a notice was placed on the tower stating its danger. However, its significance on the local community was still noted and in 1937, Myfanwy Haycock, a renowned poet and illustrator wrote a poem about the tower.
At the onset of the Second World War, the tower was demolished on 9th July 1940, as it was felt to be a landmark for enemy aircraft trying to locate the ordnance factory at Glascoed.
Shortly after the end of the war, in 1946 and again in 1948 campaigns to rebuild the tower were launched, which were unsuccessful, due mainly to house building being more urgent priority.
In 1990, a number of prominent local historians and conservationists decided that the time was right to try to restore the Folly Tower and a committee was formed to apply to various funding bodies as well as open negotiations with the National Park Authority.
At that time there were no drawings available of the dimensions of the Tower but initial site excavations managed to unearth the foundations which were used as a base to prepare the new drawings.
The assets of the original committee were transferred to a new company. Croft Pontypool, standing for ‘The Campaign to Rebuild the Old Folly Tower’. This company then launched its ‘Sponsor a Stone’ public appeal which was a great success.
Following consultation with the National Park Authority, planning permission was granted subject to certain planning conditions including a car park at the top of Folly Lane.
The campaign to raise funds to build the Folly Tower continued throughout 1990 and 1991, with stone from the demolished Cwmffrwdoer School being donated along with press articles in the leading local and national papers on the campaign.
During 1993, the rebuilding carried on apace with the burial of a time capsule within the walls and the laying of the foundation stone by Sir Richard Hanbury Tenison.
Sponsorship by Avesta Sheffield of a stainless steel door and grant aid from the European Regional Development Fund and the Prince of Wales’ Committee ensured that work continued.
By September 1993, the Folly Tower had risen to approximately 20ft and was then a visible sight on the ridge. During the winter months the work to continue building the next stage of the Folly Tower was placed out to tender and was awarded to Davies and Jenkins, a local builder.
1994 was the 25th year of the investiture of the Prince of Wales and as part of his itinerary he officially opened the Folly Tower on 22nd July, so work pressed on.
By July work on both the exterior and interior was completed, the scaffolding removed and the brochure outlining all the work to date produced.
On 22nd July 1994, the Prince of Wales performed the official opening ceremony and the Folly Tower once again stood proudly on the ridge as a landmark for all.