The tower [photo by feersumendjinn] is being dismantled and to be saved by £1,000,000 from the sea.
Stone by stone, brick by brick, work began yesterday[5/Sept/06] to dismantle a tower which has inspired artists and helped sailors navigate, and rebuild it inland from its crumbling clifftop perch.
Clavell Tower has stood sentinel over the wide sweep of Kimmeridge Bay in Dorset for almost 200 years but erosion means that it is only 2½ metres (8ft) from the clifftop. If no action is taken it would be only a matter of time before it tumbled over the precipice.
Under the supervision of the Landmark Trust stonemasons began the delicate job of taking the tower to bits and moving it 25 metres (80ft) inland, where it is hoped it will be safe for at least 200 years. The tower, which has three storeys and a Tuscan colonnade, was built in 1860 as an observatory and folly by the Rev John Richards Clavell.Tags: