Lady Hamilton's Folly - Vandalian Tower - Harting down - West Sussex - UK Ruin

AIRVŪZ STAFF NOTE : The term "folly" has a specific meaning in the context of architecture, it denotes a building which was constructed solely as ornamentation, suggesting "folly" on the part of the builder. A prominent example is the Vandalian Tower just north of Portsmouth in southern England, which you'll see in this drone video by bob the drone. It was built in 1774 to celebrate the stillborn American colony of Vandalia. Its nickname "Lady Hamilton's Folly" refers to Admiral Nelson's mistress, who would use it to spot his ship sailing into harbor.

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Just west of Harting down is Tower Hill, upon which is the Vandalian Tower This wonderful UK Ruin was originally built in 1774 to celebrate the founding of the American settlement of Vandalia, a proposed British colony that never grew beyond its initial founders. Due to the American War of Independence, the small colony was hung out to dry and while they proposed becoming a state by the name of “Westsylvania,” the fresh American government scoffed at the idea and the territory was subsumed by the states now known as West Virginia and Kentucky. In the late 1700s, while Emma Hamilton was living at Uppark House and was carrying on her “friendship” with Lord Nelson, she would frequently take her carriage up to the tower when Nelson was expected back from a voyage and using a telescope, watch for his ship arriving in the Solent. She spent so much time at the tower that locals dubbed it “Lady Hamilton’s Folly,” which is what it has been known as ever since.