Hadlow Tower is back on the market: historic Kent castle converted into a vertical family home is for sale for £1.6m

A historic 175ft tower that was used as a Home Guard lookout post during the Second World War is back on the market, following a failed attempt to give it away as the winning prize in a property “raffle”.

An inescapable landmark in the village of Hadlow, near Tonbridge in Kent, Hadlow Tower stands almost six feet taller than Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square and was built at roughly the same time in the mid-19th century. Yet far from being frozen in time, this fairy tale tower, said to be the world’s tallest Gothic folly, has been painstakingly restored following a hard-fought local campaign.

Today, a contemporary four-bedroom family home with octagonal rooms stretches across six of the eight floors, which are accessed by a lift and two spiral turret staircases. Spectacular views are on offer from every floor, taking in the village to the north and fabulous Kentish countryside to the south.

"When you walk into the tower, the first thing inescapably is the views. The next thing that strikes you is the warmth of the property," says John Fisher, of Sotheby's country house and estate sales, who started marketing the tower just weeks before strict coronavirus lockdown measures were introduced by the Government in March.

“Although it’s stone, it's not like entering a historic monument. You expect it to be cold and clammy, but it is warm and welcoming and magnificently put together. The interior belies its exterior.”

Despite the temporary ban on all property viewings, Fisher says he has already vetted a waiting list of serious buyers ready to view the historic home as soon as social distancing rules are relaxed.

The sale of this much-loved village landmark stretches further back than the lockdown era, and is not without controversy.

In 1998, the World Monument Fund deemed Hadlow Tower important enough to be included in its list of the Top 100 most endangered historic buildings in the world, but it was only when local campaigners and the Vivat Trust, a charity that preserved historic buildings, joined forces that its three-year, £3 million restoration began, funded by English Heritage and The National Heritage Lottery Fund. The meticulously restored tower was rented out as a successful holiday let for £1,900 a week.

But then Vivat went bust and in 2017 banker Christian Tym bought the tower for £425,000 as a home for himself, wife Becca and their four sons. They moved in, although the tower remained open to the public on certain days in recognition of the role it plays in a village that is extremely proud of it.

After less than a year, the tower was on the market again, this time for £2 million. Then in December 2018 it was removed from sale and offered as a competition prize on a website called castlecompetition.co.uk, with optional charity donations included in the £4.50 ticket price. Weekly draws offered by the owners also awarded two-night stays in the tower, each worth £2,000.

The competition, which set out to attract 800,000 entries, was closed at the end of last year and Hadlow Tower is now for sale again at a comparatively knockdown price.​

The next owner of Hadlow Tower may be interested to learn about its history. All that remains of a grand Romantic Gothic castle built in the late 18th century, the tower, sometimes known as May’s Folly, was added in the mid-19th century by wealthy merchant Walter Barton May, who inherited the property from his father.

He was rumoured to have had the structure built in order to spy on his estranged wife after she left him for a local farmer. It’s said that he added the 40ft lantern at the top when he found the structure wasn't tall enough for him to see her.

The Grade I*-listed tower’s exterior was given a loving facelift by specialist craftsmen who skilfully removed and replaced every fine detail of the intricate stonework and stained-glass Gothic windows, winning Historic England’s prestigious Angel Award for their efforts.

The home offers 3,500sq ft of living space on the lower floors, with the master bedroom en suite on the fourth floor having direct access to the roof terrace on the ancillary tower.

The sixth floor makes a particularly grand home office, accessed by a modern spiral staircase, while the seventh and eighth floors give access to the parapet walkway and those breathtaking 360-degree panoramic views of Kent.

Outside space totals about three-and-a-half acres, including a private garden and parking, plus communal estate grounds with a croquet lawn and boating lake.

"Anyone who is buying this house knows that there is great structural integrity in the property,” says of Sotheby's Fisher. “When they did the renovation they secured the monument by quite an intricate steel structure - you know it’s not going anywhere."

Hadlow Tower is 37 miles from central London. Main line stations are close by in both Tonbridge and Sevenoaks, with direct trains to Cannon Street and Charing Cross taking half an hour or less. Driving into the City would take 80 minutes.

This spectacular home is for sale for £1.6 million through Sotheby's.