History of Paxton’s Tower

A view of Paxton's Tower through with meadow grassland in the foreground — Paxton's Tower in summer | © NT

Positioned on a hill above the village of Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire, the triangular Paxton’s Tower provides magnificent views of the Tywi Valley. Built over 200 years ago, the majestic folly was built as a memorial to Admiral Lord Nelson. The tower is also a continual reminder to the people of the valley of the prominence of its commissioner, Sir William Paxton.

New money

Paxton’s Tower was built in 1811 as a banqueting house in the neo-gothic style in the park of Middleton Hall. Today much of the Middleton estate is occupied by the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

In around 1789, the Middleton estate was purchased by William Paxton (c. 1744–1824), whose wealth began to accumulate from the early 1770s, when he worked for the East India Company (EIC), the joint-stock company managing British colonial trade and administration across South, South-East and East Asia. Paxton held the lucrative posts of Assay Master and then of Master of the Mint in the British colonial establishment at Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) in Bengal, India. He later became an EIC agent and established his own banking business.

Between 1793 and 1795, Paxton commissioned the architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1754–1827) to design a Palladian country house at Middleton, including the ‘Tower’ banqueting house. Cockerell worked as an architect for the EIC and also designed several country houses for British men who had made their fortune in India, known as ‘nabobs’ (from the Urdu nawāb, ‘governor’).

A visitor taking a picture of the Tywi Valley from the hill which Paxton's Tower stands on, Carmarthenshire — Enjoying the view of the Tywi Valley from above, Paxton's Tower, Carmarthenshire | © NTI/James Dobson

Political manoeuvrings

Paxton unsuccessfully stood for election as Member of Parliament for Carmarthenshire in 1802, despite plying the voters with food and drink – effectively trying to bribe them – to the value of £15,690. In 1802 Paxton was elected Mayor of Carmarthen and received a knighthood in 1803. At the 1806 General Election, Sir William won the Carmarthenshire seat unopposed. He invested in the local area, developing Tenby as a bathing resort and providing a piped water supply to Carmarthen. However, the influential county gentry still distrusted his new wealth and at the 1807 General Election he was forced to give up his seat again.

Despite these setbacks, Paxton continued to fund the improvement of roads, canals and harbours throughout Carmarthenshire. One of Sir William’s motives for building the tower at Middleton Hall may have been to remind the local population of his wealth and importance. The official reason for its construction was to honour Admiral Lord Nelson (1758–1805), whom Paxton had met as Mayor of Carmarthen in 1802. Through his victories at sea and his heroic death at the battle of Trafalgar, Nelson had become a national icon, and by dedicating the tower to him (by way of inscriptions in English, Welsh and Latin, since lost) Paxton was advertising his patriotism. He also continued to expand his estate and when it was sold after his death in 1824 it totaled 2650 acres, including 24 farms.

A couple in the distance walking past Paxton's Tower in spring, Carmarthenshire — A late spring view of Paxton's Tower, Carmarthenshire | © NTI/James Dobson

Caring for heritage and nature

Hugh Campbell, Viscount Emlyn (1932–93, later 6th Earl Cawdor), purchased Paxton’s Tower to ensure its preservation, transferring it to the National Trust in 1965. The tower was restored by the Trust in the 1970s and remains a popular spot from which to admire the panoramic views of the Tywi Valley. In recent years the Trust has carried out hay meadow restoration on the site. This was done by collecting green (freshly cut) hay from a nearby flower-rich meadow managed by the National Botanic Garden of Wales (also on the former Middleton estate), spreading it on the meadow next to Paxton’s Tower and allowing sheep to trample the seeds into the ground. This has resulted in a meadow richer in flowers and with greater biodiversity.