King William's Tower

Within the woods, high above the little village of Trevor, King William’s Tower lies hidden away amongst the trees. One could wander amongst the pines for hours, and not find it. No one stumbles upon King William’s Tower.

It is thought to have been built in 1827[1] for George Hammond Whalley, MP for Peterborough and owner of the Plas Madoc Estate, now a housing estate at Ruabon. The Tower is often described as a folly, but this is something of a disservice to the place, since in truth it was more likely a summer house or hunting lodge, along with a gamekeeper's cottage beside it - there are a number of pheasantries in the woods nearby, and Ruabon Mountain and its numerous grouse butts are but a little distance away.

An avowed Protestant, Whalley named it King William’s Tower in honour of William III King of England (1689-1702), otherwise known as William of Orange. During the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Dutch Protestant William deposed James II (VII of Scotland), along with his wife and daughter of James, Mary. The growing suspicion of the favouring of Catholicism in England and Wales by James led to his downfall. G.H. Whalley claimed ancestry from the noted 17th century regicide, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Whalley, cousin to Oliver Cromwell and veteran of the many wars and battles of English Civil Wars and Commonwealth.

George was, if anything, even more anti-Catholic[2] than his ancestor, and was known to have been an Orangeman - a member of the Protestant fraternal order, largely based in Northern Ireland, but with lodges established in various towns and cities in the United Kingdom. There is a tradition that the Tower was used as a meeting place for the Orangemen of various Liverpool Lodges, and this is entirely possible, since it is a matter of fact that Whalley made a habit of inviting the Orange Order of Liverpool[3] and Birmingham to his Plas Madog estate. The use of the aptly named King William’s Tower for such meetings would make sense, of course.

Ironically, there is a tradition that the Tower was built on the site of an older building, a fort in fact. During the English Civil Wars, it is said Royalists were sheltered here, in the cellar. Quite whether Whalley knew of this story is unknown, but one imagines his irritation should he have discovered the tale subsequent to the building of his tower. But as interesting as the tradition may be, it remains unlikely that an earlier building of such stature would not have had a more substantial recorded history, especially given a 17th century date.

What remains is a circular tower of three storeys with a turret. Though privately owned, it is derelict now, the internal walls and flooring much reduced. There is a public footpath that leads from Tower Road alongside this intriguing building, though access further on to Gronwen does seem to have been blocked off. If visiting, please be mindful that both the Tower and the attached gamekeepers cottage are private residences.

Footnotes

[1] A rainwater head is dated 1827.

[2] Whalley is known to have voraciously agitated against what he perceived as a growing Catholic presence in Britain - often without the evidence to back his claims.

[3] There was nothing surreptitious about these visits. Indeed, it’s known that the Liverpool Orangemen led a march from Ruabon into the Welsh countryside on one of these visits in July 1862.