The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced a massive £436,700 grant to help the Landmark Trust rescue and restore Clavell Tower, which stands on the edge of a crumbling cliff above Kimmeridge Bay in Dorset. The Trust plans to move the Tower 25 metres inland to save it from collapsing into the sea.

The three storey Clavell Tower was built in 1830 by Reverend John Richards Clavell as an observatory and folly, and was the inspiration for The Black Tower by PD James, who is backing the Landmark Trust’s campaign to save it. The Tower was also one of the places where Thomas Hardy courted his first love Eliza Nicholl, and he used it as a frontispiece for his Wessex Poems.

Including the HLF grant, £558,618 has been raised to date for the project, which will cost a total of £714,297. The HLF grant is conditional on the Landmark Trust raising the £155,679 of additional funding still required.

Adrian Tinniswood, Chair of the South West Regional Committee of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said; “The Clavell Tower is a magnificent building in a stunning location and there was no question about the importance of saving it from falling into the sea. In addition to this important rescue work, the re-location project will enable many more people to visit the Tower, and I sincerely wish the Trust well in raising the rest of the funds required. “

Dismantling the Tower and rebuilding it 25 metres inland from the cliff edge will ensure that it continues as a prominent landmark in Dorset on this part of the South West coastline, which is internationally recognised as a World Heritage Site.

Once the move and restoration are completed, Clavell Tower will be available for holiday letting through the Landmark Trust, with the resulting rent paying for its upkeep and maintenance. The public will be able to get inside and explore this historic building on open and change over days.

As well as paying a large part of the cost of dismantling, moving and rebuilding the Tower, the project also includes educational activities with local schools, and will provide practical opportunities for local college students to learn about building conservation skills. The Landmark Trust will develop leaflets, there will be a temporary exhibition at nearby Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve and a permanent outdoor display in Kimmeridge Bay so that visitors to the site can learn more about its History.

Peter Pearce, the Director of the Landmark Trust, said, “Heritage Lottery Fund support is vital to this project, which will save a true landmark on the Dorset coast. This news is a key step in the rescue of Clavell Tower but our attention must now turn to funding the shortfall before the tower falls into the sea and is lost forever”