The 18th-century observatory with a rich history and a possible Tolkien

Perrott's Folly, locally known as The Monument or The Observatory, is a 29-meter tall tower built in 1758 by John Perrott. It is located in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Although theories abound about its original purpose – some believe it was built for surveillance or entertainment – it was later used as a weather recording station for the Birmingham and Midland Institute from 1884 until the end of the 19th century.

It has been suggested, without definitive proof, that the towers of Perrott's Folly and Edgbaston Waterworks may have influenced the references to towers in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, who lived nearby as a child.

In the summer of 2005, The Perrott's Folly Company, in partnership with Birmingham Conservation Trust, completed work to stabilize the structure. However, money still has to be found to complete repairs to some of the key features.

In April 2008, the tower was temporarily opened to the public, housing an art exhibition in cooperation with the Ikon Gallery. It was opened again in May 2008 as part of a weekend of celebrations of the life of J. R. R. Tolkien. The Perrott's Folly Company was formally closed after its work was completed. The tower was managed by Trident Housing Association between 2005 and 2017 and is now managed by Re.Future Collective, a Birmingham-based Arts and Architecture Collective.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons