Listed Building record MDR10105 - Grinlow Tower (Solomon's Temple), Grin Low, Buxton

Grade II listed building. Folly of 1840 for Samuel Mycock. Originally built to provide work for the town's unemployed. Also known as Solomon's Temple. It was rebuilt in 1894 and restored in 1987. Constructed of rubble limestone, with tooled gritstone dressings. Two storeys high, with a circular plan. (1) The building stands on a barrow which was excavated in 1894 when the tower had been demolished and prior to its reconstruction. (2) See SMR 2818 for the barrow. Solomon's Temple, or Grin Low Tower, designed by G E Garlick, was built by public subscription and officially opened by Mr Victor Cavendish MP in September 1896. It replaced a tower reputedly built to provide work for the unemployed of Buxton in about 1835. It stands at an altitude of 1440ft on a Bronze Age barrow. In recent times the tower has been repaired and continues to provide a local landmark. (3) Grinlow Tower surmounts Grin Hill. The original tower is traditionally believed to have been built by the sixth Duke of Devonshire to provide work for local unemployed men. It soon became a focal point for tourists and remains popular with visitors today. It was erected in the late 1830s on land then leased for grazing by Solomon Mycock, landlord of the Cheshire Cheese Inn, Buxton, and hence became more popularly known as 'Solomon's Temple'. Having originally been built of unmortared limestone and standing in a very exposed position, it eventually fell down and was rebuilt in its present form by public subscription in 1896. Almost 100 years later the Tower again became unsafe and was repaired in 1987. (4)