King Alfred's Tower is a folly in Somerset, England, on the edge of the border with Wiltshire, on the Stourhead estate. The tower stands on Kingsettle Hill and belongs to the National Trust. It is designated as a Grade I listed building. Henry Hoare II planned the tower in the 1760s to commemorate the end of the Seven Years' War against France and the accession of King George III, and it was erected near the site of Egbert's Stone, where it is believed that Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, rallied the Anglo-Saxons in 878 before the Battle of Edington. The tower was damaged by a plane in 1944 and restored in the 1980s. The triangular tower has a hollow centre and is climbed by means of a helical staircase in one of the corner projections. It has a statue of King Alfred and a dedication inscription. Location The tower stands near the site of 'Egbert's Stone', where it was said that Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, rallied the Saxons in May 878 before the important Battle of Edington (historically known as the battle of Ethandun), where the Danish army, led by Guthrum the Old was defeated. It is the start of the Leland Trail, a footpath which runs south-west to Ham Hill Country Park. History The project to build the tower was conceived in 1762 by the banker Henry Hoare II (1705–1785). The tower was intended to commemorate the end of the Seven Years' War against France and the accession of King George III. In 1765 Henry Flitcroft, a Palladian architect, designed the tower. Building began in 1769 or early 1770, and was completed in 1772 at a cost estimated to be between £5,000 and £6,000. There may have been some delay due to difficulty in obtaining the bricks. In addition to the commemorative function, the tower was also intended to serve as an eye-catcher for those touring the parkland of the Stourhead Estate. In April 1770, when the tower was just high, Hoare is quoted as saying: "I hope it will be finished in as happy Times to this Isle as Alfred finished his Life of Glory in then I shall depart in peace." The tower was damaged in 1944 when a Noorduyn Norseman aeroplane crashed into it in fog, resulting in the death of the five American aircrew and damage to the uppermost . It was