A mysterious tower: was it a sign of love, a place for a solitary singer, or a hunting lodge? What do you think? Perched on the hill above West Witton is a classical-looking tower, known as ‘Polly Peachum’s Tower’. Polly was a character in John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, played by Lavinia Fenton in the 1720s. Lavinia was the mistress of the 3rd Duke of Bolton. When the Duke’s wife died he eventually married Lavinia.
Some say that the Duke built a fanciful folly to show his love for Lavinia, others that it was already a hunting tower with a pyramidal roof. Others say that the Duke had tired of her voice and wanted to create a space where she could go to sing, but where her voice wouldn’t quite carry all the way to his home across the valley.
Lavinia was presumably much-loved though: in Holy Trinity Church in Wensley is the pew of the family from Bolton Castle. It’s a fanciful carved seat, more in the style of a box from a London theatre where Lavinia once sang.