IT'S the cliff-top folly-come-hotel that inspired literary giants such as PD James and Thomas Hardy.

Clavell Tower was built at Hen Cliff near Kimmeridge Bay by the 70-year-old clergyman, Reverend John Richards Clavell, in 1830 as an observatory and decorative showpiece.

Clavell unexpectedly inherited the Smedmore Estate on which it stands in 1817.

The tower became a destination for picnics and family expeditions after Clavell passed the estate to his niece following his death in 1833.

From the 1880s until 1914 it served as a lookout post for coastguards, but was left empty and became increasingly derelict.

Bournemouth Echo:

Was painstakingly rebuilt to ensure it was preserved

By 2002, Clavell Tower was perilously close to the edge of the crumbling cliff due to coastal erosion.

The Grade II listed tower was painstakingly dismantled and rebuilt 85ft inland by building conservation charity the Landmark Trust.

The works, which cost £900,000, saw each of the 16,277 stones carefully photographed and numbered so the tower could be accurately rebuilt.

Experts predict that the tower could now stand in its current spot for another 200 years, rather than five had it remained in its initial position.

Bournemouth Echo:

Became a popular rental destination

Clavell Tower, which overlooks Kimmeridge Bay, is so popular with visitors that bookings are made many months in advance.

It opened to the public as a holiday let in August 2008.

The transformed tower now offers accommodation for two with a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and dining room and a lounge over four storeys.

It can be booked for a four-night break for two people from £526.

A source of inspiration to literary greats

The four-storey, circular tower has a special place in literary history having inspired many writers including Thomas Hardy and PD James.

Thomas Hardy is said to have courted his first love, Eliza Nichols, there and used it as a frontispiece for his Wessex Poems.

PD James was inspired to write her book The Black Tower after seeing it in 1973. The tower was painted black for the TV adaptation of the book in 1985.