| Compass Point Storm Tower | |
| Other Name: | The Pepperpot |
| Type: | Lookout tower |
| Coordinates: | 50.8286°N -4.5566°W |
| Location: | Compass Point, Bude, Cornwall, England |
| Built For: | Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet |
| Architect: | George Wightwick |
| Designation1: | Grade II |
| Designation1 Offname: | The Storm Tower |
| Designation1 Date: | 9 September 1985 |
The Storm Tower at Compass Point, Bude–Stratton, Cornwall, England, is an octagonal lookout tower, modelled on the Tower of the Winds in Athens, Greece.[1] [2] It is known locally as the Pepperpot.
The tower was built in 1835 on the instructions of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet, to a design by George Wightwick, as a place from which coastguards could observe ships on the adjacent Atlantic Ocean.
Historic England describe it thus:
The current roof is not original. As built, the tower was aligned to magnetic north, but polar drift means this is now seven degrees out.
The tower sits on a sandstone and shale cliff that is described as friable and which is subject to erosion, averaging 1m (03feet) a year, but with the potential for a 25m (82feet) loss at any time. As a result, the tower had to be moved a short distance from the cliff edge in 1881. Because of the ongoing threat of erosion, there are plans to dismantle the tower and reconstruct it 100m (300feet) further inland, at a cost of around £450,000, over a six-month period starting in late April 2023. Funding has been provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (£249,362), public crowdfunding (£58,000), Cornwall Council (£50,000) and Bude-Stratton town council (£40,000). The work is to be undertaken by specialist contractors Sally Strachey Historic Conservation.
The tower has been Grade II listed since September 1985, giving it legal protection against unauthorised alteration or demolition.