layer marney tower

Spent a pleasant bank holiday Monday lunchtime visiting Layer Marney Tower near Tiptree in Essex. It's Britain's tallest Tudor gatehouse and was built by Henry Marney in the 1520s. Marney was Lord Privy Seal to Henry VIII. You can climb to the top of the tower and there are fantastic views of the surrounding Essex countryside. Marney's aim was to surpass the splendour of Hampton Court in both size and grandeur, but having visited Hampton Court last summer I have to say he was well short of the mark. However, Layer Marney Tower is still an impressive building.

Marney also built a church which stands next to the gatehouse and on a wall inside the church is an original fresco of St. Christopher dating back to the 1520s. The painting was painted over during the reformation and discovered during restoration work in the 1870s.