Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Al Jazirah Al Hamra Heritage Village
Complejo Cultural Fábrica Imbabura
Guptill's Arena
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Customize your bowl with sliced pork, pork balls, fish cake, and offal.
Rung Rueang
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Stock up on picnic supplies with a side of history.
Horton Bay General Store
Take some of Michigan’s produce home with you.
American Spoon
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
Though they’re protected inside the park, wolves can be killed when they cross its borders.
Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England Halifax Wainhouse Tower

Wainhouse Tower

This tallest folly in the world began its life as an elaborate factory chimney.

Halifax, England

Added By
Alan Newman
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The elaborate top of the tower.   James Preston
The folly.   Alexander P Kapp
The tower dominates the skyline, seen here from the Rochdale Canal at Sowerby Bridge.   Dr Neil Clifton
The Cupola.   Alexander P Kapp
Entrance door and square base.   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
Octagonal main shaft.   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Amazingly, this extravagant tower on the southwest side of Halifax in West Yorkshire was originally designed to serve as a chimney for the nearby dyeworks owned by John Wainhouse. It was meant to be linked to the factory via an underground duct, but was never actually used as such.

Instead, it became what's believed to be the tallest folly in the world, at 275 feet high. It was erected between 1871 and 1875 at a total cost of £14,000. Yet while the chimney was still being built, Wainhouse sold the factory to his works manager, who subsequently refused to buy the unfinished chimney.

Wainhouse decided to keep the tower for himself, and use it to his advantage in a bitter feud between himself and his neighbor, Sir Henry Edwards, who had complained about smoke from the dyeworks affecting his estate.

Edwards had often boasted that he had the most private estate in Halifax, into which no one could see. But unfortunately for him, his land just so happened to be next to the chimney. After stairs and viewing platforms were added to the looming folly, he lost the privacy he so frequently boasted about, as the tower then offered a prime vantage point over his property.

Exactly 369 steps lead to the first of two viewing platforms and 405 steps lead to the top platform. While the lower platform is open to fit and brave members of the public willing to trek up the hundreds of stairs, the upper one is usually closed.

Related Tags

Follies Follies And Grottoes Architectural Oddities Towers Feud Rivals Architecture

Know Before You Go

The tower is not hard to find—its dominant position allows you to see it from much of the town. Except on open days, it's best to park in a small cul-de-sac off Wakefield Gate. Cars may also be parked on Skircoat Moor Road. Opposite Halifax Fire station there is a brown sign indicating the path that leads to the tower.

The tower is open to the public on bank holidays.

Community Contributors

Added By

Dr Alan P Newman

Edited By

Kerry Wolfe

  • Kerry Wolfe

Published

March 28, 2018

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Wainhouse Tower
Wakefield Gate
Halifax, England
United Kingdom
53.712381, -1.882742
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

The Halifax Gibbet

Halifax, England

miles away

Piece Hall

Halifax, England

miles away

Warley Museum

Halifax, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Halifax

Halifax

England

Places 4

Nearby Places

The Halifax Gibbet

Halifax, England

miles away

Piece Hall

Halifax, England

miles away

Warley Museum

Halifax, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Halifax

Halifax

England

Places 4

Related Places

  • Iulia Hasdeu Castle.

    Câmpina, Romania

    Iulia Hasdeu Castle

    This eccentric folly house was designed by Romanian thinker Bogdan-Petriceicu Hasdeu, with a helping hand from his deceased daughter's spirit.

  • Ruins of a Victorian folly in Sydenham Hill Woods, London, UK. (Mark Bowler/Atlas Obscura)

    London, England

    Ruined Victorian Folly

    Remnants of a Victorian garden feature sitting in public woodland.

  • Turkish Tent, Painshill Park.

    Cobham, England

    Painshill Park Follies

    Amazing collection of folly buildings in Cobham, Surrey.

  • Northamptonshire, England

    Rushton Triangular Lodge

    An intriguing three-sided folly is a testament to one man's devotion to Catholicism and the number three.

  • What appears to be an ancient Greek ruin is, in fact, a colossal mess.

    Edinburgh, Scotland

    National Monument of Scotland

    A never-finished memorial to the heroes of the Napoleonic War has become "Scotland's Folly."

  • The former Wyoming National Bank buildings, known locally as “the onion” and “the egg beater.”

    Casper, Wyoming

    The 'M' Building and Tower

    Locally known as the "Onion” and the "Egg Beater,” Casper’s most recognizable buildings are beloved local landmarks to many, and eyesores to others.

  • Peavey–Haglin Experimental Concrete Grain Elevator

    St. Louis Park, Minnesota

    Peavey-Haglin Experimental Concrete Grain Elevator

    This unassuimng grain elevator, commonly confused for a smokestack, helped inspire the modern architecture movement.

  • Top of the Faringdon Folly Tower

    Faringdon, England

    The Faringdon F.U.N. and Folly Tower

    The eccentricities of a former lord include painted pigeons of his manor house, a series of pointless plaques, and a folly built simply to peeve the public.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.