File:Perrott's Folly, Waterworks Road, Edgbaston (5873022760).jpg

The Two Towers on Waterworks Road that may have inspired the second Lord of the Rings book by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Severn Trent Water are based down here in Edgbaston.

This is Perrott's Folly on Waterworks Road.

The Monument, or Perrott's Folly, an impressive Gothick tower of 1758. Massive two-storey base chamfered into a slim five-storey octagon with pointed windows, stone battlements and circular stair-turret.

From Pevsner Architectural Guides: Birmingham by Andy Foster

It is Grade II* listed.

<a href="http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-217750-the-monument-observatory-birmingham" rel="noreferrer nofollow">The Monument (observatory) - British Listed Buildings</a>

WATERWORKS ROAD Edgbaston B16 The Monument (Observatory) (formerly listed under Monument Road) 36/16 The grade shall be amended to read II*

WATERWORKS ROAD Edgbaston B16 36/16 The Monument (Observatory)

The last sentence in the description shall be deleted and replaced by the following: 'Interior: the top room has a complete Gothic plaster ceiling.'

WATERWORKS ROAD 1. 5104 Edgbaston B16 The Monument (Observatory) (formerly listed under Monument Road) SP 0488 SE 36/16 25.4.52 II 2. 1758, and the folly of one John Perrot. Red brick; 6 storeys. Octagonal on a square base and with round stair turret attached. Single pointed window to each storey except the fifth, which has an oculus. The windows of the top storey within an arcade with stone dressings. Stone cornice and battlements. Now used as the Edgbaston Observatory of the University of Birmingham.

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perrott's_Folly" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Perrott's Folly</a>

Perrott's Folly, grid reference SP047862, also known as The Monument, or The Observatory, is a 29-metre (96-foot) tall tower, built in 1758. It is a Grade II* listed building in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England.

The tower is one of Birmingham's oldest surviving architectural features. Built in the open Rotton Park by John Perrott, who lived in Belbroughton, the tower now stands high above the local residential and business housing.

There are many stories to explain why the tower was built. One is that John Perrott wanted to be able to survey his land and perhaps entertain guests. Or the tower might have been used to spot animals for hunting. Or that he built the tower so that he could see his wife's grave, 15 miles away.

From 1884 to 1979 the tower was used as a weather recording station for the Birmingham and Midland Institute. In 1966 the Geography Department of the University of Birmingham took over the running of the observatory until operations were transferred to the main campus.

It has been suggested, but not proven, that the towers of Perrott's Folly and Edgbaston Waterworks may have influenced references to towers in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, who lived nearby as a child.