Built in Northamptonshire sandstone, the Keeper’s Lodge was erected in c. 1741, probably to a design by Gibbs. During the visit of the French Royal family in 1808, it was named the Bourbon Tower. In 1843, The second Duke employed Edward Blore to convert it into a mock fort for military exercises.

The Tower in 1848

From the Stowe 1848 Sale Catalogue:

A circular building of hewn stone, deriving its name from the circumstance of the clump of oaks which surround it having been planted by hands of Louis XVIII, King of France and Navarre, and of the Princes of his royal house, in commemoration of their visit to Stowe in 1808 (see BRO D-FR/45/1/72). The height of the tower is 65 feet, its circumference 110 feet: within it are apartments, and a winding staircase leads to the top of the edifice; four towers are placed around it, and over the door is a marble slab, placed by the late Marquis of Buckingham, recording the event from which the building derives its name. Within the last few years, a fortification, or earth-work, has been thrown up round the building and very beautifully laid with turf. Several six pounders are mounted thereon, and under is a store for gunpowder.

The Tower in 2005

Of the unrestored monuments at Stowe, this is one I would most love to see restored. It lies outside the main "tourist circuit" and is rarely visited. Even so, it recalls the ties that Stowe had to France and its Royal family. Louis XVIII and his entourage felt at home in the catholic friendly atmosphere of Stowe. It later became part of the training grounds for the Bucks Yeomanry. It evokes a different era of Stowe from many of the other monuments and therein lies its importance and interest.