IT IS one of Cheshire's most mysterious landmarks, shrouded in two centuries of myth and legend.
Once the gatehouse to a grand stately home, Sandiway's round tower is said to have concealed a dungeon used as a hiding place by King Charles II.
But in the 1930s it became marooned in the central reservation of one of England's first dual carriageways and fell into disrepair.
Now, following a long campaign by villagers to save the grade II listed building from ruin, the Highways Agency is to give it a full £28,000 refurbishment.
The news has delighted residents who regard the red sandstone tower as one of Sandiway's most historically important buildings.
Joe Robinson, local historian, said: "The tower is a quirky little village landmark that visitors are always surprised to see sat on an island in the middle of a dual carriageway.
"We have tourists asking about it all the time. But over the last 10 or 20 years it has become neglected and the roof is so bad it lets the rain in.
"Because of its location it will never be occupied, but a building as unusual and historic as this does not deserve to go to ruin.
"We are delighted about this refurbishment. It will give the tower a new lease of life and preserve it for generations to come."
The building, known simply as the round tower, was built as a gate lodge to the 10th century mansion Vale Royal Abbey, now a golf course.
Its precise age is a mystery, but records show it existed in the early 1800s.
The circular two-storey building features an 18ft tower and measures 10ft diameter inside, with a planked and studded oak door and three gothic style windows, now boarded up.
It has a distinctive crenellated parapet but the original pitched roof disappeared years ago.
It is known the tower was once a family home. The 1871 census showed that "Tower Lodge" was tenanted by a shepherd called Willie Ree and his family, while the last occupants were Hughie Preston and his family in the 1920s.
A single storey extension was attached to the east side containing a bedroom and other rooms for the Preston family, but these were removed in the 1930s.
As a family home the tower itself housed the main living room, possibly with another room above, and early photographs show a chimney protruding from the roof, which was probably for a free-standing stove.
But by the late 1930s, the once quiet country lane had become the A556 Chester Road, the first fourlane dual carriageway in Cheshire and one of the first in the country.
The tower had been earmarked for demolition to make way for the new road, and it was only thanks to a fierce campaign by villagers that it was spared.
Highways engineers were forced to construct the road around the tower.
The line of the old road was retained as the eastbound carriageway, while the westbound lanes were added south of the tower, effectively isolating it.
"People in Sandiway have always managed to save the tower when it is under threat. They are very protective because it is part of their history," said Mr Robinson.
"Over the years there has been many legends about the tower - the most famous that it concealed a dungeon used as a hiding place by King Charles II.
"We don't know if there's any truth in that, but we do know that Vale Royal Abbey had Royal connections. King James I was a regular visitor there when he would go out to Delamere Forest in the days when it was regarded a Royal forest."
The work, to be carried out over the next few months, will make the tower weatherproof, with a new roof and repainting. A loose section of parapet will be repaired and the oak door will be refurbished.
Matthew Sweeting, project manager for the Highways Agency, said: "This round tower in the middle of a busy dual carriageway no doubt puzzles passing drivers but for local people it is a much loved local landmark, and we are happy to begin the process of preservation.
"It is in very good condition considering the amount of traffic that has thundered past it over the last 60 years.
"It's all a far cry from the tower's earliest days when occasional stagecoaches rattled past, or the years between the wars when the A556 was a quiet country lane."
