Marlborough Tower, Trianon Estate, in the Palace of Versailles, France

In the Hamlet of the Queen there is a group of houses and farm structures in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, near Paris. They were built in 1783 as a way for Queen Marie-Antoinette to connect with nature, and to get away from the larger Palace of Versailles.

One of the buildings in the Hamlet is the Marlborough Tower. It is also known as the Fishery Tower. It was a lighthouse that was used to send signals to the Palace of Versailles. Boating parties also left from this tower to row to the Palace. Fishing equipment was also stored in the Marlborough Tower.

In February 2022, the Marlborough Tower was undergoing renovation.

MARTINA NICOLLS

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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