A tantalising cameo for historic Paull Holme Tower

IT HAS stood on the banks of the Humber for almost 700 years. But Paull Holme Tower has never been opened to the public – until last weekend. SUITABLY IMPRESSED: Sarah and Bob Leonard, of Paull, visit Paull Holme Tower during the Heritage Open Days.

The historic tower was once the home of the Holme family, but has fallen into disrepair in the past century. Now, visitors are calling for the grade one listed tower to be permanently opened to the public as a visitor attraction. Bob Leonard, 59, of Paull, visited the tower with his wife, Sarah.

He said: "It was very interesting – fascinating, actually. "We have lived here more than 25 years and we have always said how nice it would be to have a look around. "It is a really good idea to open it. We get lots of visitors in Paull – people coming for lunches or going for walks – so it would be good to have it as an extra attraction. "It does need some work and a bit of cash spending on it, but it has a lot of potential.

"With a bit of work, it could be really good." Simon Taylor, keeper of the tower, said more than 300 people visited the tower as part of the Heritage Open Days. He said: "We made cups of tea for around 30 people, as that was all I was expecting. "But it was remarkable. We lost count at 300 people – they just kept on coming in. "People were so enthusiastic about it and we had so many different types of visitors. We have never been allowed to open it before because of insurance issues, but that is provided as part of Heritage Open Days. Obviously, people are interested in the tower because so many people turned up."