When George Davies from Loughton wrote to us reminiscing about his early childhood in Abergele (1940-1946) he recalled "a walk up Tower Hill - on the peak was an old tower with superb views across the sea. Does the tower still exist and does anyone know what it was for?"

It prompted the following reply from Dave Morris of Abergele.

"The tower above Abergele certainly still exists. There are various theories as to its origin. The earliest suggestion was that it was built by Owain Gwynedd (King of Gwynedd) around 1157.

At that time Owain was said to be active in extending the frontiers of Gwynedd in an easterly direction and this was seen as a threat to Chester. This resulted in Henry II invading North Wales to try and deal with Owain Gwynedd.

He didn't get very far, but Owain nevertheless had built the tower from which to observe the large coastal plain towards Rhuddlan and the lower Vale of Clwyd.

Another theory suggests it was built as a beacon watchtower to look out for coastal pirates in the early 17th century. It was said to be part of a chain with similar towers at Whitford near Holywell, the church tower at Llandrillo yn Rhos and a beacon at Deganwy.

However, early 19th century maps and documents refer to the hill as Gallt y Felin Wynt, the translation of which is Windmill Hill, thus suggesting the building was originally a windmill.

I personally favour the watchtower theory as being the most likely and its situation is known as Tower Hill."

Now Nigel Hilton from Abergele has submitted photos of the tower, which were taken in June 2008.

He points out: "The internal North and South-facing walls are mirror images. Two fireplaces in such a small area seems strange.