HE invited a horse for tea, had a pet giraffe, and was friends with Salvador Dali and HG Wells.

It is unlikely anyone would ever forget eccentric Faringdon aristocrat Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners.

But a blue plaque has been unveiled at Faringdon Folly Tower to give a gentle reminder of Lord Berners’ extraordinary character.

About 60 invited guests including relatives, trustees and the Lord Mayor of Oxford attended the Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board ceremony on Saturday.

It was unveiled by Sofka Zinovieff, the grand-daughter of Robert Heber-Percy, to whom Lord Berners left Faringdon House, the tower and his estate when he died in 1950. Lord Berners was also an artist and composer who wrote music for ballet.

Eddie Williams, a trustee of the Faringdon Folly Tower Trust and chairman of the Friends of the Folly – pictured right talking to Baron Berners impersonator Peter Wentworth in front of the tower – said: “His spirit lives on in Faringdon; he will never be forgotten here, and we want the town to continue being a place that welcomes and embraces that eccentricity.

“His legacy is a key part of Faringdon’s history.”

The tower is open to the public every first and third Sunday of the month from April until October, from 11am until 5pm.