Cabot Tower, Bristol

Cabot Tower

The tower, viewed from Brandon Hill park.
Location within Bristol
General information
Architectural style Neo-Gothic
Town or city Bristol
Country England
Coordinates
Construction started June 1897
Completed July 1898
Cost £3250
Height 105 feet (32 m)
Technical details
Structural system Red sandstone, Bath Stone
Design and construction
Architect William Venn Gough

Cabot Tower is a tower in Bristol, England, situated in a public park on Brandon Hill, between the city centre, Clifton and Hotwells. It was constructed in memory of John Cabot, 400 years after he set sail in the Matthew from Bristol and landed in what was later to become Canada. The foundation stone was laid on 24 June 1897 and the tower was completed in July 1898. The architect was William Venn Gough and it was built by Love and Waite[1] of Bristol. It consists of a spiral staircase and two viewing platforms which overlook the city, the higher of which is approximately 334 feet (102 m) above sea level. The tower gives its name to the area and Council ward of Cabot.

It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building.[2] The tower is 105 feet (32 m) high and built from red sandstone with cream Bath Stone for ornamentation and emphasis, and was paid for by public subscription.

On three sides of the tower are commemorative plaques. They read as follows:

"The foundation stone of this tower was laid by the Marquess of Dufferin & Ava on the 24th June, 1897, And the completed tower was opened by the same nobleman on the 6th September, 1898. W.Howell Davies, Chairman of the executive committee E.G.Clarke, J.W.Arrowsmith Hon. Secretaries"

"This tablet is placed here by the Bristol branch of the Peace Society in the earnest hope that peace and friendship may ever continue between the kindred peoples of this country and America 'Glory to God in the highest and on Earth, peace, good will towards men' Luke 2.14"

"This tower was erected by public subscription in the 61st year of the reign of Queen Victoria to commemorate the fourth centenary of the discovery of the continent of North America, on the 24th of June 1497, by John Cabot. Who sailed from this port in the Bristol ship Matthew, with a Bristol crew, under letters patent granted by King Henry VII to that navigator and his sons Lewis, Sebastian and Sanctus"

After closure to the public in 2007, the tower reopened on 16 August 2011 following completion of repair works costing an estimated £420,000 to cracked stonework, caused by corroded reinforcing steel in the floor of the viewing platform, which had made the tower unsafe.[3] Planning consent for the repairs was granted by Bristol City Council in November 2010.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Cabot Tower Builders". The Cabots and the Discovery of America. http://www.canadiana.org/cgi-bin/ECO/mtq?doc=06796. Retrieved 20 July 2011. 
  2. ^ "Cabot Tower". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=378976. Retrieved 2007-03-13. 
  3. ^ "Bristol's Cabot Tower repairs get £200,000 boost". BBC News. 23 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/8582855.stm. Retrieved 2 February 2010. 
  4. ^ "MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY PANEL HELD ON MONDAY 15th November 2010" (PDF). Bristol City Council. 15 November 2010. http://www.bristol.gov.uk/item/wrap/Council/committee/2010/ob/ob001/1115_mins.pdf. Retrieved 2 February 2011. 
Panorama over Bristol from the Cabot tower, 2011.

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Cabot_Tower_(Bristol) Cabot Tower (Bristol)] at Wikimedia Commons