Wainhouse Tower

Coordinates: 53°42′45″N 1°52′57″W / 53.7125°N 1.8825°W

Wainhouse Tower

Wainhouse Tower is a folly in the parish of King Cross, on the south west side of Halifax, Calderdale,[1][2] West Yorkshire, in England. At 275 feet (84 m), it is the tallest structure in Calderdale and the tallest folly in the world, and was erected in the four years between 1871 and 1875. The main shaft is octagonal in shape and it has a square base and 403 steps leading to the first of two viewing platforms.

One driving force behind the erection of the viewing platforms was a long standing feud between Wainhouse and his neighbour, landowner Sir Henry Edwards. Edwards had boasted that he had the most private estate in Halifax, into which no one could see. As the estate was on land adjacent to the chimney's site, following the opening of the viewing platforms, Edwards could never claim privacy again.

The tower was designed by architect Isaac Booth as a chimney to serve the dye works owned by John Edward Wainhouse (1817–1883). The height of the chimney was to satisfy the Smoke Abatement Act of 1870 which required a tall chimney to carry smoke out of the valleys in which the factories were built. A much simpler chimney would have satisfied the requirements but Wainhouse insisted that it should be an object of beauty.[3]

In 1874 John Wainhouse sold the mill to his works manager who refused to pay the cost of the chimney's construction so Wainhouse kept the tower for himself and used it as an observatory. Booth left after a dispute and was replaced by another local architect, Richard Swarbrick Dugale, who is responsible for the elaborate galleries and the corona dome at the top. The tower was completed on 9 September 1875, at a cost of £14,000.

The tower is open to the public during bank holidays, and is a Grade II* listed building.[4]

Restoration

In 2006 the Wainhouse Tower was closed because of safety problems. Work to repair it began in July 2008 and took about five months. During the restoration, the top section of the tower was partly dismantled and rebuilt, decorative sections and part of the main shaft were repointed, missing stone finials replaced, the drainage system improved, corroded ironwork replaced and cracks at the base of the tower fixed.[5] The tower reopened to the general public on 4 May 2009. Restoration cost £400,000.

References

  1. ↑ "Wainhouse's Tower". Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  2. ↑ "Wainhouse Tower, Halifax - Icons of England". Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  3. ↑ Calderdale Council Glimpse Of The Past
  4. ↑ Historic England. "Wainhouse Tower  (Grade II*) (1133900)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Halifax Courier Wainhouse Tower Rescue Work

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wainhouse Tower.