Victoria Tower (Liverpool)

The Victoria Tower is erected in the Gothic style clock tower near the Salisbury Dock in Liverpool (United Kingdom). The tower was built in 1848 and served the incoming ships into the harbor for orientation and the expiring boats as indicators of the time and for information on upcoming weather changes. In 1975, the tower as a building of outstanding architectural and historical interest has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest Grade II and declared a National Monument.

History

The Victoria Tower was designed by Jesse Hartley and built in the years 1847 and 1848 to commemorate the opening of the Liverpool Salisbury Dock. The design is based on earlier designs by Philip Hardwick in 1846. The tower showed the expiring out of the harbor ships at not only the correct time but also informed about upcoming changes in the weather, about the tides and fog.

Victoria Tower today

Even the Victoria Tower suffered from the decline of shipping in Liverpool and therefore the docks. Wind and weather have left their mark on the building. The roof is damaged and the building is overgrown in many parts of climbing plants. In April 2010, announced Peel Holdings, the owner of the Victoria Tower, the restoration of the tower and the docks. The works are part of the 5.5 billion pounds bailout Liverpool Waters whose goal is the preservation of the Liverpool docks.

Design

Hartley's design was inspired by the architecture of castles in Germany's Rhine Valley. This is most clearly be seen from the cut loopholes. In addition, natural gray blocks of granite were used for the construction, a material that was used in many of Hartley's designs.