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Beckford's Tower

1827 establishments in EnglandArt museums and galleries in SomersetBeckford familyCemeteries in Bath, SomersetDecorative arts museums in England
Folly towers in EnglandGrade II listed parks and gardens in SomersetGrade I listed buildings in Bath, SomersetGrade I listed towersLandmark Trust properties in EnglandMonuments and memorials in SomersetMuseums in Bath, SomersetObservation towers in the United KingdomRedundant churchesStructures on the Heritage at Risk registerTowers completed in 1827Towers in SomersetUse British English from January 2018
Beckford's Tower geograph.org.uk 746959
Beckford's Tower geograph.org.uk 746959

Beckford's Tower, originally known as Lansdown Tower, is an architectural folly built in neo-classical style on Lansdown Hill, just outside Bath, Somerset, England. The tower and its attached railings are designated as a Grade I listed building. Along with the adjoining Lansdown Cemetery it is Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.The tower was built for William Thomas Beckford, a rich novelist, art collector and critic, to designs by Henry Goodridge, and was completed in 1827. Beckford used it as a library and a retreat, with the cupola at the top acting as a belvedere providing views over the surrounding countryside. The Italianate building at the base of the tower housed drawing rooms and a library. Extensive grounds between Beckford's house in Lansdown Crescent and the tower were landscaped and planted to create Beckford's Ride. William Beckford's ability to build, and to collect, was made possible by the wealth he inherited and continued to accumulate as an owner of plantations and enslaved people, and through the compensation he received from the government following the abolition of slavery. This aspect of his life is explored within the Beckford Tower Museum displays.Following Beckford's death in 1844, the tower and lands were donated to Walcot parish and a burial ground created, with the Scarlet Drawing Room being converted into a chapel. In 1931 the house and tower were damaged by a fire and a public appeal was made for funds for its restoration. The cemetery closed in 1992 and the next year the site was bought by the Bath Preservation Trust who have carried out extensive renovation. It is now home to a museum displaying furniture originally made for the tower and paintings, prints and objects illustrating Beckford's life as a writer, collector and patron of the arts.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Beckford's Tower (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Beckford's Tower
Lansdown Road, Bath Ensleigh

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N 51.4064 ° E -2.3789 °
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Beckford's Tower

Lansdown Road
BA1 9BH Bath, Ensleigh
England, United Kingdom
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beckfordstower.org.uk

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Beckford's Tower geograph.org.uk 746959
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Bath College of Domestic Science
Bath College of Domestic Science

Bath College of Domestic Science was a small college in Bath, Somerset, England. The teaching of domestic subjects in Bath started in 1892 at 19 Green Park with the founding of the Bath Technical Schools. The Technical Instruction Act of 1889 had given local authorities power to levy a rate to provide such education. In this building instruction also started in subjects including cabinet making, carpentry, joinery, masonry, mathematics and French. The prospectus for domestic subjects offered "Household and High-Class Cookery, Laundry Work, Dressmaking, Stitchery and Ornamental Needlework".In 1960 a local newspaper published a history of the college which stated: "The College owes its existence to a decision taken by Miss M H Lawrie in 1893. She was then conducting classes in cookery and sewing for a small number of ladies at 19 Green Park. They attended the classes merely to be more efficient in the supervision of their domestic staff, but in 1893 they were joined by a woman who had another purpose in mind - to qualify as a teacher of domestic subjects. And so in this accidental way the college changed its course and, raising its standards, started to cater for people who wished to become teachers." A photograph of the first group of students and another of Miss Lawrie were published in a commemorative brochure by Bath Spa University. In April 1896 the temporary homes of the various Technical Schools were united in the new north extension of the Guildhall. Miss Lawrie was succeeded as Headmistress by Miss A M Heygate in 1907, and in 1915 by Miss W M King who remained until 1945. In 1910 the main part of the domestic science teaching was moved to numbers 2 and 3, Long Acre, Bath. By the end of the First World War there were forty resident students. In 1920 the name Training College for Teachers of Domestic Subjects was adopted. In its early days the College's students had a uniform of a bright red blouse, black full-length skirt and white apron, and they were nicknamed "the scarlet runners". In 1934 the Domestic Science College moved to a building in Brougham Hayes which had been built as the Somerset Industrial School for Boys in 1832. In the emergency of wartime in 1939 this building was taken over by the Admiralty and the College moved to The Elms, a large house in the Weston area of the city, returning to Brougham Hayes in 1944. In 1942 German bombing destroyed the original premises at Green Park but also flattened a large private house called St Winifreds at Sion Hill which was to become its future home. A hostel for students opened in the 1950s in Somerset Place. The first overseas student arrived from Nigeria in 1946 and in the following years many Commonwealth countries were represented in the student body. A course in Institutional Management began in 1946. Post-war student residences included Claverton Manor until 1956, after which work began on converting the building into the American Museum in Britain.Planning for a new building at Sion Hill began after the war and the new Domestic Science College "built at a cost of £200,000 came into use in September 1959. It stands on the Northern slopes of Bath at St Winifreds, Lansdown, and was designed by Councillor Hugh D Roberts. The teaching staff of 25 is headed by Miss E B Nielsen who has held that post since the end of the war." The formal opening of the new premises by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother took place on March 23, 1960 and a history appeared in a special supplement in the local newspaper to mark both this and the renovation of Bath Abbey. The "Chronicle" feature notes that some of the stones from the ruined premises of St Winifred's were incorporated in the new structure. A change of name to Bath College of Education (Home Economics) took place in 1964/65. The final Principal of the independent College was Miss Eileen Phillips. Validation of courses was by the University of Bristol. In 1975 the College was merged with Newton Park College to create Bath College of Higher Education, later Bath Spa University College and Bath Spa University. Bachelor's degrees in Home Economics and in Secondary teaching were subsequently awarded by the University of Bath and later by the Council for National Academic Awards. In 1985/86 the food-based courses were moved to new premises at Newton Park allowing the Sion Hill building to be used for the courses of the Bath School of Art and Design returning to Bath from Corsham Court. Further degree course developments included BSc Honours courses in Human Ecology, Food Management, Human Nutrition and in Food, Nutrition and Consumer Protection, with the University finally receiving the authority to award its own degrees.