Beckford’s Tower, which overlooks Bath from its location on Lansdown, has been awarded over £390,000 of National Lottery heritage funding to help conserve the site.
Beckford’s Tower on Lansdown in Bath | Image © IanRedding / Shutterstock.com
The initial financial support of £390,900 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will be used by the Bath Preservation Trust (BPT) for their redevelopment project ‘Our Tower’: Reconnecting Beckford’s Tower and Landscape for all.
The Bath Preservation Trust will use the funding to progress their plans to apply for a full National Lottery grant of £2.5m at a later date, to complete the project.
With funding made possible by National Lottery players, the extensive project aims to bring William Beckford’s complex and creative life to a wider audience by sharing stories of his writings and collections, inherited slave wealth, sexuality and exile through a new visitor experience.
The project will also restore the architectural masterpiece of the Tower built for Beckford in 1826.
Beckford’s Tower is in urgent need of conservation, having been added to the National ‘At Risk’ Register in 2019.
In addition to addressing the conservation need and creating a new museum experience inside the building, BPT’s project will also restore the Grotto Tunnel, improve access to the cemetery and create new footpaths, produce interpretation and trails for the lost Tower landscape and use renewable energy to illuminate the Tower for all to see and enjoy.
Work to develop the project and to continue engagement with the local community will continue in 2020, with, if successful in securing the full National Lottery grant, major capital works in 2022.
The Bath Preservation Trust has said it will liaise closely with the Landmark Trust which manages a holiday apartment within the Tower, throughout the project.
Already an important Bath landmark familiar to residents and commuters alike, the aim of the substantial project is to inspire an appreciation for the story of William Beckford and his building, encouraging more people to explore and enjoy it and its landscape, establishing a communal sense that it is not just Beckford’s Tower, it is ‘Our Tower’.
Caroline Kay, Chief Executive of Bath Preservation Trust said: “We’re delighted that we’ve received this support thanks to National Lottery players. Grade I Beckford’s Tower is one of our most significant 1820s British buildings and its setting on an escarpment above Bath, with its bright golden lantern, has been admired by generations.
“It’s great to know that we are a step closer to preserving it for another century and connecting this national treasure to an even wider audience.
“It is now that the hard work can begin not least of fundraising for our share of the costs of the full project and securing the Tower’s future, for which we will aim to raise £1m.”
