}
The Wills Memorial Tower
The University of Bristol opened its most famous landmark, the Wills Memorial Tower in 1925.
Sir George Arthur Wills and Henry Herbert Wills commissioned it in memory of their father, the University's first Chancellor, Henry Overton Wills. George and Henry wanted a suitably awe-inspiring new building to enhance the dignity of the University of Bristol and employed local architect George Oatley to come up with a design.
Work began in 1915 but was halted in 1916 because of World War 1. Building eventually resumed in 1919 and the tower was officially unveiled in June 1925 by King George V.
Harry Patch, one of the plumbers who had worked on the construction, remembers the topping out ceremony, and recalled how he and his colleagues placed a handful of newly minted coins under the lead sheeting at the top of the tower.
The 68 metre tower is much more than a monumental building. It accommodates the University's Department of Earth Sciences, its School of Law and provides a venue for lectures, graduation ceremonies and other important events.
Sir George Arthur Wills and Henry Herbert Wills commissioned it in memory of their father, the University's first Chancellor, Henry Overton Wills. George and Henry wanted a suitably awe-inspiring new building to enhance the dignity of the University of Bristol and employed local architect George Oatley to come up with a design.
Work began in 1915 but was halted in 1916 because of World War 1. Building eventually resumed in 1919 and the tower was officially unveiled in June 1925 by King George V.
Harry Patch, one of the plumbers who had worked on the construction, remembers the topping out ceremony, and recalled how he and his colleagues placed a handful of newly minted coins under the lead sheeting at the top of the tower.
The 68 metre tower is much more than a monumental building. It accommodates the University's Department of Earth Sciences, its School of Law and provides a venue for lectures, graduation ceremonies and other important events.