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CABOT MEMORIAL TOWER

ALTERNATIVE NAME:

ST BRENDANS CHAPEL

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Cabot Tower is a commemorative tower situated on Brandon Hill built between 1896 and 1898. It is a monument to the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's voyage from Bristol to Newfoundland, Canada in 1497. It is constructed of red sandstone rubble with limestone dressings, with buttresses, wrought iron balconies and cornicing. The balconies at the top of the tower are situated under gothic style gables, but despite such gothic enrichments the tower does not truly conform to any specific style. A spiral staircase leads up to the balconies, where a modern sundial style plinth points out key features of the surrounding city and area. Although it used to be open to the public it has now been closed due to safety issues.

During construction of the monument the remains of a medieval chapel were found. The remains comprised stone-built walls with some internal plaster and fragments of green glaze tile, as well as floors of beaten earth or thin cement. Underneath this flooring were three inhumation burials, as well a stone lined cist lying east-west. It is believed this chapel is one that in 1193 Henry, Bishop of Worcester, confirmed to St James' Priory. There was also a hermitage here, with Lucy de Newchirche as the first recorded occupant in 1351 and a hermit named Reginald Taillor in residence in 1403. During the reign of Henry VIII the chapel and hermitage disappeared an were replaced by a windmill in 1565.

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(ST 57937297) St Brandon's Chapel (NR) (Site of) Cabot Tower (NAT). (1)

A chapel and hermitage occupied the summit of Brandon Hill from an early date. The chapel was in existence in 1193 when Henry, Bishop of Worcester, confirmed St Brendan without the Town to St James's Priory. Lucy de Newchirche in 1351 is the first recorded occupant, in 1403 a hermit named Reginald Taillor lived there, and a few years later William of Worcester visited the hill and noted measurements of the chapel. Both hermitage and chapel disappeared in the reign of Henry VIII, and in 1565 a windmill was erected in their place. Remains believed to be those of the chapel were uncovered in 1897 during digging of the foundations of the Cabot Memorial Tower. Beneath a floor of beaten earth or thin cement were three inhumation burials, including one in a masonry cist aligned east-west. Above the floor were stone-built and plastered walls of rooms and a passage, with a few fragments of green glazed tiles. (2-3)

Cabot Tower is a commemorative tower situated on Brandon Hill built between 1896 and 1898. It is a monument to the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's voyage from Bristol to Newfoundland, Canada in 1497. It is constructed of red sandstone rubble with limestone dressings, with buttresses, wrought iron balconies and cornicing. The balconies at the top of the tower are situated under gothic style gables. A spiral staircase leads up to the balconies, where a modern sundial style plinth points out key features of the surrounding city and area. Although it used to be open to the public it has now been closed due to safety issues and though the tower has gothic enrichments it does not truly conform to any stylisic labels. (4)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 25" 1918

( 2) Journal of the British Archaeological Association

1897 3 Page(s)219-220

( 3) Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society

1907 30 Page(s)202-204

(4) Andrew Foyle 2004 Bristol

The Buildings of England

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