Bristol Then & Now

A very rare photograph of the Cabot Tower nearing completion in 1898 - The tower was started in 1897 and cost £3,800.

 

Bristol’s most prominent land mark, the Cabot Tower, was 100 years old in 1998. 

But the official opening was marked by a disastrous fire, a confidence trick and some rather clever council penny pinching. 

 

The foundation stone of the Cabot Tower was laid on Brandon Hill in 1897, the 400th anniversary of John Cabot’s journey to the New World.

 

It was supposed to simply commemorate the Matthew’s journey, until someone on the council came up with a great idea to help raise the cash. Money for the tower had to be found from public subscriptions, and the promoters encouraged wider interest with a neat bit of marketing. 

 

They pointed out that it was also Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Year, so the tower could double up as a memorial to ‘the 60th year of Her Majesty’s glorious reign’. Clever stuff; it raised £5,000.