The Queen's Tower is situated in the

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

Campus of

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

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, just to the north of

Imperial College Road Imperial College Road is a tree-lined road in South Kensington, London, England. It runs east–west with Queen's Gate to the west and Exhibition Road to the east. The road forms part of the boundary between Royal Borough of Kensington and Ch ...

. It is 87 metres (287 ft) tall with a copper-covered

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

at its top. To reach the base of the dome from the ground on foot, one must ascend a series of narrow spiral staircases, comprising 325 steps in total. The tower used to be the central tower of the

Imperial Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust is a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pro ...

, and is now the sole remaining part of that building.

History

The Imperial Institute was founded on

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's Golden Jubilee in 1887, and its partial demolition began in 1957. At that time it was generally known as the Collcutt Tower, after its designer, the Victorian architect

Thomas Edward Collcutt Thomas Edward Collcutt c.1890 Thomas Edward Collcutt (16 March 1840 – 7 October 1924) was an English architect in the Victorian era who designed several important buildings in London including the Savoy Hotel, Lloyd's Register of Shipping ...

. The tower itself would have been demolished along with the rest of the Institute, had it not been for a public campaign led by the then Poet Laureate

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture ...

, a supporter of 19th-century architecture. He warned that tastes in architecture change, and that the destruction of this building (at a time when Victorian architecture had fallen out of favour) would be a loss.

Restoration

In 1966, with the rest of the building demolished, the tower was repaired to enable it to stand on its own, which involved the construction of new foundations. There are also two stone lions at the foot of the tower, which were once set at the entrance to the Imperial Institute. These two stone lions are pair of a set of four, the other two (which are not in such good condition) are in the grounds of the

Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust is a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pro ...

Bells

There are ten bells hung for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memor ...

in the middle of the tower, about two thirds of the way up. These bells, known collectively as the Alexandra Peal, were a gift from Mrs Elizabeth M. Millar of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

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in 1892, and are named after

— the tenor (largest) bell — the Prince and Princess of Wales (Albert Edward and Alexandra), two other children of Queen Victoria (Alfred and Arthur) and the five Wales grandchildren (Albert Victor, George, Louise, Victoria and Maud). They are rung on royal anniversaries and on the dates of the Imperial College degree ceremonies.

Viewing gallery

The highest viewing gallery is below the

at the top of the building. Upon walking through the door one gets a unique view, with the top of the

Albert Memorial The Albert Memorial, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, London, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic R ...

on top of the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. Being one of the tallest towers in west London, the Queen's Tower enjoys an uninterrupted view in all directions. In fact, it has been estimated that in good viewing conditions the furthest visible point is 20 miles away. As of February 2022, the viewing gallery is closed to visitors.

Imperial College London

The Queen's Tower is now in the custody of

References

External links

Imperial college: History of the towerOriginal design drawing for the tower
{{Imperial College London 1887 establishments in England Towers completed in 1887 Buildings and structures of Imperial College London Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Towers in London Bell towers in the United Kingdom Domes