Bancroft Tower is a natural stone and granite tower, which looks like a miniature

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. It is located in Salisbury Park, in the city of

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. The

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

was erected in 1900, in memory of Worcester native politician, historian, and statesman

George Bancroft George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and internati ...

. The tower was designed by Worcester architects Earle and Fisher.Bancroft Tower – Archiplanet
/ref> The cost of construction was roughly $15,000. Bancroft Tower is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Description

Bancroft Tower is located northwest of downtown Worcester, in Salisbury Park, a public park located west of Park Avenue and south of Drury Lane. It is a two-story stone structure, built out of boulders and cobbles, with a rock-faced granite exterior. It is asymmetrical in plan, with crenellated square towers at the corners and a taller off-center circular tower in between. To the right of that tower is an arched gate.

History

This tower was erected by Stephen Salisbury III in honor of George Bancroft, a prominent historian and statesman who had been a childhood friend of Salisbury's father. It was one of three towers built on high points of the city, and is the only one to survive. The park and tower remained in Salisbury's ownership until his death in 1907. The tower was bequeathed to the

Worcester Art Museum The Worcester Art Museum, also known by its acronym WAM, houses over 38,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day and representing cultures from all over the world. WAM opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and ranks among th ...

, which in turn donated it to the Worcester Parks Department in 1912. The Bancroft tower was listed on the

on March 5, 1980.

Plaque

A plaque set into the ground in front of it explains its purpose:
Bancroft Plate

BANCROFT TOWER
THIS TOWER WAS BUILT IN 1900
TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF

GEORGE BANCROFT
1800–1891

BORN AT THE FOOT OF THIS HILL
HE ROSE TO THE POSTS OF
SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
FOUNDER OF THE U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
U.S. MINISTER TO GREAT BRITAIN
AND GERMANY

THIS MEMORIAL WAS BUILT BY HIS
FRIEND AND ADMIRER
STEPHEN SALISBURY III

Also notable about the small park in which the tower stands are the two half-compasses set into the ground in front of and behind the tower itself. They are marked as if they pointed to the other six of the Seven Hills of Worcester (Bancroft Hill itself being one of the seven), but it doesn't appear, from the top of the hill, that they really do.

Gallery

Image:Bancroft Tower, October 13 2013.jpg, Bancroft Tower, October 13, 2013 Image:Bankroft Tower View.jpg, Bancroft Tower Park, 5/31/2009 Image:Bankroft Tower Rd.jpg, Bancroft Tower Rd, 5/31/2009

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Towers in Massachusetts Castles in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Worcester, Massachusetts Folly buildings on the National Register of Historic Places Landmarks in Worcester, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Worcester, Massachusetts

Description

History

Plaque

Gallery

See also

References