Foredown Tower is a former

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

Portslade Portslade is a western suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century. The arrival of the railway from Brighton in 1840 encouraged rapid de ...

, in the city of

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, that now contains one of only two operational

camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. ''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions such as a box or tent in w ...

s in southeast England. Built in 1909 as a water tower for Foredown Hospital, an isolation

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

for patients with infectious diseases, the structure was left standing when the hospital was demolished in 1988–89. After the installation of the camera obscura, which is located in a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

at the top of the tower and projects images of the surrounding area onto a dish below, it was opened to the public in 1991. The structure was operated as the Foredown Tower Countryside Centre by Brighton & Hove City Council's Museums & Libraries department until 2008, when the Conservative council decided it was "not economically viable as a visitor attraction". The council announced that the tower would be leased to the local Hove and Adur

Sea Cadets Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...

for use as a base, with the intention that access to the camera obscura would be preserved. Despite these changes, the tower served as the meeting place of the Foredown Tower Astronomers, an astronomical society that conducted classes and demonstrations at the site, using the camera obscura to observe the sky both by day and night, until January 2010. The local council then investigated potential links with community organisations, and in September 2011 it was announced that the tower would be used as an adult learning and visitor centre under the administration of Portslade Learning Community CIC (now the Portslade Adult Learning CIC), which initially opened the tower sporadically for special events and short courses. In June 2012, the Foredown Tower Learning and Visitor Centre was reopened to the general public, with demonstrations of the camera obscura scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays and the last Saturday of the month.

References

External links

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Portslade Adult Learning website
{{B&H Buildings Towers completed in 1909 Buildings and structures in Brighton and Hove Water towers in the United Kingdom Camera obscuras