The Jurassic Skyline tower (known until mid-2015 as the Weymouth Sea Life Tower) was an

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

on Weymouth Pier in

Weymouth, Dorset Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third ...

, England. It was situated next to Weymouth Beach and the

Weymouth Pavilion The Weymouth Pavilion, formerly the Ritz, is a theatre in Weymouth, Dorset. The complex contains a 988-seat theatre, 600 (maximum) capacity ballroom known as the Ocean Room, the Piano Bar restaurant, Ritz Cafe and other function and meeting roo ...

, where it overlooked Weymouth town, the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

, the

Pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

, the Old Harbour, Nothe Gardens, the Nothe Fort, and Portland Harbour. It opened on 22 June 2012. The tower stood high. The clear-fronted passenger gondola could turn a full 360 degrees as it rose during operation, and accommodated 69 passengers at a time. Each tower session lasted approximately 15 minutes. A total of 1,100 tons of concrete was used during building; the tower itself weighed 140 tons. It offered views of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and the surrounding countryside; on a clear day, views at the highest point were said to extend down the Dorset coast to

Lulworth Cove Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, southern England. The cove is one of the world's finest examples of such a landform, and is a World Heritage Site and tourist location with approximately ...

and

Durdle Door Durdle Door (sometimes written Durdle Dor) is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset, England.West, I.W., 2003.Durdle Door; Geology of the Dorset Coast. Southampton University, UK. Version H.07.09.03. It is priva ...

. The tower received national attention in September 2017 after the gondola became stuck and could not descend; 13 people were winched off by helicopter as the weather prevented other modes of safe rescue. In August 2019, the tower was announced to be permanently closed and was subsequently removed.

History

The tower, designed as a temporary tourist attraction, took eight months to build at a cost of £3.5 million. It was designed in Germany and built in Hungary and France, before being shipped in sections to be assembled on site. Work commenced in October 2011, when excavation of the 18-metre deep foundations started. The ground-level reception building was the last part of the tower to be built in June 2012, in time for the Olympic events. The idea of such a tower had been put forward in 2009-10. After a number of sites across Europe were considered, Weymouth was selected due to its far-reaching vistas and its closeness to the Sea Life Park. The tower had been funded by private money as one of the 90-strong worldwide attraction network operated by the Poole-based

Merlin Entertainments Merlin Entertainments Limited is a British entertainment company based at Poole in Dorset, England. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until November 2019, when it was acquired by a consortium that includes Kirkbi A/S (the investme ...

, who also own the nearby Sea Life Park and the Pirate Adventure Golf at Lodmoor Country Park. Completed a week ahead of schedule, an early running of the tower was enjoyed by a host of VIP guests, including borough mayor Margaret Leicester, and local councillors and business community representatives. The tower's original five-year permission was extended in 2017 for a further five years. Thirteen people got stuck up the tower when it malfunctioned on 5 September 2017. They were winched to safety by a

coastguard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

. Following an investigation, the tower re-opened on 22 October. After its standard period of closure over the winter period, the tower failed to reopen at the beginning of the peak season in April 2019. Merlin Entertainments later announced on 2 August 2019 that the tower was permanently closed as a result of declining visitor numbers. It was sold to another company and dismantled.

References

External links

Jurassic Skyline website
{{coord, 50.610158, N, 2.446400, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Weymouth, Dorset Tourist attractions in Weymouth, Dorset Towers completed in 2012 2012 establishments in England 2019 disestablishments in England Observation towers in the United Kingdom Towers in Dorset Jurassic Coast

History

See also

References

External links