Friday 10 April 2015

Jubilee Tower, Quernmore. Activation By Tony 26UK000-JT

Activation date 
Sunday 3rd of May 


The Jubilee Tower is basically a castellated viewing platform served by an exterior stone staircase. It appears to be solid, there being no bricked up doors or windows at ground level to suggest the former prescence of a lower chamber. The tower was largely the work of a Mr Harrison, a native of Quernmore, and an inscribed tablet informs us that:

THIS TOWER WAS ERECTED BY JAMES HARRISON OF HARE APPLETREE IN COMMEMORATION OF THE JUBILEE OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA ANNO DOMINI 1887


Harrison, who had made his fortune as a Liverpool shipbuilder, employed a local mason named Gifford to do most of the work on the tower (this man had also worked on Quernmore Church and Chapel). Gifford did his work well - his sturdy structure was built to withstand the cruel wind and the driving rain, hail and snow that so frequently belabour these bleak uplands during the winter months. So far, it has responded well to this challenge. The tower has had a chequered history.
It was originally in private ownership but was given to Lancashire County Council in 1973 by Mr Adam Leigh of Hare Appletree. The council at the same time began work on the present car park, and spent a considerable amount on developing the surrounding area. By 1977, however, the Lancaster Civic Society was reporting that the tower seemed to be in a poor condition, despite the council having resurfaced the viewing platform and having repointed most of the stonework.
Shortly afterwards the handrail was repaired, and the tower fully restored. The wind and the rain still buffet this battered structure, but with the adjacent car park and the constant influx of summer visitors, its future (unlike many such buildings) seems assured.



The tower stands at 940 feet above sea level, and on a clear day the view is phenomenal, ranging from the Fylde coast to the Lake District. You might be forgiven for thinking this the finest view in Lancashire, but you would be wrong, for that view is yet to come - on the summit of Clougha Pike.


  The Quernmore Burial

In 1973 when the small car park opposite Jubilee Tower was under construction a rare 7th Century burial was discovered. The remains where laid to rest inside a hollowed tree trunk and wrapped in a wooled cloth that was remarkably well preserved. The artifacts are now kept in Lancaster City Museum.
Image credits: The Quernmore Burial : munki-boy pro design


Thanks for the activation Tony
And for posting your log


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