Beckfords Tower Info

7/31/2019 Beckfords Tower Info

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/beckfords-tower-info 1/24

Beckford’s Towerby Otis Sloan Brittain



Figure 1:

Picture of Lansdowne

Tower, by WilliamMaddox

Figure 2:

William Beckford portrait

Figure 3:

View up spiral staircase



Beckford’s Tower, originally called Lansdowne Tower, was commissioned by William

Beckford (1760-1844) and designed by Henry Goodridge (1797-1864). The

architectural folly was built in a Neoclassical style with elements of traditional Bath

architecture.

Neoclassical architecture was formed as a retaliation against the overindulgent Ren-

aissance and Rococo styles of the 18th century. By 1800 Neoclassical architec-

ture was extremely popular, its style represented power and monetary and intellectual

wealth; exactly what Beckford wanted to display by building Beckford’s Tower.

William Beckford’s outrageous life shadows his outrageous buildings. Born into wealth

he spent his money persuing art and knowledge. Taught music by Mozart and drawing

by Alexander Cozens his thirst for art developed into a love for architecture. In 1807

Beckford completed Fonthill Abbey in Wilkshire; his first folly. He sold Fonthill Abbey

in 1822 and moved to Bath. He bought a house on Lansdowne cresent and the land

behind it to create a ride up Landowne Hill to Beckford Tower. The Tower was com-pleted in 1827 (the same year Fonthill Abbey’s tower collapsed). It had 2 drawing

rooms opulently decorated with oak panels, expensive carpets and scarlet, crimson and

gold (1). Inside the 120 foot tower was a spiral staircase that lead to a Belvedere

with views across the whole of Bath.

Beckford used the tower to house his art collection and rode there regularly until his

death in 1844. The tower was sold and turned in a beer garden after his death.

Beckford’s daughter soon bought it back and passed it onto the local rector and it

became a funeral chapel and cemetery. It was sold to Leslie and Elizabeth Hilliard in

1971 who founded the Beckford Tower Trust to maintain it.

It is now owned by Bath Preservation Trust and is used as a museum and holiday

accommodation.

Figure 2

Figure 3Figure 1



Figure 6:

Representation of the

extend the lichens havecovered the East facade

Figure 7:

Diagram showing the

areas of stone

darkening on East

facade



The stone façades of Beckford’s Tower suffer from a variety of discolouration, giving the

building a very different aesthetic to its original cream Bath stone finish. The changes in

colour are due to many things but most prominent is biological colonisation. This is mainly inthe form of yellow, black and grey lichens (see figure 6). Lichens are a composite organism

made of algae and fungus and can grow on a variety of surfaces and in almost all condi-

tions. Figure 4 shows a variety of Crustose lichen (2), distinguishable by it’s circular crust.

These are the cause of the coloured spots on building. The building is also colonised by

Leprose lichen, common to limestone they have a more spread out powdery appearance.

It is possible to remove lichen should it be desired, by scraping them off or using a fungicide

such as chestnut compound or thiophanate-methyl (3). However there are a few things to

consider before doing so:

• There is evidence that lichens actually protect the stone more than they damage it.

• Lichens are a living organism and some are very rare

• Lichens show the age of a building and it’s reaction with it’s natural surroundings. In

essence lichens become part of the building.

Another cause of discolouration is damp. Figure 5 shows darkening around the ground level,

a sign of rising damp. This is due to a lack of a damp proof membrane in the ground floor

construction. The lack of the DMP means moisture from the ground rises and enters the per-

meable limestone, hence causing darkening.

Gypsum crust, a deposit created when acid rain reacts with calcium carbonate (found in

limestone), forms a dark layer in sheltered areas where it cannot be removed naturally by

rain water (see figure 7).

General whitish grey discolouring may be caused by efflorescence. This occurs when (4)

saline water rests on the surface of stone. The water is evaporated leaving a salt deposit,

that can be seen as whitish powdery crystals.

To clean the facade I would advise using the “Jos/TORC abrasive pollutant removal system “(5) recently used on the nearby St Stephens church renovation. This would allow the stones

to be cleaned without the removal of lichen.Gysom crust Darkness due to damp

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7



Beckford’s Tower is made of Bathstone, a type of limestone that is very porous and

susceptible to many different forms of deterioration and decay.

The stone sills have suffered severely from deterioration. Figure 8 shows loss of stone

around the edges of the sill. This is likely to have been caused by freeze thawing,

where water enters the porous stone, freezes in cold temperatures and then expands

resulting in internal stresses. Over time this repeated expansion can result in pieces

of stone breaking off. The edges have then gradually been smoothed through erosion

caused by the rain water run off and acid rain formed from pollutants in the air.

The origin stone was probably a lot smoother than it is today. The roughness is

largely due to subfloresense (enrico fodd lecture ref) that causes spalling. This is

when saline water that is absorbed by the stone deposits salts within the material

when it evaporates. These salts expand when in contact with water causing internal

stresses.

Figure 9 shows a window decoration that is peeling (6), where the outside layer of

stone flakes off. It also shows minor blistering (7), where the surface layer of stone

separates forming air filled bulges. Figure 10 shows peeling on the string course. This

suggests the stone has been naturally bedded thus exposing the outer bed causing it

to de-laminate.

There is also mortar deterioration. Figure 12 shows where the lime mortar joints have

eroded at a faster rate than the stone as water from the rising damp evaporates

through them.

The paint work on most of the wood window frames has started to flake and blister

(see figure 11). If the wood is not treated then this can lead to moisture penetrat-

ing the wood causing damp rot. Loose paintwork should be removed, the surface

thoroughly cleaned then new paint applied to avoid the need to replace the window

frames. Flaking may also be due to dry rot, in which case the window would need tobe treated or replaced.

Figure 8 Figure 9

Figure 10 Figure 11

Figure 12



Cracking and deformation is the most obvious signs of building deterioration. Most of

the large cracks occur of the stone window dressing (see figure 13). This suggests

that the window lintels and frames cannot support the weight above thus causing thestone to crack. Figure 14 shows one of many repairs to the window dressings.

Figure 15 shows the largest crack on the façade, running from the base of the bal-

cony to the window frame and has been partially repaired. As the fracture starts at an

area with little mass above it, it indicates that the crack was due to movement not by

the buildings own weight. The movement is likely to be caused either by subsidence,

season/temperature change or settlement.

Subsidence is when the foundations fail to support the weight of the building. Possible

causes of subsidence at Beckford’s tower could be changes in the moisture content

of the subsoil due to poor drainage. Should subsidence be a threat to the integrity

of the building the foundations can be underpinned, a process of increasing the width

and depth to allow the weight to be spread out across a larger surface area.

I predict the cause is due to settlement; movement caused by the building materials

contracting as they dry out and common early in a buildings life span. The crack has

already been partially repaired and looks weathered, evidence that the crack is old

and movement stopped as the materials stopped skrinking. Settlement is also a very

common cause of cracking above windows (8).

It is important to make sure the crack is not growing and new cracks are not form-

ing to ensure that no immediate action need take place. The crack can be monitored

cheaply by keeping a photographic record and using a demountable strain gauge to

check for growth.

Figure 13

Figure 14Figure 15



There are several examples of man made damage to the facade. Fig 16 may be due

to keying, where stone is scored to create a better surface to apply a render. This

could also be graffitti, perhaps from when it was a beer garden or caused by knife

wetting.

Figures 17-19 show examples of shoddy repairs and additions where the buildings

aesthetic is comprised. These show how all alterations must be carefully considered.

Conclusion:

One must accept that all buildings will degenerate over time. However this degenera-

tion can add character to a building rather than detracting from it. I believe this is the

case with Beckfords Tower. Although it has lost it’s perfect symmetry and clean stone

finish it has gained a picturesque charm. Future restoration work should aim to

maintain this charm as well as the maintaining the original design.

Figure 16

Figure 17 Figure 18 Figure 19



East Elevation 1:50



South Elevation 1:50 North Elevation 1:50



P r o

f i l e s e c

t i o n

o f

E a

s t E l e v a

t i o n

1 : 2 0



L e a

d S h e e

t C o v e r i n g

W o o

d B o a r d

i n g

2 5 0 m m

x 1 0 0 m m

W o o

d e n

R a

f t e r

3 0 0 x

1 0 0

W o o

d e n

J o

i s t

M i x o

f L i m e s

t o n e ,

R u

b b l e a n

d

M o r t a r

S i n g

l e P a n e

d W o o

d e n

S a s

h

W i n d o w s

S a n

d B i n d i n g

H a r d c o r e

B a c

k f i l l



(1) - Bath Preservation Trust: History of the Tower.. 2011. Bath Preserva-

tion Trust: History of the Tower.. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bath-

preservation-trust.org.uk/index.php?id=39. [Accessed 12 May 2011].

(2) - Lichen. 2011. Lichen. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.yorkshired-

ales.org.uk/index/natureinthedales/species/fungiandlichen/lichen.htm#lichens_of_

rocks_and_walls. [Accessed 12 May 2011]

(3) - The British Lichen Society - Lichens on Man Made Surfaces. 2011.

The British Lichen Society - Lichens on Man Made Surfaces. [ONLINE] Avail-

able at: http://www.thebls.org.uk/content/mmade.html. [Accessed 12 May

2011].

(4), (6) and (7) - ICOMOS Glossary of Stone Deteriation - International

council of monuments and sites - 2006 - p55, p30, p20 respectively

(5) - St Stephens Church, Lansdown in Bath. 2011. St Stephens Church,

Lansdown in Bath. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.minervaconservation.

com/projects/ststephens.html. [Accessed 12 May 2011]

(8) - [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.swanrestoration.com/stone-problems.

php. [Accessed 12 May 2011

Beckfords Tower Info

Documents

Transcript of Beckfords Tower Info