The Waterloo Shot Tower – A Biography

Who remembers the Shot Tower? A major riverside landmark during the nineteenth century and an important feature of the Festival of Britain, unlike the Skylon and Dome of Discovery the Tower has faded from public memory. This illustrated talk will trace its story from its origins to demolition in 1962.

The Shot Tower stood nearly 200 ft tall on the river front by Waterloo Bridge for nearly 140 years until the early 1960s, an unmistakeable and important landmark which featured in the everyday life of Londoners. Yet today it is barely remembered. In this illustrated talk, Nick Rampley traces the history of this all but forgotten building and of the industries that characterised Lambeth’s riverside, giving particular focus – on the 70th anniversary of the Festival of Britain – to the role the Tower played in the South Bank exhibition.