Bonewaldesthorne's Tower
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| Bonewaldesthorne's Tower | |
|---|---|
 Bonewaldesthorne's Tower from Chester city walls | |
| Location | Chester, Cheshire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°11′34″N 2°53′56″W / 53.19267°N 2.89892°W |
| OS grid reference | SJ 400 665 |
| Built | By 1249 |
| Rebuilt | 1322–26 |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Bonewaldesthorne tower |
| Designated | 28 July 1955 |
  Location in Cheshire | |
Bonewaldesthorne's Tower is a medieval structure on the northwest corner of the city walls of Chester, Cheshire, England;[1] it is attached by a spur wall to the Water Tower. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.[1] Built as part of Chester's defensive system, it was used in the 19th and early 20th centuries as a museum.
The tower has been documented since 1249.[1] It was rebuilt or altered in 1322–26 when it became the gatehouse to the Water Tower.[1] The Chester Mechanics' Institution was founded in 1835. The Institution wished to open a museum to show its artifacts and the city council leased the Water Tower and Bonewaldesthorne's Tower at a nominal rent for this purpose. The museum opened in 1838. A camera obscura was installed in the tower in 1840 and an observatory in 1848.[2] Around this time a statue of Queen Anne which had formerly been in the Exchange before it burned down was installed on the steps of the tower.[3]
The Institution closed in 1876 and the exhibits came into the possession of the city council. Although it was recognised that the tower was not suitable as a museum, there was at the time nowhere else to show all the exhibits. The tower closed as a museum in 1901–02 while the city walls were rebuilt, and re-opened in 1903, attracting 12,000 visitors that season. The towers were closed to the public in 1916 and in the 1920s they were let for non-museum use. In 1954 they were bought by the Grosvenor Museum, which reopened them to the public in 1962.[2] Bonewaldesthorne's Tower and the adjacent Water Tower have housed a museum of the history of medicine, 'Sick to Death', since August 2016.[4]
185yds
Amphi-
theatre
and Roman Chester
