Chester Shot Tower

Chester Shot Tower

Date	1 October 2011
Location	Boughton, Chester	SJ 41462 66658; 53.19375°N, 2.87763°W
Information	At 168 ft (51.2 m) high, the Grade II* listed shot tower is Chester’s tallest structure and the oldest of the UK’s three surviving shot towers. Located at the former leadworks on the side of the Shropshire Union Canal in the Boughton district of the city, the tower was built in 1799 by Walkers, Maltby and Company. This firm was later known as Walkers, Parker and Company, which became part of Associated Lead Manufacturers in 1924, with the latter in turn later becoming part of the Calder Group. The tower has a 30 ft (9.1 m) diameter base and its diameter at the top is 20 ft (6.1 m), and it has an internal, peripheral spiral staircase. This was superseded by the external, steel-framed lift shaft, added in 1971. Lead shot was manufactured using the process developed by Bristolian William Watts, in which lead is poured through a sieve at the top of the tower, forms into spherical droplets during its descent, and is caught in a water bath at the bottom. In its early history, the tower produced musket shot for forces serving in the Napoleonic Wars. The Calder Group closed the leadworks down in 2001 and most of its buildings were demolished in the following years to make way for new housing developments in the canal-side location. Since then there have been various plans put forward for the redevelopment of the tower itself, which received its listed status in 1981. At the end of 2007, Property Regeneration Group was granted planning permission and announced that redevelopment of the site was underway. The scheme was to comprise 33 one- and two-bedroom apartments — including an element of ‘affordable housing’ — together with 27,000 sq ft of commercial space for offices, bars and restaurants and other purposes. Most of the remaining buildings around the tower were to be demolished and the tower itself would figure as the main entrance to the upper floor flats in a four-storey extension. In mid-2008, advising engineers for the project, Chester-based consultancy Gifford stated that they themselves would move into new offices in the complex once construction work was finished. At the time, it was said that work at the site would start at the end of the summer and was scheduled for completion in the autumn of 2009. In November 2008 planning permission was granted for revisions to the proposals in which changes had been made to suit the requirements of the principal potential commercial occupier. The level of affordable housing was also reduced from the original seven dwellings down to four. Property Regeneration went into administration in 2009. In July 2011 new plans were announced by Liverpool-based Neptune Developments. These again feature housing, bars and restaurants and shops, but also include a heritage aspect and a new bridge over the canal, linking the complex with the proposed Waitrose supermarket nearby. An affordable housing element is to be provided by Chester and District Housing Trust, and a planning application is expected to be submitted in the autumn. Sheldon Bush Shot Tower; Chester Shot Tower (Wikipedia); The Chester Canal part 1 (Chester: A Virtual Stroll Around the Walls)

Chester Shot Tower

Chester Shot Tower

Water Tower and Shot Tower on either side of the Shropshire Union Canal

Shot Tower Close

'The Tower' - Property Regeneration... in administration since 2009

Chester Shot Tower

Chester Shot Tower from Shot Tower Close

Chester Shot Tower across the Shropshire Union Canal

Chester Shot Tower