Victoria Tower

Standing over 900 feet above sea level Castle Hill dominates the local landscape, providing spectacular, often windswept views. The site is a scheduled ancient monument. More information about its history can be found in displays at Tolson Museum.

The history of human activity on the hill goes back over 4000 years. The site was developed as an iron age hill fort, surrounded by defensive ditches and ramparts. In the Middle Ages there was a castle on the hill, of which the well remains. The present tower was built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee of 1897.

Perched on Castle Hill, Victoria Tower was completed in 1899 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's reign. The corner-stone of the tower was laid on 25 June 1898 by Mr John Frechville Ramsden and was officially opened by the Earl of Scarborough on 24 June 1899. The walls of the tower are four feet thick at the bottom, tapering to two feet at the top. The tower was renovated in 1960 when the top seven feet were removed. It reaches the height of almost 997 feet above sea level.