Flag Tower
The Flag Tower is possibly one of the largest historic structures at Alton Towers that you might never have seen. These days, you are far more likely to see the Tower at a distance from the surrounding countryside, rather than from within the park itself. Standing at around 28m, the Tower is usually completely hidden within the trees, in the backstage area behind The World of David Walliams.
The Tower itself is Grade II listed, and is technically classed as part of the layout of the Grade I listed Gardens of Alton Towers. It is laid out over five floors, and once had an observation deck on the roof, which is famous for offering spectacular views across the estate and the surrounding Staffordshire Moorlands. For most of its history, the Flag Tower therefore acted as a viewing platform, but has not been regularly accessible to the public since 1985.
It is finished in a rough, rock-faced ashlar, which contrasts the Tower with almost all the other buildings across the estate, where the walls have a smooth-finish. The main entrance is on the first floor and is approached by a flight of steps within a ground-floor fore-building. Access to the upper floors and viewing platform is via a spiral staircase that is accessed via an external door, also on the first floor.
It is now used exclusively as a mounting point for an array of telecommunication masts and, inside, is mostly used to house related equipment, with each of the major mobile providers having their own floor to house and manage their own equipment.
Heritage
Work on the Tower began in 1810, but house records indicate that it took up to 10 years to complete. It is not specifically documented who built the Flag Tower, but the architect Joseph Ireland was known to be working at Alton Towers during this time period, so it is assumed that the Tower is one of the projects he completed for the Earl.
The Flag Tower is the oldest recognisable building within the park, and one of the first structures commissioned by the 15th Earl when he arrived at Alton Towers. Whilst parts of the house pre-date this, they now lie at the heart of the building and would be broadly unrecognisable when compared to how they looked at the start of the 19th century.
Today the Tower is almost entirely hidden by trees, but once it would have been visible for miles around and acted as a distinctive marker that you were approaching Alton Towers. One of the earliest descriptions of the Flag Tower, published in 1825, states:
"A massive gothic tower, conspicuous as a landmark, rises majestically above the sombre foliage of the pines that screen its base."
As a Museum
As well as its observation deck, one of the tower's earliest uses was as home to part of the earl's vast collection of artwork and other curios. The same 1825 author went on to describe:
"The stories of this tower are occupied by a rich museum of rare curiosities, tastefully selected from the productions of both art and nature and arranged with a due regard to effect; a fine panoramic view from the platform on the summit completing the exhibition."
It is likely that the Tower continued to act as home to the Earl's collection through to the 1830s, when the galleries in the South Range of the house started to open. Certainly by 1857 the usage of the Tower as a Museum had come to an end, as stated in the 1858's Gardens of England:
"The Flagstaff Tower was intended as the repository of a remarkably fine collection of armour, and other memorials of antiquity; but it is not used for that purpose now."
As a Residence
By 1857, when the auction of the contents of Alton Towers took place, the tower was clearly being used as an apartment, and the Sale Catalogue lists the contents of the "Flagstaff Tower Sitting Room". Even at this time the Tower seemed to have been finely decorated, with its contents including stuffed birds, various figures in porcelain, wax & terra-cotta and, most strikingly, a 6ft high model of a Nanjing Pagoda.
There are indications that it was increasingly used as a residence through the rest of the time the Earls owned the estate. Over the years, the Flag Tower was a regular subject for postcards, and one such postcard even features a washing line complete with the freshly laundered sheets of occupant at the time.
Flag Tower, Alton TowersThe Flag Tower on 'laundry day', as seen in an early postcard. The Flag Tower stands five storeys high and at one time served to provide excellent views of the surrounding countryside. It occupies the highest point of Bunbury Hill to the west of the house...View Full Resource on Staffordshire Past Track
Originally, the fore-building was much more substantial and included a faux-portcullis, offering quite a striking entry point. This seems to have fallen into disrepair by the turn of the 20th Century, and had largely been demolished by the time the estate was sold in 1924, resulting in the more modest fore-building we see today.
When the park re-opened as a tourist attraction, the Flag Tower's Observation Deck seems to have been used as an attraction both before and after the war, right through to 1985, when it was closed to the public. The council gave permission for the first telecommunication masts to be installed in 1987, having reached the conclusion that this was a better option than building a stand-alone mast somewhere nearby, which would have been more detrimental to the surrounding conservation area.
The last time the public were able to get anywhere near the Flag Tower was when Coaster Corner operated in the late 80s and the Wild Mouse operated at the foot of the Tower. However, when Coaster Corner closed in 1991 the Flag Tower disappeared deep within the backstage areas of Alton Towers and as the trees have grown up over the years, views of the Flag Tower have largely been obscured from within the park, and from much of the surrounding countryside too.