King Alfred’s Tower

in HISTORYlast year

•Located in Bruton, England.
•It is believed to mark the site where King Alfred the Great rallied his troops in 878.

•The tower also commemorates the accession of George III to the throne in 1760 and the end of the Seven Years War.

•The project to build the tower was conceived in 1762 by the banker Henry Hoare II.
•Work on the tower began in 1762 and was completed in 1779.

•The tower was damaged by a plane in 1944 and restored in the 1980s.

•The 49-metre-high (161 ft) triangular tower has a hollow centre and is reached by a 205-step spiral staircase at the corner furthest from the entrance.

•The triangular tower is constructed from over a million red bricks, it also includes a statue of King Alfred and a dedication inscription.

•King Alfred died on 26 October 899 at the age of 50 or 51.

•How he died is unknown, although he suffered throughout his life with a painful and unpleasant illness.

•However, It is thought that he had either Crohn's disease or haemorrhoids.