You can enjoy the rare treat of climbing an historic Yorkshire monument. As part of the 2024 Heritage Open Days programme in Yorkshire , there’s an opportunity to climb the stairs of the landmark dubbed ‘the Tower of Spite’. Wainhouse Tower is a 77-metre tall Victorian observatory-chimney located in Halifax .
It offers panoramic views of the surrounding area. Loved by residents, it is one of many attractions opening its doors as part of the Heritage Open Days 2024 programme. Running between Friday, September 6 and Sunday, September 15, the 2024 run is England's largest community-led festival of history and culture.
Read more: 'I took my kids to Huddersfield Leisure Centre for the first time and just had one grumble' It involves thousands of volunteers and organisations showcasing some wonderful buildings and experiences. Every year, Heritage Open Days brings people together to celebrate the history lying in the community. The circumstances of its construction lead some to refer to it as the Tower of Spite.
As the listing on the Heritage Open Days website states, Wainhouse Tower was built in the 1870s by local businessman John Edward Wainhouse to serve his dyeworks in the valley below. Wainhouse always intended his chimney to host a platform from which visitors could take in views of the surrounding neighbourhood and he wanted it to be an elegant thing of beauty for a town blighted by mill smokestacks. Wainhouse was a principled man, kind and generous to his friends, but.