Shot Tower, Lambeth

The Shot Tower at the Lambeth Lead Works was a shot tower that stood on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, England, between Waterloo Bridge and Hungerford Bridge, on the site of what is now the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

In 1839 it was taken over by Walkers, Parker & Co., which also operated the square shot tower to the east of Waterloo Bridge.

In 1950 the gallery chamber at the top of the tower was removed and a steel-framed superstructure was added instead, providing a radio beacon for the Festival of Britain held in 1951.

The gallery was 163 feet (50 m) high and was reached by a spiral staircase attached to the inside face of the wall.

In a lecture given in 1991 (now preserved in the British Library Sound Archive) Hugh Casson, who had been the Director of Architecture for the Festival of Britain in 1951, described the tower as "an extraordinary device.

View from the Shot Tower to the Square Shot Tower and St. Pauls Cathedral ;
Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard, Series 2174 ″London Heraldic View″
Shot tower on the left next to the Royal Festival Hall in 1959