Darwen Tower dome lifted into place by helicopter

Darwen Tower Darwen Tower is a Grade II listed structure

Related Stories

A Lancashire landmark that lost its crowning dome in high winds more than a year ago has had a new top lifted into place by helicopter.

Darwen's Jubilee Tower lost its fibreglass dome and weather vane during winds of up to 80mph (129km/h) on 11 November 2010.

The new steel dome was made by Darwen engineering company WEC Group Ltd, as a gift to the town.

It cost more than £35,000 and was winched into place at about 12:00 GMT.

The new top, made from powder-coated stainless steel, is the third to crown the tower.

The original, made from wood, also blew off in high winds in 1947. It was eventually replaced by one made from fibreglass after Darwen mayor Bill Lees launched a fund in 1971.

Peter Roberts, who has overseen the building of the new dome, said: "A stainless steel structure will never corrode away, and will be there for another 500 years."

Many residents from the town climbed the moors to witness the dome being being put in place.

Darwen Tower, a Grade II listed structure, was built in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.

More on This Story

Related Stories

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites

BBC Lancashire

Weather

Lancashire

14 °C 6 °C

Features & Analysis

  • The bottoms of Eric Orton's feetFoot loose Watch

    How barefoot Indian tribe inspired a US fitness revolution


  • Anthony Weiner, Medea Benjamin of the group Code Pink, and Amanda BynesTweets of the week

    Hecklers, Anthony Weiner and more - all in 140 characters


  • Eccles cake10 things

    Don't microwave Eccles cakes, and nine other nuggets


  • Mount SharpRed tales

    What we have learnt from Martian probes


Elsewhere on the BBC

  • Florence’s Medici Chapel Art over politics

    Michelangelo managed to complete Florence’s Medici Chapel during a time of uprising

Programmes

  • XBox OneClick Watch

    How far has Microsoft moved from a purist's game console with the XBox One?

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.