Wills Memorial Building

Tours of the willsmemorial every Saturday at 1pm. You get to see Bristol from 215ft and you get to meet great George a 7ft bell and be there when it strikes. Half the money raised is donated to the Bristol children’s hospital (the grand appeal) so don’t miss this tour if your ever in Bristol uk England

Now that it’s free of all that scaffolding, Wills Memorial Building is once again standing bright and proud at the top of Park Street, hosting Bristol University graduations (including mine a few years ago!), exams (again, including mine!), and other grand university ceremonies. It’s also got some teaching space here, particularly for the Law students, which is why you’ll see many students hanging about here during the day.
The patch of green in front of the building is a great place for a picnic, though not particularly quiet or peaceful, given that it’s near the busy Triangle and that you’ll be surrounded by gossipy undergrads. I came to sit here on my first visit to Bristol when I was looking around the university. I spilt a whole cup of boiling tea on my foot and it swelled up monstrously. I considered myself well and truly physically branded by my Bristol experience, and therefore decided to take up the offer to study here!
The Memorial Building is truly beautiful inside; a big cathedral with vast stained glass windows. Walking up the big flight of steps inside really does provide that lovely feeling of hushed awe.

Site of Bristol University’s lucky law and geosciences deparments, Wills Memorial building is one of the most striking additions to Bristol’s skyline. A beautiful, historic building crowning the triangle, it was recently restored and is looking more glorious than ever.
The adjacent garden area has also been done up, making it the perfect place to grab a sandwich and sit for lunch on a summery afternoon.
Although unless you’re a student you’ll have little to do with this building, there are occasional talks and seminars open to all which are held by the university here. For me, it’s the unforgettable site of exams and graduation, and I feel there was some consolation in having such an inspiring building to do them in.

This building dominates the North Bristol skyline. Sat proudly at the top of Park Street, you cannot fail to miss it on your way to Whiteladies Road, the Downs or Clifton. Visitors are often struck by the grandeur of it. A perfectly clean white stone building which looks almost religious. It would be easy to think that it was some sort of cathedral, or at the very least part of the neighbouring museum. In fact it belongs to the University of Bristol and is where some of the students will have their graduation ceremony. There are often other functions there, such as black tie balls and what not and you could quite often see poshly dressed peeps hanging around outside. The name tallies up with one of the Halls of Residences, Wills College — that’s the posh one. Whatever goes on inside, it sure it pretty to look at and Bristol wouldn’t be the same without it.

The Will’s memorial sits atop Park street like a wise old man, although it isn’t actually a very old building, it is merely faking its age! The fake Gothic tower strikes you with awe as you gaze up all 215 feet of it. If you are able to get in and wander up the grand staircase leading up tohe great hall you will be struck by the grandeur of it all. It was the original University building that was built to commemorate a member of the Will’s family. It can’t fail to stand out as one of Bristol’s most impressive buildings.

The Wills Memorial Building stands at the top of Park Street. It’s really stunning to look at both from the outside and inside so well worth a trip inside. As the general public, you are allowed into the main area, but you need to be a Bristol University student to be allowed any further. Entry is free and the tower is stunning to look at. The attention to detail is impressive, and this building really does rival some of the older cathedrals in Bath for its stature and architectural brilliance.

One of the University buildings, the Wills memorial building towers triumphantly above Park Street and the College Green. Built in 1925, and dedicated to Henry Wills, the building has since become a great tourist attraction, standing next to the Bristol Museum. If you’re visiting, perhaps you might like to sit and enjoy the lovely gardens out the front and watch Bristol’s Park Street goers pass by, or if you’re lucky enough to be visiting on their open day, take a trip to the top to enjoy magnificent views of Bristol (mostly the south of town.) If it is the view you’re after and can get into the Wills Building, there’s always Brandon Hill/​Cabot tower, a little way down Park Street.

This is Bristol’s über landmark — along with the suspension bridge and cabot tower, you could pop them all on a postcard and have a pretty good tourist notion of Brizzle.
I’m quite a fan of this tower. It was begun in 1915, and finally completed in 1925, to commemorate Henry Overton Wills, the first chancellor of Bristol University and whose family were the owners of Bristol Tobacco, and as such were very wealthy. The architect, Sir George Oatley, was told to ‘build to last’, which he certainly has done. In a neo gothic style, the building dominates the Bristol skyline in a majestic way.
On Open Doors day every summer there’s a an opportunity to go inside the the tower for free. It is, without doubt, the highest point in Bristol and the view is just phenomenal from the top. It’s not just a view though, as you can get up close to the massive bell that chimes each hour, and stand in the bell room as it does so (don’t worry, they give you ear plugs, which you’ll definitely need!). If you miss out on the open doors day, there’s a guide who does a tour on the first tuesday of every month, I believe, though this won’t be free but well worth the visit.

At the top of Park Street you will find this neo-​gothic tower, recently restored. At the top of the hill, it literally towers over the rest of the building and looks like the headquarters for some evil mastermind (it does house the law department, haha!).
It’s an impressive beast, with ornate carving adorning the building, and event more care and attention on display inside. Part of the university, the great hall is the place to get the full experience of the building. You’ll hear your feet echoing on the floor, and possibly get a bit dizzy looking up into the ceiling.
A visit to the bell tower is something special. The bell, which sounds every hour, is apparently a big deal in the world of campanology (that the study of bells, just in case you didn’t know). Unfortunately this is only possible on doors open days, which come around once a year in September. Keep your eyes open and book up early when you do see this available.

As a former University of Bristol student, I had the honour of graduating in this splendour building and less interestingly, I also did some exams in here. As this is an official university building and the home of law students it’s not generally open to the public but you can nip in and pretend you’re a student. It’s just so grand and splendid and full of interesting rooms– especially the great hall. The outside has recently been renovated and so it looks great but very different from the surrounding buildings

The Wills Memorial Tower is one of Bristol’s most familiar landmarks. Part of the buildings comprising Bristol University, this 215 ft (65.5m) gothic edifice is twice the height of the nearby Cabot Tower.
Designed by Sir George Herbert Oatley in a streamlined perpendicular style, it recalls the famous 15^th century church towers of North Somerset. The interiors — together with the adjacent buildings — are beautifully decorated in the gothice style. The tower contains ‘Great George’, a nine-​and-​a-​half-​ton bell, within the octagonal belfry at the top.
Officially opened by King George V in 1925, the Wills Tower is considered one of the last great gothic buildings to be built in England. The tower commemorates Henry Overton Wills, the first Chancellor of the University, and was paid for by his sons. The Wills family were great benefactors of the University, their wealth derived from tobacco — the family firm was the largest component of the Imperial Tobacco Company, formed in 1901.
The tower is constructed from Bath and Clipsham stone giving it its distinctive yellow colour. It has recently been cleaned, and dominates the view of Park Street from College Green.

The Wills Memorial Building/​Tower is adorned with gorgeous Gothic architecture, and is thought to be one of the last amazing Gothic buildings to be built in England. It was commissioned in 1912 and opened in 1925 by King George V and Queen Mary. The tower is 68 m high and 16 m square. Inside it is very very beautiful, but it’s not open to the public (although you can pop your head around the door to have a look at the amazing hallway). This is where the Law students have their lectures. Well… at least it’s not all boring for them.