The Wills Memorial Building (also known as the Wills Memorial Tower or simply the Wills Tower) is a neo-Gothic building in Bristol, England, designed by Sir George Oatley and built as a memorial to Henry Overton Wills IIIBristol University | The University | The Wills Memorial Building by his sons George and Henry Wills.Lucy Smith, 100 Buildings 100 Years, 20th Century Society, Batsford, 2014 Begun in 1915 and not opened until 1925, it is considered one of the last great Gothic buildings to be built in England.

Standing near the top of Park Street on Queens Road, it is a landmark building of the University of Bristol that currently houses the School of Law and the Department of Earth Sciences, as well as the Law and Earth Sciences libraries.Bristol University | The University | Law Library As of 2025 it is the seventh-tallest structure in Bristol, standing at .

Many regard the building as synonymous with the University of Bristol. It is the centrepiece building of the university precinctBristol University – Centre for Romantic Studies – Wills Memorial Building and is used by the university for degree ceremonies and examinations, which take place in the Great Hall.Bristol University | The University | Graduation

Architecture commentator Nikolaus Pevsner described it as:

It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building and serves as a regional European Documentation Centre.

History

The Wills Memorial Building was commissioned in 1912 by George Alfred Wills and Henry Herbert Wills, the magnates of the Bristol tobacco company W. D. & H. O. Wills, in honour of their father, Henry Overton Wills III, benefactor and first Chancellor of the university who donated £100,000 to the university. Sir George Oatley, who also worked on a number of other buildings for the university, was chosen as architect and told to "build to last". He produced a design in the Perpendicular Gothic style, to evoke the famous university buildings of Oxford and Cambridge. The building was funded through the fortunes which the Wills family made through tobacco. Oatley later claimed that his inspiration for the building came from a dream where he saw a tower on a hill, with shields around it.

Construction started in 1915 but was halted in 1916 due to the continuation of the First World War. Work resumed in 1919, and the Wills Memorial Building was finally opened on 9 June 1925 by King George V and Queen Mary, having cost a total of £501,566 19s 10d. The building was opened with a Royal Salute of 21 chimes from 'Great George', the nine-and-a-half ton bell within the octagonal belfry of the tower, which is tolled on the death of a monarch or chancellor. Oatley received a knighthood that year in recognition of his work on the building.

In 1940 during the Bristol Blitz of the Second World War, the Great Hall with its hammerbeam roof was badly damaged by a German bomb-blast. It was restored in the 1960s to Oatley's original design; at the same time the adjoining wing was enlarged by Ralph Brentnall.

21st-century controversy The alleged connection of the Wills family to historical slavery via the U.S. tobacco industry attracted controversy in the 2010s, with some students petitioning the University of Bristol to rename the building in March 2017. In 2018 the university published a response and consultation on how to address the issue, including (amongst others) the suggestion of renaming university buildings and changing the coat of arms.

On 28 February 2022, the Great Hall of the Wills Memorial Building was occupied by a group of students. The student occupiers barricaded themselves inside in solidarity with ongoing industrial action by the University and Colleges Union which represents many teaching and professional services staff at the university.

Description The building's dominant feature is the Wills Tower, built in reinforced concrete faced with Bath and Clipsham stone, with carving designed in collaboration with Jean Hahn of King's Heath Guild, Birmingham. At tall it is over twice the height of the nearby Cabot Tower. It is square and ornamented with heraldic shields. It is topped by an octagonal lantern which houses Great George (England's ninth-largest bell, weighing over 9.5 tonnes) which strikes on the hour.

In addition to the Great Hall there is a general library, reception room and council chamber, and a further 50 rooms including some teaching space such as seminar rooms and lecture theatres. In the entrance hall are two ceremonial staircases. The building is also used as a conference venue.

Restoration

In 2006 cleaning work began on the Wills Memorial Building costing £750,000.Bristol University | News from the University | Wills Tower set for new glory Cleaning on the building revealed the engraving "IO TRIVMPHE"Wills Memorial Building – August 2006 intended as a tribute to the architect of the building Sir George Oatley. The engraving had remained hidden for over 80 yearsBristol University | News from the University | 80-year-old engraving finally discovered and recognises the role of Sir Isambard Owen (then Vice-Chancellor) in the realisation of Oatley's plans. Harry Patch, a veteran of the First World War who also worked on the building, re-unveiled the now clean building.

See also Grade II* listed buildings in Bristol List of tallest buildings and structures in Bristol

References

Further reading Whittingham, S. Wills Memorial Building (Bristol, 2003)

External links

A virtual tour inside the Wills Memorial Building A virtual tour of the Law Library inside the Wills Memorial Building A gallery of images from the BBC showing the restoration work which took place in 2006