An iconic building at the heart of a Carlisle school will be ‘standing firm for years to come’ after a restoration.
The restoration of the historic bell tower of Trinity School’s Sixth Form has been completed after a long project in which the tower itself was removed.
The building was originally constructed on land gifted by the Duke of Devonshire in 1881 after it was agreed that the old Grammar School building in the Cathedral grounds was not large enough to accommodate the growing number of boarders.
Despite locals warning of the area frequently flooding, construction of the building began, using the design of a local competition winner, Mr. George Dale Oliver.
On September 6, 1881, the Duke of Devonshire himself arrived in horse-drawn carriage to lay the foundation stone in front of a crowd of locals.
He buried a glass bottle with key documents, copies of local newspapers and a shilling underneath the foundation.
In 1883 students formally left the Cathedral site and moved into what is today the Trinity School Sixth Form building,
There have been students studying there every year since.
The bell tower is part of the old hall used for concerts and to welcome guests for various events.
A spokesperson for Trinity School said: “We are proud of our history at Trinity and have been delighted by the restoration work of our site.
“We have recently completed a project on the tower.
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“The fully restored bell tower can be seen adorning the Carlisle skyline and will be standing firm for years to come. It had to be removed for the restoration work to be completed.”
Chair of Governors, Brian Armstrong, said: “The restoration of the Spire on Devonshire Hall has been an excellent project and restored the building to its original state.
“The building is widely used by Trinity's 6th Form which now numbers almost 400”.
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