Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Parking Lot Shoeprints
Dewey Square Pylon & Bent 38
Black Rocks of Pungo Andongo
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Benshi would introduce and provide commentary for films like A Page of Madness.
Remembering the Heyday of Japan’s Silent FIlm Narrators
about 3 hours ago
The Horn & Hardart Automat was a staple of urban dining in midcentury New York City.
All Hail the Slop Bowl, Lunch of Our Ancestors
about 6 hours ago
The Grateful Dead’s “Wall of Sound” on display in Las Vegas.
The Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound Changed Live Music Forever
about 11 hours ago
Two suitcases in an empty airport hall.
AO Mailbag: Is It Normal to Share a Checked Bag With Your Boyfriend?
2 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England Bristol Cheese Lane Shot Tower

Cheese Lane Shot Tower

A 142-foot-tall Q-tip on Bristol's skyline.

Bristol, England

Added By
Molly McBride Jacobson
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
  Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
Cheese Lane Shot Tower   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
Cheese Lane Shot Tower   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Bristol Floating Harbour with Cheese Lane Shot Tower in the background.   Pierre Terre on Wikimedia Commons
  Arpington on Wikimedia Commons
  William Avery on Wikimedia Commons
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The shot tower on Cheese Lane in Bristol is unique among its ilk because of its distinctive shape, but also because it's relatively new. It was built in 1969 to replace the world's first shot tower and today is one of only three left standing in England. 

Shot towers were the most common and efficient mode of producing shot balls in the 19th and most of the 20th century. From the very top of the tower workers would pour molten lead through a sieve. While free falling through the empty tower, the lead would cool and form into perfectly round balls. These would land in a basin of water to be cooled further.

This method was mostly phased out in the 1960s as it was replaced by less space-consumptive techniques, but the Cheese Lane Shot Tower remained in use until the 1990s. Today, the tower belongs to the offices of Vertigo, which lets out the top floor for board room meetings. 

Related Tags

Shot Towers Technology Machines

Community Contributors

Added By

Molly McBride Jacobson

Edited By

SEANETTA, Xavixavir

  • SEANETTA
  • Xavixavir

Published

July 25, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_Lane_Shot_Tower
  • http://efstathios.co.uk/Historical%20Archaeology/Shot_Tower_Standing%20Buildings%20Essay_Tsolis_E.pdf
Cheese Lane Shot Tower
Bristol, England
United Kingdom
51.45372, -2.585744

Nearby Places

Temple Gardens

Bristol, England

miles away

Victoria Font

Bristol, England

miles away

The Nails

Bristol, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bristol

Bristol

England

Places 32
Stories 5

Nearby Places

Temple Gardens

Bristol, England

miles away

Victoria Font

Bristol, England

miles away

The Nails

Bristol, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bristol

Bristol

England

Places 32
Stories 5

Related Stories and Lists

10 Dark Towers That Once Made The World's Bullets

list

By Eric Grundhauser

Related Places

  • Daugavpils, Latvia

    Daugavpils Shot Tower

    This Latvian shot factory is still used twice a year to manufacture bullets the old-fashioned way.

  • Baltimore’s Phoenix Shot Tower.

    Baltimore, Maryland

    Phoenix Shot Tower

    Once America's tallest structure, now a Baltimore landmark.

  • Built in Philadelphia in 1808 by the Spark family.

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Sparks Shot Tower

    One of the oldest of its kind.

  • Shot Tower

    Dubuque, Iowa

    Dubuque Shot Tower

    This long unused shot tower on the Mississippi remains a point of pride for a small city in Iowa.

  • Schrotkugelturm

    Berlin, Germany

    Schrotkugelturm (Shot Ball Tower)

    A century-old shot ball factory tower is open to the public once a year.

  • The Remington Arms factory and its shot tower.

    Bridgeport, Connecticut

    Remington Shot Tower

    Connecticut's shot tower is near the end of its life.

  • The Taroona Shot Tower.

    Taroona, Australia

    Taroona Shot Tower

    The world's tallest shot tower—maybe.

  • The Chester shot tower from across the Shropshire Union Canal.

    Chester, England

    Chester Shot Tower

    A 168-foot tower, part of the abandoned Chester Leadworks facility.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.