Volta Tower - History

History

Mackworth-Dolben built the tower to commemorate the death of his eldest son, William Digby, who drowned at sea on 1 September 1863. Digby, a naval officer serving on the Volta drowned in the mouth of the River Niger. His younger brother, the poet Digby Mackworth Dolben drowned in 1867.

The tower was circular and about 100 feet high. A gabled extension of one of the two floors had been added in keeping. The tower stood far back with a long driveway in front, along Station Road in Finedon. Not much changed in the surroundings of the Volta Tower apart from Finedon's new cemetery was built alongside the Volta Tower in 1892.

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